Anyone heard about this problem?

[SiegSolara]

I was looking up the solara on msn autos to see if there were any factory recalls or things I should know about that may malfunction. The only issue it displayed was the following:

Occasional problems on this vehicle are failures of the Engine, the Charcoal Canister/Evaporative Solenoids and the Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) Lift Sensor (3.0 L engine only). Failure of the Engine is caused because the engine oil gels. Engine oil gelling will also cause excessive engine oil usage. When proper maintenance schedules for oil changes are followed, oil gelling should not occur. Toyota has issued an 8 year unlimited mileage goodwill repair for this condition. Failure of the Charcoal Canister/ Evaporative Solenoids or the EGR Lift Sensor will cause the check engine light to illuminate. The cost to repair the Engine is estimated at $4500.00 for parts and $1384.50 for labor. The cost to repair the Charcoal Canister/Evaporative Solenoids is estimated at $263.95 for parts and $65.00 for labor. The cost to repair the EGR Lift Sensor is estimated at $33.12 for parts and $65.00 for labor. All prices are estimates based on $65 per flat rate hour and do not include diagnostic time or any applicable sales tax
Occasional problems on this vehicle are failures of the Engine, the Charcoal Canister/Evaporative Solenoids and the Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) Lift Sensor (3.0 L engine only). Failure of the Engine is caused because the engine oil gels. Engine oil gelling will also cause excessive engine oil usage. When proper maintenance schedules for oil changes are followed, oil gelling should not occur. Toyota has issued an 8 year unlimited mileage goodwill repair for this condition. Failure of the Charcoal Canister/ Evaporative Solenoids or the EGR Lift Sensor will cause the check engine light to illuminate. The cost to repair the Engine is estimated at $4500.00 for parts and $1384.50 for labor. The cost to repair the Charcoal Canister/Evaporative Solenoids is estimated at $263.95 for parts and $65.00 for labor. The cost to repair the EGR Lift Sensor is estimated at $33.12 for parts and $65.00 for labor. All prices are estimates based on $65 per flat rate hour and do not include diagnostic time or any applicable sales tax

http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/reliability.aspx?modelid=2835

Anybody else heard about this issue?

[SC V6]

yeah.. its been a while since that was a big topic... its just the engine oil gells and scratches the cylinder walls... meaning u need a new engine..

someone back me on this. im almost 99% sure of this

[Fletch]

This other guy that has a boosted Solara in South Bend has the evap solenoid problem, hasn't got it fixed yet cause the part is kind of pricey.

[SiegSolara]

Looks like parts and labor are covered under the issued 8-yr warranty for this problem.

[sunrise_solara]

Yeah, the gelling actually only happened on the Sienna, but because it had the 1MZ, everything got the notice. What it boiled down to was soccer moms not changing the oil for 10-12K, which combined with the extra weight of the vehicle, put too much strain on the engine (heat), breaking down the oil, and causing the problem...Never heard of it happening on any other vehicle, but at least we get in on the warranty deals.

[el guapo]

I went by one of the local dealerships last week and two 1MZ Camrys were on hydraulic lifts with their engines on engine stands being cleaned out due to oil gelling. Do that many people not perform maintenance on their vehicles?

[Astro]

At my local dealership, the service guy told me that Toyota accidently put out quite a few owner manuals (1mz specifically) that told owners to change their oil at 10,000mi! Some people went by that, thus causing the gelling. So, if you have that problem, check your owner's manual because it might say 10,000mi. If it does, you should be able to get the repair for free.

[Parke10]

ive heard of 5,000 under hard drivin of the car and 7,500 of easy easy easy drivin but never 10,000 i try not to go past 3,000

[JoeB]

I've heard about the oil gelling problem, that's old news and I don't recall any of our members having that problem. I think that backs up the poor maintenance theorey. I figure if you come here, you probably care about your car. If you care about your car, you probably change the oil regularly. I've never heard about the Charcoal Canister/Evaporative Solenoids and the Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) Lift Sensor problems. I wonder what the symptoms are? -JoeB

[Paladin06Greg]

Sounds like we need more data..