Drip Drip

[didje]

My 3 year old Rav 4 (37000miles) 2.2 diesel has just been in for its first MOT and end of warranty check. Although my MOT was no problem I was shocked to hear that it has a major oil leak from the timing cover. There has never been a drip of oil on our drive (thank God Mrs didje would kill me). Although the work will be done under warranty I feel very disappointed is this a one off or have any other Rav 4 owners had the same problem? Is the legendary reliablity fading?

Also is the rumour true that the SR180 is being fazed out!!! my Toyota agent almost kept me prisoner trying to sell me one !!!!!!!!!!

[anchorman]

My 3 year old Rav 4 (37000miles) 2.2 diesel has just been in for its first MOT and end of warranty check. Although my MOT was no problem I was shocked to hear that it has a major oil leak from the timing cover. There has never been a drip of oil on our drive (thank God Mrs didje would kill me). Although the work will be done under warranty I feel very disappointed is this a one off or have any other Rav 4 owners had the same problem? Is the legendary reliablity fading?

Also is the rumour true that the SR180 is being fazed out!!! my Toyota agent almost kept me prisoner trying to sell me one !!!!!!!!!!

We have heard of sump leaks but this is the first I've heard about timing cover leaks - please keep us informed. I'm surprised a major oil leak hasn't made it to your drive - did you see it when at the dealers?

The current RAV is soon to be superceded (revised) so perhaps this is what they were meaning.

Cheers

[bothwell_buyer]

My 3 year old Rav 4 (37000miles) 2.2 diesel has just been in for its first MOT and end of warranty check. Although my MOT was no problem I was shocked to hear that it has a major oil leak from the timing cover. There has never been a drip of oil on our drive (thank God Mrs didje would kill me). Although the work will be done under warranty I feel very disappointed is this a one off or have any other Rav 4 owners had the same problem? Is the legendary reliablity fading?

Also is the rumour true that the SR180 is being fazed out!!! my Toyota agent almost kept me prisoner trying to sell me one !!!!!!!!!!

major oil leak appearing with no oil on the driveway???????? If it was that major, then your lucky the engine didn't seize up??? :wacko:

Smelly one if you ask me. The timing cover doesn't hold oil does it?? So is it not an oil seal behind the cover then - ahm no dieselly oily expert by any stretch of any ones imagination - I do know that my landrover uses 3 pints of oil to the mile and the police follow the car with flashing lights to warn cars behind about the oil slick......

The previous petrol 3SFE engine did have a few probs with dropping oil....but not that many. And when it dropped oil, we knew about it!

Perhaps the kindly mechanic took it home one night through a recently cleared forest.... or maybe his/her screwdriver slipped whilst changed the belt????? Helped by a mallet.

[Chugger]

My 3 year old Rav 4 (37000miles) 2.2 diesel has just been in for its first MOT and end of warranty check. Although my MOT was no problem I was shocked to hear that it has a major oil leak from the timing cover. There has never been a drip of oil on our drive (thank God Mrs didje would kill me). Although the work will be done under warranty I feel very disappointed is this a one off or have any other Rav 4 owners had the same problem? Is the legendary reliablity fading?

Also is the rumour true that the SR180 is being fazed out!!! my Toyota agent almost kept me prisoner trying to sell me one !!!!!!!!!!

major oil leak appearing with no oil on the driveway???????? If it was that major, then your lucky the engine didn't seize up??? :wacko:

Smelly one if you ask me. The timing cover doesn't hold oil does it?? So is it not an oil seal behind the cover then - ahm no dieselly oily expert by any stretch of any ones imagination - I do know that my landrover uses 3 pints of oil to the mile and the police follow the car with flashing lights to warn cars behind about the oil slick......

The previous petrol 3SFE engine did have a few probs with dropping oil....but not that many. And when it dropped oil, we knew about it!

Perhaps the kindly mechanic took it home one night through a recently cleared forest.... or maybe his/her screwdriver slipped whilst changed the belt????? Helped by a mallet.

Had my 2.2d xt4 in for its 20k service 2 months ago and was told the same thing (severe oil leak from timing cover area).

Local Toyota garage kept it for 3 days whilst the problem was sorted out, they didn't want to let on exactly what caused the problem and they forgot to redo the tracking afterwards which resulted in another spell in the workshop.

All well now but had to put up with an Auris 1.3 Eco courtesy car whilst the work was carried out - now that is one very underpowered car.

[didje]

thank you for all the replys nice to know its not just mine this has happend to would love to here of any more

[PhilGee]

Alot of the oil leaks can go un-noticed by the driver because of the undertray catching any drips then any dust or dirt soaks into it and stops it from dripping onto the drive.

As for the timing cover leak, be glad its under warranty because its quite a big job.

[NMaria]

My mother and I each have a 2 year old D4D XTR. Both our cars managed to lose a lot of oil with no evidence of it reaching the outside world: my mother's car, which has done less than 20k miles, suddenly flashed the oil light at her and it needed 2 litres (!!!) of oil, and mine has managed to use over a litre in less than 3000 miles. Most surprising and alarming.

Where on earth does it go? If it were disappearing through the engine surely you'd notice blue smoke, and there isn't any. I am going to check, as best I can, whether there is the odd half-gallon of oil sloshing around in the undertray and will report back.

I've had my RAV for 2 years and in that time it has had new injectors, it's booked in for a replacement fuel pump (to see if it will cure the hiccuping), and now this. One is not impressed. Might as well have bought a Freelander.

[anchorman]

These 2.2 diesels do consume oil but tend to reduce with time. They can consume up to a litre per 1000 miles but as the engine beds in the consumption settles. I change my oil every spring and autumn and it is near the bottom mark by the time I do it but with no top ups inbetween.

Mine hasn't been trouble free but I'm a bit (read that as a lot) more comfortable than I would be with a Freelander!!!

[NMaria]

Thanks for your words of reassurance, anchorman, but it the situation is actually a little different: car has done 28k miles and but we have only very recently noticed a significant drop in the oil level. We think possibly it has only started happening in the last few hundred miles but of course when you cast your mind back you become less certain the harder you try to remember! Anyway, my dear long-suffering husband took the undertray off at lunchtime and there is not a trace of oil on it or the underside of the engine, so presumably the oil is being burnt up. We'll monitor closely over the next few weeks and see what happens.

I'm a little surprised, though, that yours uses one and half litres or more every six months - that's more than I would have expected. How many miles would you say you do in between oil changes?

[PhilGee]

If you are unsure, get it into the dealers and ask them to do a consumption check. They should top oil up, and then recheck it after you have done approx 600 miles. But you should keep an eye on it inbetween aswell.

[NMaria]

Thanks for the advice, PhilGee - will do. Car is going to the dealer anyway on the 19th for a new fuel pump.

[didje]

Thanks again for the interest RAV still at the dealers hope to have it back wednesday/thursday

I read somewhere that the 2.2 engine is very similar to the diesel used in Lexus. Are there any Lexus diesel users looking in that have access to the owners club site or RAV owners who have access to the Lexus site who then could have a look for any comparisons regarding oil leaks or am i getting paranoid

Didje

[bothwell_buyer]

in googling toyota 2.2 diesel engines, it comes up with a number of other cars using a 2.2 diesel....so is it the same basic engine in each???

I read that the 2.2 fitted in the Lucida has a reputation for cracking the cylinder head for example.

[anchorman]

Thanks again for the interest RAV still at the dealers hope to have it back wednesday/thursday

I read somewhere that the 2.2 engine is very similar to the diesel used in Lexus. Are there any Lexus diesel users looking in that have access to the owners club site or RAV owners who have access to the Lexus site who then could have a look for any comparisons regarding oil leaks or am i getting paranoid

Didje

Not sure about the Lucida but all current models in the UK range with a 2.2 diesel (and 6 speed box) and the Lexus have the same basic engine. As far as oil consumption and generic faults like sump and timing cover leaks will be the same. My mate has an Avensis 2.2 diesel which developed a EGR fault. It spewed out grey smoke like one of the red arrows until it was fixed. In this case a fault can be compared to any 180 diesels with D-CAT but may not apply to a 140 or 150 diesel.

The important thing is that we share information and hopefully we can all get these jobs done if they pop up before the end of the warranty period.

Cheers