Oil gelling related damage-2000 toyota sienna w/v6 with oil gelling. This engine was repaired under toyota's special repair program. The issue is that the repair does not include enough parts to properly return the unit into service without compramising the main and rod bearings, as well as the rear and front seals. I am now faced with a $1400 repair bill for the rear main seal at 65k miles. I beleive that this portion of the engine was comprimised do to lack of oil casued by the oil gelling. The screen was 85% blocked and since the main and rod bearings are the first to be fed oil from the pump, they have experienced accelerated wear. I base this on my discovery when at the dealer. I am an ase certified automotive technician with engine speciality ratings, so I can speak as an expert on this matter. I tried to discuss with toyota corp at the local level and they do not see any reason to continue the discussion.
2000 Toyota Sienna engine complaints
Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 68, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I put my car in the shop at coleman toyota telling them the car wouldn't start. They replaced the ignition chamber and then phoned to say the starter was bad too- they charged me about $575. I picked up the car wednesday march 15 and on march 16 the car just stopped as I was driving to work. The car had to be towed to coleman toyota. They phoned to tell me the engine had "locked" and the car was shot. They refuse to refund me the $575 for the unnecessary repairs and refuse to acknowledge that the engine failure due to "gelling" is a manufacturers defect.
There is an admitted defect in the design of the 1999-2001 toyota sienna and camry engines. The cooling chamber passages to the cylinders were reduced in size to reduce hazardous emissions which had the unanticipated side effect of causing the temperature of the cylinder heads to reach up to 130 degrees. For many owners, this has caused the oil to oxidize forming a sludge in the engine which in our case LED to engine failure in our 2000 toyota sienna van requiring engine replacement at 59,000 miles costing over $8,000. The same situation occurred with our 1999 camry. Toyota claims that this is due to not changing the oil frequently enough, and this may be true. However my brother's friend bought a toyota celica back in the 1970's and never changed the oil, never even opened the hood to add oil or maintenance it at all - just drove it until quit - at 80,000 miles. Granted this is not advisable but evidence suggests that while less than optimal oil change frequencies may contribute to this engine failure problem in the 1999-2001 models, based on other research I have read with other owners having the same problem leading to engine failure in these models even with mileages as low as 29,000 miles, I don't buy toyota's argument. We owned 3 toyota's at the time, 2 camrys and 1 sienna. Because toyota did not own up to this design defect and reimburse owners for the damage caused by their flawed engine design without their providing oil change receipts - (e.g. What if you don't save receipts and/or what if you change your oil yourself)? - for this reason I will never buy another toyota. I own a subaru wrx and am planning to purchase another subaru soon.
Dt: the caller states that the oil in vehicle was disappearing from the engine. He drove 800 miles to florida and had to put 4 or 5 quarts of oil. He has to put that much oil every 1500 miles. Dealer had the vehicle since august 5, 2005 and they could not find the cause of the problem. Manufacturer sent the caller a letter stating the engine could fail because of the oil problem. It was an oil consumption problem.
Engine oil light came on when driving, when taken to dealer, service rep. Indicated this would potentially be a very expensive repair. After a quick search on the internet revealed an "issue" with this engine and a call to toyota national and some "discussions" with the dealer the car was taken for "desludging". Proof of oil changes had to be provided, much discussion about how it was "our fault". Since we are both engineers and typically keep our vehicles a very long time, this was insulting. Van was returned, but oil light came on within 10 miles. It then stayed for quite a while (I think they said it had at least 6 oil changes). No offer of rental car was made. After it was returned within a month it blew a hole through the valve cover (mechanic forget to torque one of the head/cam bolts, bolt backed off and washer blew a small hole in valve cover).oil/smoke everywhere. It burned off oil for months afterward. It was towed back. Hole was on extreme drivers side of engine. Valve cover was replace, bolt/washer either replaced or retorqued.
The engine in my 2000 toyota sienna has a defect that causes engine oil jelling and leads to a total failure of the engine. The problem first occurred at 38000 miles while still under the new car warranty. Toyota fixed the problem by cleaning the sludge from the value area of the engine but this did not eliminate the problem. At 68000, there was a complete failure of the engine that was a result of engine oil gelling. A toyota technician who inspected the car stated that there is scaring of the internal engine parts that indicate a history of oil starvation. The oil starvation problem that caused the engine failure is due to oil gelling problem. Toyota has agreed to extend the warranty on my vehicle to cover this problem for a period of eight years with unlimited mileage, however, they are now refusing to honor this warranty.
2000 toyota sienna's engine was rebuilt last february/march 2004 due to engine oil gel. Had an oil change at toyota dealership last june. Had 82,500 maintenance done at another toyota dealership during the first week of september. It caught fire. Droplets of fire seen falling underneath the engine. Neighbor tried to extinguish the fire but to no avail. Called 911 and they extinguished the fire.
2000 toyota sienna experienced serious sludging problem and had "sludge/gel repair" done by toyota at 58k miles. Service dates: oct 14 and 15, 2002. On july 18, 2004, the sienna (with 81k miles) broke down during a vacation trip. Diagnosis: residual engine damage from sludge problem and inadequate repair LED to failure of a thrust washer/bearing that caused extensive damage to the engine from metal fragments that spread throughout the engine. Estimated repair cost: $7,300. I am currently trying to get toyota to repair the engine at their cost and to cover all of my related costs due to the failure (e.g. Hotel costs, rental car).
While driving between 60 to 65 MPH, the vehicle intermittently stalled out without any warning, which caused loss of steering, and brakes. This incident happened three times on the same day while driving long hours. Vehicle was taken to two different dealerships, and they couldn't find anything wrong with the vehicle.
Toyota sienna ls, year 2000, approx 73000 miles. Always serviced by toyota, electrical system / engine not modified or altered. Drove last friday morning (july 16, 2004) from nc to the dc area. Just before dc, car completely stalled 3 times on I-95, at interstate speed, approx 15 to 20 minutes apart. Each time, the ABS and low tire pressure dashboard light came on. Clock flashed. No check engine light came on. The car recovered within 2 to 3 seconds while moving, but lost speed, as the engine was not running. Radio was not turned on, not sure if it would have lost power also. Could duplicate one stall by turning the headlights on while moving. Again, engine stalled for 2 to 3 seconds, ABS and low tire pressure dashboard light came on. I'm not totally sure, but I think that the RPM and the odometer needle went back to 0 during the engine stalls. But again, I'm not 100% sure on the odometer needle going to "0" , as it all happened fairly fast. Repair attempts: drove to the nearest toyota dealer in dc on the same day, car stalled again as we drove into the dealer ship and came to a complete stand still. (toyota of stafford, tel: 1‑540‑720‑4700, repair ticket 16153) they test drove car for 2 x 20 mins, found no problem, computer did not log any error codes what so ever according to dealer. Drove back to nc, went to toyota dealer in durham, nc today (july 19). Dealer told me that there is nothing they can do, unless the car is stalling right now and told us to return once the "check engine" light is on. It is very disappointing for me that the dealers can not locate this problem and that there is apparently no procedure from toyota for finding critical problems that do not show up in the computer log. It is certainly no fun to have an engine stalling on I-95, while the 18 wheelers catch up with you.
2001 toyota sienna had sludge problem. Toyota fixed but still calls this an owner issue!?? Have seen complaints that these engines have still failed a couple thousand miles after fix. Toyota originally insisted people buy new engines but only cleans them now. What about their modifying this engine starting in july 2001? No problems with those engines. This v6 is in 9 models over 6 years and somehow it's the owners? They replaced my valve covers stating the pcv system is inetgrated into the valve covers. They get clogged and can't be cleaned. Will it take an engine seizing up due to engine failure at highway speeds, and a fatality to get toyota's attention on this? I never received their "letter" of notification. I had owned it brand new off the lot. I can't afford to keep a ticking financial time bomb in my garage.
I am not sure of dates, but our toyota dealer tried to blame us for the "smoking" problem due to the lack of oil changes. We did not slack off on the oil changes, and now they admit that the "smoking" problem is due to bad engine design, or whatever. We have had the van in for repairs several times, but I am not sure of dates, or how much we have spent. The problem has started again, and this time, not only is it smomking, and reads low oil (on the dip stick), but we are now going thru a quart of oil per tank of gas!!! I am about to deal with toyota, and see what they can/will do for us. They originally claimed we had to send them all kinds of info, now, what I am reading, is that they have (not quite) admitted the problem is due to a manufactureing defect, and they claim they will fix it. Toyota has replaced our motor. We brought our van in on a wends, and had it back the following wends. It took them a week because we had some big storms in ga and the power went out for a full day. Other wise, I believe we would have had the van back by tues. As of right now, the van seems to be fine. They had to replace the whole motor, because our old motor (116,000 miles, by the way) was shot. Toyota also paid for a rental car the whole time our van was in the shop. Our next step is to see if toyota holds true to their promise of reimbursing all the money we spent on oil and oil treatments.
Sludge in the engine. Van is in the shop as we speak. Dealer says the repairs will be covered but who is going to cover our lose when we try to sell this van with the pile of crap for an engine? I sat in the office of the service manager and listen to him side-step the problem unitl I could take no more. I then questioned him about any other issues with a 2000 sienna and he looked me right in the eyes and said no. No, until I questioned him about the addtional drive train problem at which time his response was, "oh, um, yeah we did just recieve a letter an that". Toyota and the dealers should be held accountable like a low-life con artist that swindle and scam people. I paid my van off three weeks ago and I'm sitting here looking at a worthless document that is the title. As soon as my van gets out of the shop I'm fixing to spread the word around here about what a crappy deal this is. Do the same in your town too.
Engine sludge problem. Toyota is fixing (although I think they should replace it) it one time. They will not fix it a second time regardless of service records. This is totally unacceptable. We are also concerned that the resale value of the van will be greatly reduced.
Desludge engine, replace valve stem seals and clean out oil pan. Cleaned engine but my concern is that they have not fixed the root cause. Want the engine problem fixed not just cleaned.
At 107,000 miles while driving the motor just cut off. Then would not start. I always have changed the oil at every 3000 miles. Now my mechanic says that the camshaft broke. There can be no other answer than that this engine was a sludge defective motor from the manufacturer.
Problems with tire wear, transmission and power steering pump. The vehicle is on it's fourth set of tires at 45,000 miles due to tracking problem. There was a whine coming from the torque converter pump. The transmission shifted to neutral on three occasions. The dealer never mentioned there was early sludge building up in the oil. The engine made noise and vibrated. Dealer notified. *mr *cb
Ltr fwd fm fhwa re their defective 2000 toyota sienna xle, the van has problems with engine sludge...*mr the vehicle started to blow blue smoke and ran rough. The dealer discovered engine gel deposits. The malfunctioning light had come on due to the oxygen sensor per dealer, the brakes squealed when stopped at low speeds(problem continued), and pulled to the left. The dealer could not duplicate. The engine sludge had come back again due to a burnt hole in the valve which was in the piston. The tachometer illumination appeared to be out and the bulb was replaced. The consumer requested reimbursement for the hotel stay and the vehicle rental. *scc
Ltr fwd fm fhwa re his defective 2000 toyota sienna xle that emits a loud bearing whine, the transmission randomly shifted into neutral. The tires were replaced 3 times due to tracking & pulling problems. *mr the consumer was told by the rep that 31k miles on a michelin was all to expect on this vehicle. The vehicle was on it's fourth set of tires at 55k miles. The tracking problems were resolved on the two sets of four within the first 15k miles. The vehicle downshifted when going between the second and third gears. There were results form an engine oil analysis that may indicate early sludge build up. *scc
I own a 2000 toyota sienna le. I noticed a coolant leak. I took it in to a toyota dealer and discovered the problem was the leak from the cooling pipe. The cause of the problem was the cooling pipe was rubbing against the power steering line (according to the service advisor) and the cooling pipe wore out. I asked if it was a design flaw. He replied that he never saw this before, but there should be something between the cooling pipe and the power steering line to prevent the rubbing. This fix is $410 for parts and labor and is not cover under the extended warranty since it is a pipe that broke. I feel like this is a design flaw by toyota.
The engine developed engine gel deposits, the oxygen sensor and the brakes squeaked. *ak *jb
There were problems with transmission and tire equipment. Mr the vehicle was on it's fourth set of tires due to a tracking problem. There was a whine coming from the torque converter pump. The transmission shifted to neutral on three occasions. Dealer saw indications of early sludge build up in the oil. The engine made noises and vibrated. (dayton/goodyear) *scc *nlm *cb
This 2000 sienna is a lemon. At 50 miles the torque converter needed to be replaced. At 100 miles I noticed that the van pulls to the left at highway speeds of 65 to 70 MPH. At 28,000 miles the front tires firestone were all chewed up belts showing even though we had 3 alignments done in less than a year. The automatic side passenger door got stuck and would not close, dealer replaced door computer, at 15,000miles paint was chipping off the door handles and a short time later paint was chipping off the front hood as well. At around 20k the remote key/alarm started blowing fuses, it's been back 4 time to get fixed w/ nothing done to fix it. This is the circut that has the alarm, clock and dome light. From the very begining the trans. Sometimes would shift either hard or w/ a dely between 1st & 2nd gear then at about 30,100 miles the clutch cable was replaced. A clunk now happens when going from park to reverse esp. When on a hill. It still does not shift from 1st to 2nd right all the time. The sun visor, when it's covering the left drivers side window, will move and hit the driver when making a left turn at anything over 5 MPH. So now every time I make a left hand turn one hand is on the visor and the other on the wheel, when I blew one of the front tires the aaa serviceman couldn't crank the cable that holds the tire back under the van, dealer replaced cable and other parts. The radiocd player skips a lot when going over bumps, have been waiting almost 2 months for the replacment. Mind you we've only had this van less than 2 yrs!!! Other stuff, battery was replace within a year, why I don't know, change door keeps popping open (drivers left side) weather stripping on drivers side at the bottom on the car (not door) is falling apart. Head lights are either not aimed right when in spec. Or bad design. I think this is due to the way the lights are shaped, there is very little light directly in front of you but plenty of light on the 2 sides of the road.
Sludge build up leading to camshaft failure - fast oil level drop.
Our sienna was diagnosed with sludge buildup in may 2000. We were told it was necessary to replace the engine as eventually we will encounter engine failure at some point. Toyota refuses to take responsiblity of this matter and continually blames the owners for lack of maintanence. There have been other owners who have encountered engine failure while driving. We are fortunate to not have had that. However, we have no peace of mind in driving this vehicle every day, with our children mind you, and knowing we could have engine failure at any time. It is very important that an investigation into this matter be done. It is obvious there is a problem as toyota has had over 3000 complaints such as ours. It is only a matter of time before someone is injured or killed as a result of toyotas negligence in this matter. Is there a stipulation that someone nust be injured or killed before an agency such as yours will investigate? That makes no sense. When there is a potential for injury you must follow through. Please.
Sludge problem started at 11111 miles - also tires needed realignment and replacement at only 13115 miles. The van blows blue smoke upon startup. We have been blamed for the sludge problem. We have receipts for oil changes and have done some ourselves. Now we are told, by the service dpt. That we have to change our oil every 1000 miles and check the oil every two days. Been doing a lot of reading on this, and have talked to others - this is a defect in the sienna and other cars, lexus being one. Was told the engine would seize eventually and I would have to put out $5000 - $8000 for a new one. This isn't covered under warranty either.
Engine sludged at 29,080 miles . All oil changes were performed as required per warranty maintenance agreement. An entire engine overhaul is now required.
A knocking sound can be heard coming from engine compartment. Dealer has been contacted, please provide further details.
Engine has failed due to oil leaking at piston rings/sludge. Toyota claiming improper maintenance. Have maintenance records for oil changes at intervals better than recommended. Toyota claims denied because service not performed at toyota. Estimate from dealer for repair is $8,300. There appears to be some other problem with this engine but they won't investigate further due to sludge even though I can prove proper maintenance.
Engine sludge @ 25000, oil changed every 3000-5000 miles, toyota not honoring warranty, contacted attorney.
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