How Do I Know My Car's Oil Consumption Is Ok Or ..

November 4, 2005

My god, I got in here to find out if my car has a timing chain or not but end up to know my engine could have a fatal defect!!!

I almost lost in so many threads about oil consumption. First thing first, can anyone tell me how to find out if my car has this oil consumption issue or not? measure the oil level every month or look at somthing else? THANKS

Also, is this a common problem for all VVT-i engine or for VVT-i made at certain year(s)?

November 4, 2005

It seems to affect the earlier 1.8 VVTi engines the most but I think one person on here has had it with the new Avensis and a couple of people have had to have more than one replacement engines.

The problem itself affects the 1.4, 1.6 and 1.8 VVTi units, all the rest appear to be OK.

As for checking, do the usual, check your dipstick every couple of weeks and if the level moves significantly then it's consuming oil in some form or another.

November 4, 2005

tends to be 2001 to 2002 year

how much oil are you using at present and how many miles on the engine

November 5, 2005

Having read all the reports of high oil consumption I have come to the conclusion that I must have a duff engine!

I have had a 2002 (March) Avensis Vermont 1.8 VVT-i for 6 weeks, 54,000 miles on the clock, done 1000 miles of mixed driving and do not seem to have used a drop of oil.

Not that I am complaining!

November 5, 2005

tends to be 2001 to 2002 year
how much oil are you using at present and how many miles on the engine
←

I never added oil myself since I bought in July 2003 until now. The milage is from 14K to 50K now. It was always my TOYOTA dealer doing service every 10k. They never said anything to me except changing steering parts for free. I found out from amnual that the distance between two marks on dipstick is about 1 - 1.8 ltr (depending on engine type). I will check it every week as I drive 300 mile per week. I only hope this engine is either OK or the problem has been sorted out by previous owner - TOYOTA UK. They owned it from May 2002 to June 2003. Fingers ccrossed. Thanks for everyone's help.

By the way, how do I know my engine type? My manual seems for multiple engine type.