Rav4 2.0Vvti 2005 Engine Seized!

[dunc999]

Afternoon all,

My wife was driving our RAV, 2005 4WD 2.0 vvti petrol on Sunday at around 70mph on the motorway (she doesn't go much faster than this due to fuel consumption!) when it made a horrendous "flapping and grinding" noise, so she immediately pulled over and stopped the car. She got out and smoke was rising from the bonnet and then a pool of oil appeared underneath. The good thing is she and my son got to the hard shoulder safely and no-one was hurt.

We had it recovered to a local garage who have told us today it won't turn over by hand or starter and it has "locked up at speed and has melted" So it looks like we need a new engine.

So looking for advice really....the car is well maintained, is used regularly and is serviced regularly, with only the last two not being main dealer (last serviced in March) The oil is checked regularly. It had done 80k when we bought it in Feb '11 and has now done 91k. is their any know history of this engine just seizing in this way, it seems strange for such a reliable brand as Toyota. Also, do you think it is worth speaking to Toyota UK regarding a claim (out of warranty and the last two services not main dealer might scupper that I guess).

Is it worth fixing? We paid £5600 for it, guess it is worth about £3.5K ish working now, maybe a bit more. I have been looking online and it will cost at least £1.5K to replace enigne.

Any recommendations for a supplier?

We'd been discussing changin it anyway as it costs a fair bit to run, so we are a bit shell-shocked by this, especially as we went for the RAV for reliability!

Thanks for taking the time to read and any suggestions greatly received.

Duncan

[voyager t180]

Could be wrong,but it sounds like a possible snapped timing chain?
Providing the rest of the car is in good condition, I would replace the engine and keep the car.
It should then be good for another 91k.
You would only get around £2k selling it as it is anyway.
Good luck.

[silly sausage]

Hi Duncan,

Considering the lack of a comprehensive Toyota history, also the age and mileage of your Rav, i very much doubt you will have any success with any sort of goodwill from Mr T, regardless of whatever cause of failure transpires.

Should you need a replacement engine, A.P.I. might be a more cost effective option, their website explains how their engines are sourced, I know a Private Hire Company who run over twenty Avensis petrols and have used A.P.I units on a couple of occasions with no problems.

http://www.apiengines.com/petrol.php

[anchorman]

They pop up on eBay quite a lot;

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/toyota-rav4-petrol-engine-/181155399011?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item2a2db40563

See if you can get a good price for fitting one.

[dunc999]

Many thanks for your replies everyone.

I guess having had the shock of it happen I'm not sure about where to source a new one, just getting one off e-bay seems a touch dangerous, but I'll look into them.

Our local gagrage who have diagnosed it have quoted £600 to fit if we supply and they will warranty their fitting, but not the engine. They didn't seem particularly interested in sourcing one.

[IanXT4]

I would start to ring round Breakers looking for a car that’s been cosmetically written off. (ie serious rear end shunt)

With any luck you might be able to hear the engine running and/or examine the wreck and paperwork before the engine is removed.

I have had some very good experiences lately buying parts for my VW Golf from.

http://www.asm-autos.co.uk/

They have both cars they are breaking and a wide range of removed parts in their warehouse. Unfortunately no current RAV4's, however, they might have engines in stock. But as discussed above, I would ideally want to see the engine in the car before I bought it to gauge its history.

[anchorman]

You can buy really good low mileage Jap imports. Might be worth googling.