Toyota Camry Oil Gelling or Oil Sludging

Take it to the dealer (preferably the same person you already talked to). If they decline a warranty repair or say their is no damage, then take it to another dealer.

Toyota pays for the repair, not the dealer. But if the dealer is very busy with non-warranty repairs they may try to say no (if it is questionable) since they don't make as much money on warranty repairs.

Once oil has sludged or gelled in the engine, no amount of detergent will clean enough of it out of the engine to make a difference. Toyota's Special Customer Support Program covers specific conditions within a specific time frame and mileage. Go to

under the "About Toyota" drop down menu near the top of the page, click on the "Search/Help" link, then click on the "Frequently Asked Questions: link, the search "oil gel." For Toyota to cover the repair, besides the time and mileage and vehicle restrictions, you need to present evidence of oil changes at "reasonable intervals".

Exactly what problem do you want corrected? Is the engine burning oil? If there is no evidence of sludging (oil gelation), exactly what do you think you need? How many miles on the engine?

Ed

But YOU have to pay for the inspection, unless it turns out to be gelled, then both the inspection and repair is covered.

Been there, done that.

Merritt

Thank you all for your replies. I am a bit concerned because I haven't kept reciepts from all oil changes, but have had them done regularly at

3,000 mile intervals. Currently the car is burning 1 quart of oil for every 1,600 miles and only has ~63,000 miles on the engine. Thank you for all the help. I intend to take the car into the dealership within the next 3 weeks.

I don't think any manufacturer would consider 1 quart in 1,600 miles excessive oil consumption for a vehicle with 63,000 miles. I've never owned a Japanese car that was that good after 60,000 miles (1 Nissan, 1 Toyota, 1 Mazda, plus my Sister has owned two Hondas, and my SO had another Toyota).

All piston engines consume oil. In some cases the oil consumption is masked by contamination added to the oil from blow-by gases that condense in the oil sump. Most Japanese cars tend to have fairly "loose" piston rings (reduced tension which reduces friction) and therefore allow more blow-by past the rings than typical US and European engines. This is not necessarily a bad thing since the lighter ring tension improves fuel economy and reduces piston bore wear. It does increase the burden on the PCV system but in most cases this not a problem (although apparently it is for the Toyota engines that tend to have problems with sludge formation).

Before you take your vehicle to the dealer, take a good look into the valve cover through the oil filler hole. If it looks clean inside, I doubt your are going to have much of a case for a sludge rebuild.

I am curious - what sort of "detergent" did you use to try and remove the sludge? Did you actually see sludge before you started using the detergent, or was the use of detergent a response to all the negative (and probably overblown) press coverage?

Ed

Not sure what the detergent is named. The garage I have used for the last several years of oil changes on this vehicle had a service bulliten posted for Toyota owners citing Toyota's recommendations. I've never owned a Toyota, Subaru or Mazda that's consumed oil so quickly. I've own several with double the mileage of this vehicle that still are not burning oil. Is it possible that a bad PCV valve could contribute to oil consumption. I'm not sure if that is the case, maybe I should attempt that before I take it into the dealership.

If it is like mine, the oil consumption is not due to worn rings or valve guides/seals, but rather from oil being transferred from under the valve cover to the intake manifold because of a problem in the crankcase ventilation system (in my case, clogged baffles in the valve covers).

While some oil consumption is normal (even necessary), I have owned a number of Toyotas (all four cylinders) with higher mileage than my current V6 that had the problem, and all of them used less than a quart between oil changes (3,000-5,000 miles).

Merritt

Hi Merritt, What did you do to remedy the clogged baffles?

Merritt Mullen wrote:

Not to worry. Toyotas 'gelling' problem, as they refer to sludge, has nothing to do with oil changes. Gelling was the unwanted result of a head design, that was corrected in models built after August of 2003. At least that is what Toyota referred to as the cause in its notification to its dealerships when Toyota extended the warranty to any owner experiencing the gelling problem. If you believe you engine is one of those built during the period when the problematic head was used, contact your local Toyota dealer. Dealers have been authorized to 'inspect, clean, repair, or replace as necessary' any engine adversely effected for a period of up to eight years, unlimited mileage, from the in service date. The local dealer can advise you if your vehicle is indeed has one of the engines involved. The dealership will correct the problem for you if it does, at no charge. Toyota no longer requires that the vehicle was serviced at a dealership nor do you need to provide receipts, as they did when the problem first surfaced, before they issue the warranty extension. You need only 'attest' that you changed the oil at 'reasonable' intervals.

VW, SAAB and Chrysler have a similar problem with some of their engines and have offered extended their warranties as well.

mike hunt

wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...

Does anyone know a way to figure out if it's gelling or sludging without taking off valve cover? I have a 2000 Sienna. Oil has been changed regularly (within 5K) except the first couple of changes when I was following manual. The manual recommended 7.5K and I changed around 6K at the dealer for the first few.

Thanks!

You can look inside the oil filler cap and see how clean the underside is. If it is coated with gunk as opposed to an oily film, then further investigation (read remove the valve covers) is necessary.

Thanks, Ray. That's the reason I was asking: it seems to be coated with something (dark brown stuff) instead of shinning. The coating can not be easily removed (say wiped off). I thought there might be some other problems associated with it, such as burning oil, smoke, running erratically, etc. My Sienna has none of these other problems.

That doesn't work too well on the V-6 (at least the one in the 2000 Avalon), as there is a deflector plate immediately under the filler cap preventing one from seeing into the valve/cam area.

My cap was clean, the deflector plate was simply oily, but there was sludge at the timing belt end of the head (which is the opposite end from the oil filler).

Merritt

I wouldn't worry about the dark brown stuff and concentrate more on making sure it is not burning oil or smoking.

Thanks! That makes me feel much better.

You're welcome!