Mid 90's V6 engines

I had a 92 V6 and now a 98 V6, with absolutely no problems, but that is purely anecdotal. Check Consumers Reports repair stats to see if you can get some statistically valid information.

You won't get it from CR either. There "data" is just a collection of anecdotal information.

Ed

I've got a '97 with 150k, a coworker has a '98 with 120k. Both have the V6s and both leak oil and stink like crazy. The dealers say it is normal for a vehicle with "such high mileage".........BS!

I used to have an '89 with the 2 liter 4 cylinder. It had 280k miles and never leaked or burned a drop. It had plenty of power and got 38mpg compared to the measly 24mpg of my current V6......why did I ever sell it?

Just my 2 cents worth.

-Tracy

Goat droppings. They are probably better than most of the other cars of that vintage, other factors such as mileage, service history, being equal.

I don't think that is exactly correct. Their CR subscribers provide information about the reliability of products they own. It is not a true random sample, but is probably better than anything else available.

The only known problems arise from poor maintenance as indicated by tar/gunk visible thru the oil-cap hole.

Jason

Yes, there has been some talk about head gaskets on early to mid-90's V6's. As far as I know that's all it's been... talk.

My '93 is fine, but that's just one of millions.

"Tracy Brooks" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com:

you get a nasty sulfuric burnt oil smell in the car (especially with the window cracked) whenever you "give it the gun" so to speak?

Seems like the V6 in the 4runner/PU had a head gasket problem --- that was fixed by Toyota (some got new engines or short blocks) --- but don't believe it afffected the Camrys.

No, the drippings make their way to the exhaust manifold and pipe. When the Heat/AC is on fresh air, we get this nasty smell at stops.

I doubt you'll get anyone here that could relate first hand info on the Toyota V-6 HG failures. I'm sure they've moved on to other car makes after their bad experiences with Toyota headgaskets. I kept up w/the newsgroup during that time & remember seeing lengthy threads & rants about this. Toyota, of course, fixed the customers vehicles under warranty since these failures occured shortly after they were purchased new but what caused all the rants, and I believe drove away those owners, was that the company could not supply headgaskets to complete the repairs. IMO, many ppl who bought those trucks could have filed and won lemon law suits and won considering the 3+ month wait to get their vehicle back. FWIW, I don't hold this against Toyota and my next automobile will be a Toyota. Best regards, Steve

My mom owns a 1993 Camry LE V6. At 77k the car went to the local Toyota dealer for a routine oil change only. They discovered that the head gaskets were leaking and had to be replaced. It took 15 days and $3,300.00 to fix. Part of the delay was due to the fact that the new gaskets were installed incorrectly and the job had to be redone. After getting the car back the radiator had to be replaced at a cost of almost $500.00 30 days later. Otherwise the car has been pretty reliable. One year after the head gasket fix the car has 83k and runs like new. My mom says that if she has to replace the 93 Camry she'll buy another Toyota.