Toyota Highlander engine damage due to baffle plate detaching from engine cover

[Atanas Minchev]

I bought from Toyota dealer an used Highlander LE 2015 in  June   2019  at 70,000  kms

I maintained the as per the Manual instructions. At opening the engine in June   2022 , the Toyota  mechanic  stressed the good clean condition of the engine. Oil has been changed 4 times by qualified oil stations in Canada and USA. Last oil change  was on May 20 , 2022.

In June  this year, while driving , the engine suddenly stalled and could not be restarted. Towed to the  Toyota dealership . Mileage 93,143 kms

After inspection, I was advised that the engine is ruined and has to be replaced. The baffle plate located under the oil change opening on the engine cover has detached , fallen in the block and fragmented. Fragments have jammed the time chain and pieced of the chain have scarred the main shaft. The opinion of the mechanics was that the initial damage to the baffle plate was done by jamming a funnel while pouring oil in.

Engine replaced  with salvaged used one at the cost of over $ 10,000. When delivering the repaired vehicle , I was advised for first time that oil change has to be done using a special grooved funnel to avoid damage to  the oil baffle plate.

After carefully re-reading the car manuals , I am convinced that there s a serious omission by Toyota  for not providing timely instructions for changing the oil of Highlander 2015 without damaging the oil baffle plate  .

I will appreciate shared experiences and comments .

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

Surely if the oil has been changed four times by 'qualified oil stations' in Canada and USA, they should probably have been aware of the requirement to avoid damage to the engine as these engines (2.7 and 3.5) are used in other US Toyota models.

The UK and Europe (Toyota Owners Club is UK based) have only had the Highlander imported since 2021.

[Atanas Minchev]

thank you for the reply, but where is this  "requirement to avoid damage to the engine"?

[FROSTYBALLS]

As we're UK based not aware of what information is available in the US. At the end of the day, if they are undertaking work on Toyota vehicles presumably they have access to some Toyota service information or similar.

Owners manuals are not intended to provide the same level of information as service bulletins, workshop manuals, etc. 

Calls into question how 'qualified' these oil stations are.