Toyota Burns Oil | Excessive Engine Oil Consumption

Toyota owners with models such as Camry, Corolla, Matrix, Rav4, Solara, Scion xB, and tC equipped with the four-cylinder 2AZ-FE engine may experience excessive oil consumption.

The engine performance may be severely diminished if your Toyota consumes excessive oil. As oil is burned at a high rate, the engine may need oil every few weeks.

Suppose you don’t check the engine oil regularly. In that case, the oil may have diminished to almost nothing by the time the maintenance interval arrived (typically 5,000 miles for many vehicles affected).

Symptoms

Common symptoms include:

• Oil level low in 1000 miles
• The oil light is coming on.
• Engine noise
• Engine burns  oil
• You have to add oil every month.
• The oil pressure light comes before the maintenance schedule.

Pay close attention to the oil light. Add engine oil immediately if it comes on before the oil due date.

For example, if you normally have your oil changed every 3,000 miles, the oil pressure light comes on after 1000 miles. Add engine oil and get your car diagnosed as soon as possible.

Affected Models

• Toyota Camry 2007-2011
• Toyota Camry Hybrid 2007-20011
• Toyota Corolla 2009
• Toyota Matrix 2009
• Toyota Rav4
• Toyota Solara 2007, 2008 Scion xB 2008 2009
• Scion TC 2007-2009

Affected Engines

• 2AZ-FE 2AZFE Service Campain: LSC ZE7

Cause

The service bulletin indicates that the cause of excessive oil consumption was defective piston rings not providing the appropriate seal.

In the notice, Toyota instructs technicians to replace the piston assembly, which will fix the engine’s problem of burning too much oil.

Piston rings normally use oil to seal combustion gasses off the engine’s bottom half. Another set of piston rings below helps wipe excess oil from the cylinder walls.

Toyota issued a technical service bulletin to all of its dealerships. Toyota acknowledged the excessive oil consumption in some of its vehicles produced between 2006-2011. The bulletin lists the specific engine types and vehicles affected. The defect mainly affects the 2AZ-FE engine.

A technical service bulletin is not a recall. Instead, it is a set of instructions written for technicians at Toyota service departments that outlines repair procedures and warranty coverage, if any.

According to this notice, customers were covered under Toyota’s Powertrain Warranty – which lasts for five years/60,000 miles, whichever comes first.

However, they are only covered for repairs under this warranty if they pass a qualifying test. In a healthy engine, the oil circulates throughout the moving parts and lubricates and cools all of its parts.

Very little oil is burned in this process because it is reused repeatedly until it needs to be changed after a certain mileage. The amount of mileage will vary depending on the vehicle, oil type, and how new it is.

Depending on the oil type and filter, some cars can go 10,000 miles or more before needing an oil change. You need to perform an oil change every 3,000 miles with conventional oil.

Test Procedure

You must take your Toyota to your dealer and have them check for excessive oil consumption. A Toyota mechanic checks the vehicle’s oil level, marks the dipstick indicator, seats it, and then tells the customer to drive for 1,200 miles and return to the dealership.

Only those with a quart low on oil after driving for 1,200 miles will have their vehicles repaired under the warranty terms when they return. Those not meeting those requirements must pay for the repairs out of pocket.

Toyota engine oil consumption bulletin is different than a recall, which requires vehicle manufacturers to notify all owners of the problem and cover the cost of repairs. A technical service bulletin issued, in this case, is essentially an updated repair guide for the service departments of dealerships on how to repair vehicles affected by this problem and are still within warranty specifications.

Is There A Recall?

A recall was not issued because excessive oil consumption is not considered a safety defect. Recalls are only issued when safety defects appear.

Things like faulty brakes, steering components malfunctioning, airbags that deploy when they’re not supposed to, etc., are considered safety defects. What to do?

Unfortunately for many Toyota owners, excessive oil consumption did not begin until after the expired powertrain warranty.

Many customers were forced to pay for the repairs out of pocket or continually top off their engines with a quart of oil to function properly.

Toyota has said it sent letters to customers affected by this problem beginning in December 2014.

Customers can check to see if their vehicle qualifies at this link https://www.toyota.com/recall using their VINs.

Lawsuit

In 2014, a class-action lawsuit was filed by frustrated Toyota owners looking for some compensation for the expenses incurred from replacing huge amounts of oil and the expensive repairs required to fix the piston ring issue.

Unfortunately, the problems of the piston rings usually did not happen until the powertrain warranty had expired.

In response to this lawsuit, which has not yet been settled, Toyota initiated a Warranty Enhancement Program, allowing customers to seek reimbursement if they had paid for the repairs themselves or if they had not sought repair, they could now have the problem repaired at a Toyota dealership for free.

According to Toyota’s letter, the Warranty Enhancement Program offers coverage until October 31, 2016, regardless of vehicle mileage.

After this coverage has expired, secondary coverage is offered from ten years of the vehicle’s first use or 150,000 miles, whichever occurs first. The letter is individualized for each customer, so it should specify the affected vehicle’s VIN and the official first use date.

What Should I Do?

To properly fix the Toyota oil consumption is an extensive repair job that requires the engine to be taken out of the vehicle and taken apart. It requires special lifting equipment and tools that most people do not have in their home garages.

Toyota owners are encouraged to contact their local Toyota dealership’s service department. Be sure to have your vehicle information, including the VIN, on hand when you call.

This number is a unique identifier for your vehicle and will help the service technician discover if your car falls under consideration for this repair.

If your Toyota is out of warranty and can not afford to fix this problem, try using thicker oil. Make sure to check the oil level every week. Do not drive your car if the oil light comes on. Switch to a thicker oil, such as 10W-40. Thicker oil won’t fix the problem but can slow down oil consumption.

We hope you find the Toyota Burns Oil | Excessive Engine Oil Consumption guide helpful. Check these troubleshooting and repair guides for more help on your BMW.