Legendary Toyota Reliability . . . ????

[treillw]

Purchased a 2007 Rav4 with 120k miles on it. Should be great right? Lots of life left? Maybe 180k left... Wrong. Burns oil. It burned two quarts in 700 miles.

Toyota had a recall on their 2AZ-FE engines. They were fixing them up until around 2017. Unfortunately the previous owner wasn't smart enough to take advantage of this opportunity. The engines have undersized piston rings.

The cost to dump the oil in it isn't that terrible really. My question is, if I keep dumping oil in it for the next 10, 20, 50k miles, what else will go wrong? Is it in danger of blowing up? Just need to change the spark plugs every once and awhile?

Sell it? Fix it? Thoughts?

Thanks!

 

[WeiserBucks]

Sell it.

 

[Fatcamp]

My experience with Toyota vehicles has been fantastic. That said, research shows that some model years had issues.

Selling it knowing it burns that much oil would be problematic for me. Who did you buy it from?

 

[5MilesBack]

Their "legendary" reliability came from their vehicles that were all made in Japan. Since they started making some of their vehicles outside of Japan, those vehicles just have above average reliability "in general". Obviously you can always get a lemon, regardless what brand it is. But I still drive my 1989 Toyota 4x4 every day, my sister still drives her 1991 4runner, and my buddy still has a 1981 Corolla that runs great. I have no experience with American made Toyota's, but my wife bought a new Avalon this last year......so we'll see how good that car is in a few decades......or less.

 

[Rob5589]

2 qts in 700 miles is a ton. Should have been able to see that sucker smoking from a mile away. My main concern would be; did the previous owner keep up with the oil levels. I'd be looking to move that thing asap.
As a side note; we owned a Civic that was very troublesome. So they aren't all gems.

 

[black dawg]

Purchased a 2007 Rav4 with 120k miles on it. Should be great right? Lots of life left? Maybe 180k left... Wrong. Burns oil. It burned two quarts in 700 miles.

Toyota had a recall on their 2AZ-FE engines. They were fixing them up until around 2017. Unfortunately the previous owner wasn't smart enough to take advantage of this opportunity. The engines have undersized piston rings.

The cost to dump the oil in it isn't that terrible really. My question is, if I keep dumping oil in it for the next 10, 20, 50k miles, what else will go wrong? Is it in danger of blowing up? Just need to change the spark plugs every once and awhile?

Sell it? Fix it? Thoughts?

Thanks!

What weight oil are you using in it?

The next thing that will happen is check engine light for catalyst efficiency.

 

[Beendare]

I think Our family and businesses have owned 20 Toyotas ( inc Hinos)

Not a one has had any problems……

 

[CorbLand]

Ditch it.

At a quart every 350 you should already have a check engine for O2 sensors failing and you should have seen oil dripping out the exhaust.

 

[Nickofthewoods]

So you essentially need a quart of oil with every gas tank fillup? It won't blow up but it will keep getting worse and you'll eventually see a gradual loss of compression and power until you start having bad enough misfires and dead cylinders that it runs like hell and leaves you stranded somewhere. Something is allowing oil into your combustion chamber so it probably either needs new piston rings or valve seals. You could do a compression leak down test to narrow down the culprit. It's fairly easy if you've never done it, just need the rental kit from your parts store and the ability to change spark plugs. Either way you're probably at least looking at a top end rebuild to fix that issue. Who knows it might go thousands more miles in its current state so long as you don't forget to keep topping the oil.

You could put a can of Restore in it and see if it helps. It's supposed to help re-seal worn piston rings against the cylinder walls. The "fix in a can" is not the greatest solution by any means but it couldn't hurt if you aren't going to sell it or rebuild the motor.

 

[MattB]

Purchased a 2007 Rav4 with 120k miles on it. Should be great right? Lots of life left? Maybe 180k left... Wrong. Burns oil. It burned two quarts in 700 miles.

Toyota had a recall on their 2AZ-FE engines. They were fixing them up until around 2017. Unfortunately the previous owner wasn't smart enough to take advantage of this opportunity. The engines have undersized piston rings.

The cost to dump the oil in it isn't that terrible really. My question is, if I keep dumping oil in it for the next 10, 20, 50k miles, what else will go wrong? Is it in danger of blowing up? Just need to change the spark plugs every once and awhile?

Sell it? Fix it? Thoughts?

Thanks!

What did the compression test that you did before purchasing show? Am curious.

 

[mtnobsessed]

What did the compression test that you did before purchasing show? Am curious.

Gimme a break

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

 

[treillw]

What weight oil are you using in it?

The next thing that will happen is check engine light for catalyst efficiency.

5w-20, I think. Whatever it says in the book.

 

[Billy Goat]

Seems like an opportunity.

Make a YouTube video with some click bait title of how a Toyota isn't perfect.




Get enough views to buy something else. Maybe some tannerite over the gas tank at the end.

 

[jimh406]

Ditch it. They have legendary quality, so should be easy to get rid of.

Or if you really like it, call Toyota and see if they will do something for you.

 

[Ucsdryder]

In before the dude telling us about the leaf springs!

 

[Customweld]

Ditch it.

At a quart every 350 you should already have a check engine for O2 sensors failing and you should have seen oil dripping out the exhaust.

That’s dang near a 2 stroke ratio!

 

[CorbLand]

That’s dang near a 2 stroke ratio!

He should get a two stroke cold smoke sticker.

 

[Billy Goat]

Y'all bastards. I tried to quit memes cold turkey, but after a week, I had to have another.



It's OK, Monday I'll restart the clock.

 

[CorbLand]

Y'all bastards. I tried to quit memes cold turkey, but after a week, I had to have another.

View attachment 537579

It's OK, Monday I'll restart the clock.

Oh, the smell of starting my RAV4 on a cold morning.

 

[Billy Goat]

Oh, the smell of starting my RAV4 on a cold morning.

What brings your date home, starts your ride in the morning.