1 qty. Mom's Pride N Joy 2010 TE----Toast!

[watk69]

1 qty. Mom's Pride N Joy 2010 TE----NOT QUITE Toast! UPDATED

So much for free maint. by a Toyota dealership.

Had 10k mile service yesterday w/ oil change- everythng fine before then. no leaks after bringing home.. Head up to our winter home last night.

Saw wisp of smoke after 100 miles into drive in rear view mirror, said to wife slow down a little and watch guages. Saying to myself " this is a Toyota--NFW----that was just mist on the road".. going along our merry way in pitch darkness--being careful watching guages----no engine light at all. One mile from home engine light comes on and car totally dies.

Laying underneath the car on snowy road with flashlight it was apparent all the oil in the car was everywhere on the undercarriage including exhaust, very lucky it did not catch fire while driving - someone was looking out for us.

Thing is I am a gearhead at heart, everything sounded fine and no indication of temperature change, oil light, engine light apparent until catastophic engine failure. I think Larry Miller Toyota in Glendale bought themsleves a 4runner, bet the oil cannister not on tight. We'll know in an hour from local Toyota dealer here in Flagstaff

News at 11---sad day for us

 

[timothy9988]

that stinks - now you have me thinking....I will be scheduling my 10k service for this monday/tuesday. Most definitely performing a double check after the service. I have serious doubts that they even rotated the tires at the 5k check, but forgot to mark them.

Good luck and keep us updated on the customer service and how they deal with the situation.

 

[1000MPH]

Definitely make a complaint through Toyota Customer Experience (800) 331-4331. They need to know how terrible the service is at most dealerships.
Here's a list of issues from my 5k service ("free" that I paid for):
Broken bolt on skid plate
Oil underfilled
Overtorqued lug nuts
Overtorqued oil cannister

Who knows what else I haven't found yet?
Correct oil?
Correctly replaced new o-rings on filter?
New crush washer on drain plug?
Correct torque on drain plug and skid plate bolts?

 

[chmura]

I would advise all of you to do the oil changes yourself if possible. I would never let the dealer touch my car.

I bought a new Lexus IS250 back in 2007 and it comes with a FREE complimentary first oil change. I never got it done. I just did all oil changes myself. Even if the dealer paid ME some money I would not take it in.

Let us know how it goes. They better give you a new 4runner! Hope everything works out.

 

[J.A.]

I would advise all of you to do the oil changes yourself if possible. I would never let the dealer touch my car.

I bought a new Lexus IS250 back in 2007 and it comes with a FREE complimentary first oil change. I never got it done. I just did all oil changes myself. Even if the dealer paid ME some money I would not take it in.

Let us know how it goes. They better give you a new 4runner! Hope everything works out.

Same here, too many horror stories like this over the years forces me to do it all myself.

 

[RAYDAHS]

This is absolutely unacceptable! Take it straight to the top...here's a link to the store managers e-mail Larry H. Miller Toyota Peoria | New Toyota dealership in Peoria, AZ 85382

 

[B'klyn_Mike]

Very sorry to hear that...that really sux!

I take my RAV to a local lube place for that exact reason. When the car is over the 'oil pit' I make it a point to ask the tech questions and watch what he does. I even ask to see the gaskets to make sure they are the new ones.

Management? They don't say anything about me being there - I think they prefer it and try to get other services sold that way. A $5 bill tossed in the 'pit' is nice too. Oh, and the guy putting the oil in shows me the dipstick after letting the vehicle run for a minute or two as well.

Good luck!

Mike :artist:

 

[DaveS]

OMG - that is horrifying ! I am keeping my fingers crossed they don't mess you around with an engine rebuild proposal etc - they owe you a new 4Runner but my guess is you will have to fight for it. Let us know how it goes!

 

[JasonCz]

Are you thinking the engine is seized because of no oil? Then why didn't the check engine light come on or water temp go up?

If it is a catastrophic failure due to lack of oil, I don't envy you because your going to have a difficult time getting the dealer to take responsibility for it. You may have the need for a lawyer very soon.

It's definitely good that it's going to a dealer other then the one that performed the change. Have him document everything, maybe even with pictures of the underside showing oil stains originating from the filter or drain plug area. I would offer him your digital camera and ask him to snap them when hes under the car, or even better, ask if they'll let you under it with them and you can take the pics.

 

[DocMT]

Wow, that sucks and I feel bad for you. But as a self-proclaimed gearhead, I'm surprised you didn't pull the vehicle over for a quick look under the hood at the very first sign of trouble. Especially if the vehicle was just in for service.

 

[harper7]

Wow , sorry for your bad luck. They will probably replace the engine and I doubt they replace the whole truck.

They did that to my mothers old BMW 540i years ago under their free maintenance plan oil change. Parents fought them for a new car,new engine and BMW just rebuilt the engine . She had a mystery oil disappearance problem, like a quart a month after that and they finally put in a new engine.

Unfortunately ,they usually give those jobs to the new inexperienced mechanics........or the ones that they can't trust to do anything else.

 

[Froggy]

The 5th Generation cartidge filter design allows for the slow oil leak you describe if the monkey that installed the filter is careless. Attached is a scan from inside the filter element box. It shows the correct position for the large O-ring included with the element. Unfortunately, it's possible to put the O-ring in a second(Wrong) position that allows for the slow leakage you seem to have experienced. Sure would be good to watch the disassembly process. The filter can't leak if the O-ring is in the correct position, even with the cap not torqued. It will leak, regardless of torque on the cap if the O-ring is improperly installed, which is what it sounds like to me. Good luck!

 

[Froggy]

delete

 

[WFO_Racer]

Free service my ass, took mine in for the 5K the service writer told me Toyota pays them $20.00 USD for that one. They rotated the tires nothing more, did not rebalance them.

Called the Toyota Customer Service line they "took a report" never heard back from them.

I own a 09Rav4 LTD AWD, Tundra Crew Max, 2010 TE Runner this will be my last Toyota product especially with the air pump failures now popping up on Tundras due to a shltty design.

 

[Presta24]

Not to high jack your thread, and somewhat off topic since not a yota but... My wife has a Kia, the canister is in a crappy spot and just a pain to get too w/o the "tool" Kia charges $20 fr am oil change with every 5th one free so I said screw it, lets just take it there (I have always changed the oil on all my cars and do so on my runner an DD) So we take it in on a sat am, get the oil changed, then drive all over town, prolly 100mi or so. We get home and about an hr later I go back into the garage for something and say, damn I cant believe the water drops from the ac havent dried yet. After more inspection I see them all down the drive way and out into the street. Jack er up.....oil everywhere!! Let it down and check the oil level, not even registering! Call kia..oh just bring it back and we will take car of it. Like it was no big deal! Long story short, had them send a tow truck, that I had to call Kia road side assistance for?? WTF!? Made sure I had service documentation of the problem and what they did to fix it. Oh and they gave me/us a coupon for an free oil change, Gee thx buddy, we just ran my wifes DD out of oil. Funny thing is the service guy actually told me, we see this a lot from cars with the oil changed at walmart lmao. So needless to say...I spent $40 on a 27mm gearwrench flex head ratchet wrench and Kia can blow me.

 

[JasonCz]

The 5th Generation cartidge filter design allows for the slow oil leak you describe if the monkey that installed the filter is careless. Attached is a scan from inside the filter element box. It shows the correct position for the large O-ring included with the element. Unfortunately, it's possible to put the O-ring in a second(Wrong) position that allows for the slow leakage you seem to have experienced. Sure would be good to watch the disassembly process. The filter can't leak if the O-ring is in the correct position, even with the cap not torqued. It will leak, regardless of torque on the cap if the O-ring is improperly installed, which is what it sounds like to me. Good luck!

Froggy, that's a great pic. OP should definately take a pic of the O-ring location immediately after removal from the car.

 

[JustLeft]

I anxiously await your update. Hope they do the right thing.

So much for free maint. by a Toyota dealership.

Had 10k mile service yesterday w/ oil change- everythng fine before then. no leaks after bringing home.. Head up to our winter home last night.

Saw wisp of smoke after 100 miles into drive in rear view mirror, said to wife slow down a little and watch guages. Saying to myself " this is a Toyota--NFW----that was just mist on the road".. going along our merry way in pitch darkness--being careful watching guages----no engine light at all. One mile from home engine light comes on and car totally dies.

Laying underneath the car on snowy road with flashlight it was apparent all the oil in the car was everywhere on the undercarriage including exhaust, very lucky it did not catch fire while driving - someone was looking out for us.

Thing is I am a gearhead at heart, everything sounded fine and no indication of temperature change, oil light, engine light apparent until catastophic engine failure. I think Larry Miller Toyota in Glendale bought themsleves a 4runner, bet the oil cannister not on tight. We'll know in an hour from local Toyota dealer here in Flagstaff

News at 11---sad day for us

 

[watk69]

Update

UPDATE - All is well FOR NOW only

Luckily, we learned before the computer will let the engine grenade it will shut it down. We had it towed to Finley in Flagstaff in the middle of the night. They tore the skids off and lo and behold there's that little precious oil drain plug just laying there for all to see in the skidpan after vibrating out.

Well they cleaned all up as best they could, put oil in her and it fired right up. All systems normal. But even the service manager said this engine is not out of the woods, any problems latent from this debacle "may not rear its ugly head for 35-40 k miles---make sure that offending dealer does thorough post mortem and check out---and insist diplomatically but firmly a 100k soup to nuts warranty as a minimum

It seems to run fine, but as an ex boat endurance racer, I know one of our engines running at speed could not survive a second from oil starvation and the results not be anything but catastropic. I just know there is a cylinder wall scuffed or bearing wiped somewhere on Mom's rig, today's oil is good but not that good

We were running about 50 when it died--but I reiterate no rising temp, no engine light, no oil light until it shut down. Toyota informed me that is normal. No big indication of smoke on a pitch black night. If it had been during daytime, of course everything would have been more evident, and I would have pulled over in a heartbeat.

The thing that fooled my judgement was -----this is a farkin Toyota, that wisp I saw in the rear view CAN NOT BE- must be mist on the roadway. I did not factor in human error on a simple service that could go soooo wrong

Will keep you guys posted

 

[1000MPH]

Which drain plug? the pan or the filter? What would cause smoke from a leak at the bottom of the car, just drips on the exhaust? How long were you driving between seeing smoke and shutdown? Hopefully it was a small leak until the plug fell out at which time the engine shut down very quickly due to the immediate oil pressure loss. Does that sound plausible?

 

[watk69]

Which drain plug? the pan or the filter? What would cause smoke from a leak at the bottom of the car, just drips on the exhaust? How long were you driving between seeing smoke and shutdown? Hopefully it was a small leak until the plug fell out at which time the engine shut down very quickly due to the immediate oil pressure loss. Does that sound plausible?

It was the oil pan drain plug, it was 30 miles between wisp of smoke and shutdown. Not enough people behind us on the road to continuously monitor the smoke, and yes it was all over the exhaust pipes hence the source of the smoke. In daytime would have been duck soup to figure out


Like I said this is a Toyota, shouldn't have to worry about crap like this, but the Toyota brain in the car did a good job and saved us