T180 Extended Warranty Period Headgasket Failure

[stumpyowner]

Hi, new to forum and recent owner. I have owned my T180 for 5 months. Unfortunately my local dealer has identified a headgasket failure during a service. As the car is 7 years and 1 month old but covered 69000miles am I still eligible for a warranty repair? I understand from this site that these have been recognised as a manufacturers fault and thus the warranty extension to 7 years. I accept the 7 year period is up but surely the fault is there regardless of time period and Toyota have a responsibility still. It has Toyota FSH and has not been previously recalled for this issue.

Does anyone know of another similar case and what the outcome was? Also, Ihave contacted Toyota UK and am awaiting a reply. I have raised the issue with my local Toyota dealer and am awaiting their response. I feel as though I have some consumer rights here and am considering legal advice if necessary. Unfortunately the car was bought privately so a return to seller is not an option...doh!

Hope someone can assist me.

[Davrav]

Hello Ken and welcome to the club.

Bit of a tricky one and will be interesting to see what Toyota say...............

In the meantime, is there anything in the service record to indicate that this issue, or anything possibly related to it, had been identified/raised previously?

[Davrav]

Ooohh Errr, double post

[stumpyowner]

Hi Davrav, thanks for the prompt reply and welcome. Nothing in the service history relating to the failure. I have been keeping an eye on oil and coolant and there is nothing to suggest an issue...to my non technical eye anyway.

[Parts-King]

To be blunt, the period is 7 years, not 7 years one day. There has to be some sort of cut off. I would advise that you write in to Toyota with all the details possible, evidence of service history, when purchased etc and see what they have to say. This is not a recall, but an extended goodwill period, that period ends 7 years after registration date. Best write in ASAP and see what they have to say before you start telling them you are thinking of legal action, althouh to be fair, I doubt you have any right to make a claim, as the warranty on the car was 3 years not 7

Kingo

[anchorman]

They just might with head gasket failure rather than wear and tear. However, as Kingo says the cut off date has gone and you will have to put forward a very good case. They will be very careful as this could open the floodgates.

We knew this would happen but to be fair they have been very generous. We also know that the risk reduces with time as various mods were done in production.

[voyager t180]

I thought the symptoms of a head gasket failure where high oil and coolant consumption,which MrT usually measure over 1k mls of driving..but you say you didnt have this issue,
So did they actually say why the head gasket needs fixing?
Mines just out of warranty as well,so keeping everything crossed.

[stumpyowner]

apparently they carried out a compression test. I had reported a hesitancy on acceleration when pulling from a junction in first gear, and asked them to carry out some diagnostic checks.

Thanks for the comments and i appreciate an extended warranty might be generous but they did accept that there was a fault at manufacture that required remedial attention if and when the gasket failed. Do/have other engines suffer from such failures as frequently? Toyota have recognised a weakness here and as the car has only covered 69000 miles I will be disappointed if they do not support me to some degree...as a gesture at least despite the risk of setting a precedent. I understand is arare event for modern diesel gaskets to fail if well maintained, these days.

I will certainly put forward my case but not in a threatening or angry manner...thanks.

[CharlieFarlie]

Well this situation sadly for some had to start at some point....

There is absolutely no doubt that Toyota have already been very generous by extending the warranty as they have !

Whether or not they look upon this case sympathetically or not will be interesting as hardly a week goes by without a new member popping up with the engine issue problems and now the big hand has swung past the hour means owners may be left with a problem..

App I can do is wish you luck with it but I doubt with things already being tightened up you will get a great outcome....

[voyager t180]

I hope you get lucky and are offered some kind of goodwill discount.
Who knows I could be in your position soon as I'm on 63.5k mls atm.
Should I have a compression test done on mine?? hmmmm.

[CharlieFarlie]

I hope you get lucky and are offered some kind of goodwill discount.

Who knows I could be in your position soon as I'm on 63.5k mls atm.

Should I have a compression test done on mine?? hmmmm.

Would a compression test make any difference ?

The requisites for engine replacement are mainly either heavy oil consumption or head gasket failure....

So maybe even if your tests revealed say slightly low compression would Toyota recognise this as a pointer ?

I once argued that Toyota could maybe have recalled all the cars with a likely hood of things going wrong and replaced all the likely engines..

In reality and on reflection this would not be realistic as many people have cars with no problems at all so many cars may have perfectly good engines changed for no good reason..

For those that find them selves with a dud engine outside of the generous extended warranty well that I suppose is just the risk of buying an old car..... Sorry..

[voyager t180]

Take your point Charlie..my oil and coolant levels havnt changed in the 500 mls. I've had the car.
Seems to be pot luck with the 180 engine.
Whats a bit confusing is that MrT dont seem to have done the usual oil level checks on the OP's before deciding it needs a head gasket??

[CharlieFarlie]

Paul I think it's either or.... So if the head gasket has gone its a fail no matter if its guzzling oil or not,,same applies to an oil burner.. Head gasket can be just fine as mine was but oil consumption was way over the prescribed amount ..

[DjRav]

I thought the classic warranty head gasket failure was an end result of the problem (that includes high oil consumption as a symptom). So perhaps a solely "head gasket failure" issue, with no oil/coolant loss, is literally just "head gasket failure" that any car could suffer.

Dave

[anchorman]

apparently they carried out a compression test. I had reported a hesitancy on acceleration when pulling from a junction in first gear, and asked them to carry out some diagnostic checks.

Thanks for the comments and i appreciate an extended warranty might be generous but they did accept that there was a fault at manufacture that required remedial attention if and when the gasket failed. Do/have other engines suffer from such failures as frequently? Toyota have recognised a weakness here and as the car has only covered 69000 miles I will be disappointed if they do not support me to some degree...as a gesture at least despite the risk of setting a precedent. I understand is arare event for modern diesel gaskets to fail if well maintained, these days.

I will certainly put forward my case but not in a threatening or angry manner...thanks.

Woh, hang on there.

Those are classic symptoms of the EGR being stuck and I would really go to town on cleaning that up. I would also change the fuel filter as they can compound the issue. If the coolant looks clean pink and it isn't blowing out from the overflow, don't over react to this problem.

Do the above and just get them out of the equation.

[voyager t180]

Paul I think it's either or.... So if the head gasket has gone its a fail no matter if its guzzling oil or not,,same applies to an oil burner.. Head gasket can be just fine as mine was but oil consumption was way over the prescribed amount ..

Diagnosis is obviously not that easy then? And MrT have arguably been very generous in their 7yr warranty on these engines.

From my experience when/if you clean the EGR spend some time making sure the valve moves smooth and freely and seats properly when closed..I ended up cleaning mine 3 times,with a significant improvement in mpg.

I'm still thinking of trying the blank,although a very knowledgeable technician(imo) at RRG told me he wouldnt do it.

[stumpyowner]

Thanks for the comments and advice....I will post the outcome as others will no doubt be arising imminently. Just feel somewhat let down and stupid as my research didnt uncover this before I decided on the t180 over an XT5.

[Tony Barnsley]

Thanks for the comments and advice....I will post the outcome as others will no doubt be arising imminently. Just feel somewhat let down and stupid as my research didnt uncover this before I decided on the t180 over an XT5.

Any Toyota 2AD engine from 2006- early 2009 can potentially have this issue, so not just related to the Rav T180, I've just had mine done on my 07 plate XT-R at 48K miles

[voyager t180]

Thanks for the comments and advice....I will post the outcome as others will no doubt be arising imminently. Just feel somewhat let down and stupid as my research didnt uncover this before I decided on the t180 over an XT5.

I wouldnt beat myself up about it..you aern't the first and wont be the last.

I wouldnt be too pessimistic either,once the head gasket is fixed you could have no further problems.

There must be many T180's around with no issues at all..but you dont hear about those.

[Davrav]

As these failures are seemingly so random, I wonder if Toyota have truly pinpointed the cause? Is it poor design, inadequate materials, insufficient quality control/assurance, fuel quality, driving style, or a combination of all of the above?

[DjRav]

Thanks for the comments and advice....I will post the outcome as others will no doubt be arising imminently. Just feel somewhat let down and stupid as my research didnt uncover this before I decided on the t180 over an XT5.

Any Toyota 2AD engine from 2006- early 2009 can potentially have this issue, so not just related to the Rav T180, I've just had mine done on my 07 plate XT-R at 48K miles

With a few exceptions, I think it's more like "up to late 2007" you have potential issues. After that there's only been a few examples.

Dave

[kencat]

The newer rav4 2009ish on ( indictors in the wing mirror ) 150bhp , sould all be ok these hav had a lot of enging mods ! Less back pressures , modified pistons, diffent injectors , newer egr ete .

[anchorman]

Yes the 150 is not known to give problems.

[crustyclam]

Regarding the hesitation in first gear I alsohave this, but only while the engine is cold. New engine in mine, new fuel filter, cleaned my egr valve this Wednesday just gone and I took the solenoid part away by removing the 3 hex bolts to make sure it got a really good clean. Fairly clogged again in a short period. Put a new air filter in, the other was still quite clean though. Inspected the MAF that looked quite grey in colour (not sure what it should look like really) so I am considering giving it a clean as I believe this can lead to hesitation and poor mpg which I get on the new engine. (Got 60 miles extra to tank on the older engine). Just debating wether to order some maf cleaner or get some IPA and leave it to soak for 20 mins.

In spite of these issues still love the car and I hope everything works out for you. Good luck....and you have come to the right place to get support.

[CharlieFarlie]

Thanks for the comments and advice....I will post the outcome as others will no doubt be arising imminently. Just feel somewhat let down and stupid as my research didnt uncover this before I decided on the t180 over an XT5.

Let me assure you I do genuinely sympathise with your position....

But let down ? Why ? After 7 years I cant see how you I or anyone can expect to be given special treatment ? 7 years is or in cases we shall now see I fear often is one hell of a warranty...

Mate by all means seek legal advice but as someone whose Daughter is a barrister I can see only more grief when the legal bills roll in.... Hells teeth even a regular solicitors time is charged at an average of £250 an hour...

I do feel sorry for you though and that is genuine.. Cars that fail or display problems outside of warranty in mant cases will be uneconomical to repair..

That said PM Kingo as the "Optifit" engine is I believe available over the counter.... NO way would I trust any garage Toyota or other to strip and rebuild a 2AD series engine..

As posted above whether or not its a T180 makes no odds,, Many other Toyota cars at all trim levels have had these issues. Avensis and any other cars in the range have had replacements....

Hope it pans out for you !