Toyota sludge problem on the news

[tito53]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaPA7XJ8WeE

[Dawgz]

How do u tell if ur car has te sludge problem?


what are the tell tale signs of a engine with a sludge problem?

[QuickSEV6]

How do u tell if ur car has te sludge problem?


what are the tell tale signs of a engine with a sludge problem?

Smoke coming out of tail pipe

[Patrik]

car not really moving forward...

[Midias]

How do u tell if ur car has te sludge problem?


what are the tell tale signs of a engine with a sludge problem?

Remove your front valve cover what do you see

[Dawgz]

ok well, i went and opened the Oil Fill cap and saw something retarded...i went to toyota and sure enough they think i might have a sludge problem...eh








Here's a pic with my Cell phone of how it looks with my oil cap off, after the engine cooled, i touched the black part, my nail sort of dug in a bit into it and i could feel some crust.







The thing is, the car moves fine, and theres no blue smoke or watever with the car on...so i dono wats up, since ive had the car (got it at 44k miles, it has gottn regular 3k mile oil changes)


Im gonna drive it for now how it is, and get all this crap taken care of in the winter after this semester.

[Gangis]

I had that same exact problem. It IS sludge in the early stages. You'll have to pull the valve cover (or have Toyota do it) to visually inspect the camshafts. They did in my case and my camshafts were absolutely covered with thick brown sludge.

Picture here, too big to embed

In that case, Toyota will cover the bill for the engine rebuild or replacement as well as a rental vehicle. However you may have to fork over (as I did) money for a new water pump, timing belt and spark plugs.

[Gangis]

Oh yeah, be prepared to supply them with a service history because they're going to try to blame it on you due to the "lack of oil changes". I didn't have one because I had just bought the car from a used car dealership, but they let me slide for that very reason.

If they give you a hard time, give them hell. Go up to corporate and have a chat with them, they will definitely take care of you.

[Dawgz]

what signs did u have to take the car to be checked for sludge? like what made u check for sludge, any symptoms?



like smoke? did the car run slow from stop? anything?



and then after u got it fixed, what did u notice.

[Jai_Jai_Binks]

All cars have small sludge buildup overtime. Some people used to add a little diesel to crankcase, some used to add ATF....as car's age small build up is normal...its only when there is an issue enough to affect performance...that is what toyota is recalling...best thing you can do i regular oil changes and checking the color of your oil as it reaches 3k mark...

[Gangis]

I didn't notice any blue smoke or performance changes, but then again I had the car for almost two months at the tme. Believe me, when I got her back from the engine rebuild she was driving fantastic.

[Grnarowana]

what happens if one does their own oil changes? And getting the receipts is probably impossible?

So its mandatory that Toyota fix this "sludge" problem because its their problem in a sense?

[Grnarowana]

o, and sorry, 1 more thing.

When they do the inspection, do they charge you?

[Dawgz]

They didnt charge me

[Grnarowana]

hey dawgz, i just checked mine, and its exactly the same thing, but less slimey/watery.

So what was your situation? did they fix it? what did they say?

thanks.