Oil Burner! Help!

[ToyotaAuris]

Hi, i have a Toyota Corolla Verso 1.8 petrol 2004 7 seater manual with just under 120k miles. Very good car and reliable but i have a problem. First of all is this normal? I fill up 1 liter of oil and do 100 miles per day on motorway. After 1 week I have to top up oil, about a liter. I dont think this is normal. I cannot see any white or black smoke coming from the exhaust, there is no odd sounds coming from the car, nothing wrong visible. There is also no oil leak which i am sure. So where is this oil going? I was looking at a youtube video and someone was saying something about a PCV valve. I checked on eBay and its cheap to replace, about £10.00 or less. But should I do this? How to replace it (i have all the tools) and where is it located? Also can this have anything to do with the EGR valve?

Please it would be good if you guys could help me out, i dont want my engine to seize in :( SUCH a good car.

[Heidfirst]

There was a known problem with some VVTis made pre mid-2005. Toyota would have fixed them for free under a goodwill program up until they were 7 years old.

[alan333]

The 1.8vvti engine (pre 06 ish) can be prone to engine problems, often starting off by using lots of oil. Apparently carbon builds up on the underside of the pistons causing the piston bores to wear. There's plenty info on it on here and elsewhere.

[ToyotaAuris]

Right, so should I get rid of it or what shall I do. What about this PCV valve and the EGR valve, can they cause something like this? I have full service history but not with Toyota, just part. I dont think they will do anything about it since its now 10 years old the car. Do you think they will do anything?

[Mistermena]

You could always contact Toyota direct and ask the question!

[Cyker]

First I'd check with your local Mr T to see if the car had an engine replacement already as they should have it on record. If it hasn't, then it is a strong possibility that the problem is the one mentioned above. (Does anyone know an easy way to check?)

There was an warranty extension for that specific issue, but I think you're right that the car is too old to qualify for it :(

It is worth asking tho', often Toyota dealers treat you like crap when it comes to things like this but occasionally they pull all the stops out and get something sorted so you got nothing to lose by asking! Esp. if you've been a long-time customer.

To get it rectified out of your own pocket would be very expensive; the official fix involves replacing the entire engine and if you did that with Toyota I'd expect it to cost several thousand.

It might be more viable to get an independent to sort it, but I'm not sure how much the replacement engine is (Any idea Kingo?), but even then I expect it'd be pretty expensive :(

I wonder if this sort of thing can be covered under insurance if the engine does go?

[ToyotaAuris]

Bad news. I called Toyota, there has not been a engine change already and that they will not change my engine as its exceeded the warranty period. I think I will have to sell it.... I cant believe it. Its such a EPIC car, 120k miles on a petrol and still i dont hear a odd sound from the engine, starts first time, never any problems and a excellent colour. Im not too sure either if its burning alot of oil as I only do motorway miles maybe thats why? Ive never driven in city. There is no signs of piston rings worn out or anything. No black/blue/white smoke, no coolant colour change or loosing coolant and no leaks either. I dont know what to do, i will take out spark plugs and see if they have oil on them. If it is then.... By by

[Mistermena]

Gutted for you! I really am. That's why i got ride of my car as i couldn't be bothered with the mither anymore. Everything was fine! No problems what so ever. But thought it was time to say bye,bye...

[Mark Boddington]

Hi, I have just seen your post about your Corolla verrso. I have a

Verrso 2005 automatic 1.8cc vvti t3 s-a petrol 7 seater.

It has 97k on the clock & runs very very well with no sign of oil leaks anywhere. No smoking, heating head gasket looks fine, No blue smoke.

Me & the garage are at a loss.

In 10 days over 310miles have lost haft litre of oil. This is on going, Can you let me no if you resolved your issue with your verrso. please.

mark

[Gew]

Hi guys. My first post here. Bought my first Toyota about a month ago. It's a 2001/2002 Corolla Verso with 22 000 kilometres on the odometer. First issue was noise from gearbox. Bearings was worn, as it turned out, and dealer replaced the entire gearbox. Now tonight I thought I'd check all vital fluid levels. Dipstick (oil) was dry and the coolant reservoar seems empty as well. There seems to be two ways to fill coolant, one screw cap and one flip cap. Unsure about the difference. I'm suspecting the known VVT-i problem. Bough a 5 litre can of cheap 10w-30 mineral oil tonight, emptied half the can. Oil pan must have been really half empty. Do you need to flush coolant or motor oil when replacing a gearbox? I'm considering the idea that dealer mechanics did it and forgot to fill up new fluids after the operation. Clueless, though. Ideas, anyone?

[alan333]

No need to touch the coolant or engine oil when changing gearbox.

The two coolant caps you mention... One is probably on the radiator, and the other will be on the expansion tank. The radiator needs to be full, and the expansion tank needs to be within the min/max marks. Beware removing them with hot engine can cause scalding.

[Heidfirst]

a photo might help ... ;)

is the flip cap not perhaps for the windscreen washer reservoir?

other possibilities would be brake fluid & power steering reservoirs.

[Gew]

No need to touch the coolant or engine oil when changing gearbox.

The two coolant caps you mention... One is probably on the radiator, and the other will be on the expansion tank. The radiator needs to be full, and the expansion tank needs to be within the min/max marks. Beware removing them with hot engine can cause scalding.

Oh, that's not so good news.

I was really hoping for the mechanics-simply-forgot-to-top-them-fluids-up-after-gearbox-replacement theory to be true.

a photo might help ... ;)

is the flip cap not perhaps for the windscreen washer reservoir?

other possibilities would be brake fluid & power steering reservoirs.

Here's a photo. There's the black plastic flip cap and the round screw cap with a warning sticker over it. I've tried pouring fresh coolant into both of these places. The screw cap seems to be the wrong approach though. It overflows pretty much instantly, whereas I can pour like half a liter down the reservoir through the black plastic flap cap that you can see to the right.

Oh, thanks for all your input guys. Much appreciated :)

[alan333]

The one with the sticker on it is the radiator, and this one should be full. The other one is the expansion tank and should be between the marks. It's good news that the radiator was full - the rad should always be full, and when the water gets hot it expands into the header tank.