Need Advice on Car recall

[GemParty]

OT- I took my wife's 2006 Toyota RAV4 to the dealer today. It's had several small recall & fixes over the years. I figured this was a gasket it something. I got blindsided today when they were doing a milage test.

Turns out, it's part of an Oil Comsumption problem. It's burning oil and losing it. The fix, is major with all new Pistons. Two days to repair it once they get the parts in a couple months. Ridiculous.

I've lost faith in the brand. I'm worried about us driving safely. I'm sure this hurts resale value. They say it's s 1 yr unlimited miles warranty but it just seems like it's such a major overhaul that's not enough. Wish I could trade it in, but I'm sure it's tagged a problem. Any suggestions, appreciated.

 

[JMick]

Recalls are free, so get it done. Oil consumption isn't going to be a safety issue. It's probably just an issue with the rings so they're doing new pistons. This wouldn't really concern me tbh. If you don't get the recall done, then just make sure to check the dip stick every time you put gas in the car. Add a little oil if needed. On old cars, this was the norm, and nobody died from it.

 

[uchusky32]

Well, 10 years, I think your wife deserves a new vehicle. If not she might think she deserves a new man!

But get it done. Free.

 

[JMick]

Well, 10 years, I think your wife deserves a new vehicle. If not she might think she deserves a new man!

But get it done. Free.

There's nothing wrong with a 10 year old car, and not everyone can afford a new one. If this is a part of a recall the car will be running as good as new, because there is no way they're just going to tear open the motor and just change the pistons. He'll get new head gaskets and I'm sure they'll inspect the internals as well. It's basically a free head gasket repair as well which is great, because they are extremely expensive jobs for something that takes little skill to do. It's just time intensive.

 

[GemParty]

Don't give her any ideas, with the new man thing. I already push my luck with UConn obsession.

 

[uconnfan68]

OT- I took my wife's 2006 Toyota RAV4 to the dealer today. It's had several small recall & fixes over the years. I figured this was a gasket it something. I got blindsided today when they were doing a milage test.

Turns out, it's part of an Oil Comsumption problem. It's burning oil and losing it. The fix, is major with all new Pistons. Two days to repair it once they get the parts in a couple months. Ridiculous.

I've lost faith in the brand. I'm worried about us driving safely. I'm sure this hurts resale value. They say it's s 1 yr unlimited miles warranty but it just seems like it's such a major overhaul that's not enough. Wish I could trade it in, but I'm sure it's tagged a problem. Any suggestions, appreciated.

What years? What engine? Have a 2012 I just got last year to replace my totaled 2003 Suzuki (great little car). We had a 2010 Chevy Equinox that had a recall just like that. New rings and pistons for an oil issue. We traded it in before the 1 year warranty was up.

 

[JMick]

What years? What engine? Have a 2012 I just got last year to replace my totaled 2003 Suzuki (great little car). We had a 2010 Chevy Equinox that had a recall just like that. New rings and pistons for an oil issue. We traded it in before the 1 year warranty was up.

It's probably the 2AZ-FE . There was a class action suit against Toyota for this same issue.

 

[uchusky32]

There's nothing wrong with a 10 year old car, and not everyone can afford a new one. If this is a part of a recall the car will be running as good as new, because there is no way they're just going to tear open the motor and just change the pistons. He'll get new head gaskets and I'm sure they'll inspect the internals as well. It's basically a free head gasket repair as well which is great, because they are extremely expensive jobs for something that takes little skill to do. It's just time intensive.

Jmickly cricket, can a man have some fun! I said get it fixed it's free!

 

[uconnfan68]

It's probably the 2AZ-FE . There was a class action suit against Toyota for this same issue.

Thanks! Great info!

 

[GemParty]

There's nothing wrong with a 10 year old car, and not everyone can afford a new one. If this is a part of a recall the car will be running as good as new, because there is no way they're just going to tear open the motor and just change the pistons. He'll get new head gaskets and I'm sure they'll inspect the internals as well. It's basically a free head gasket repair as well which is great, because they are extremely expensive jobs for something that takes little skill to do. It's just time intensive.

Thanks Mick. It has 90k miles. Didn't drive it much the first several years, but it's s 45 min ride each way to work now.

 

[JMick]

Thanks Mick. It has 90k miles. Didn't drive it much the first several years, but it's s 45 min ride each way to work now.

No worries, if it's free - do it. If it's not, then you will definitely want to monitor exactly how much oil it's consuming. I looked into it and it's an issue with the relief valves in the pistons themselves. They get clogged and don't let oil fall back into the cylinders which causes burn off and consumption. It's obviously an issue but not an insurmountable one. 10/10 times you are better off with a mechanical defect than an electrical or structural issue.

 

[Danzz]

No worries, if it's free - do it. If it's not, then you will definitely want to monitor exactly how much oil it's consuming. I looked into it and it's an issue with the relief valves in the pistons themselves. They get clogged and don't let oil fall back into the cylinders which causes burn off and consumption. It's obviously an issue but not an insurmountable one. 10/10 times you are better off with a mechanical defect than an electrical or structural issue.

Agree, if it is free fix it. You also can expect to burn a bit more oil as the car ages.

 

[AtlHusky]

I had an '05 Sienna that always had electrical issues that would cause stuff to just stop working. We had gone through 4 batteries in about 8 years and things like parking sensors, rear audio control, cruise control etc. would just stop working. It wasn't anything that would effect my driving, but it was very frustrating and I could never justify the repair costs since the issues never posed any safety concerns. At a little over 100K, it developed a much more serious issue, the VSC would randomly start beeping and apply the brakes as the car was going down the road in normal conditions. Took the car in and Toyota wanted $5K to fix 3 different sensors. There was a TSB on it so Toyota knew of the problem, and due to the nature of the issue, knew that it was a major safety issue.

To the OP...lost faith in the brand? Absolutely! Traded it in shortly thereafter and I won't ever buy another Toyota.

This video documents the same issue we were experiencing:

 

[CTKIDD]

Recalls will nearly always expose new issues, we just don't know about them. My 2004 Tacoma has a hole in the floor so they manager tells me Toyota is going to replace the frame for free. Sounds great , loner for a month , new frame.. Well 3500 later, I'm out. It's like you got to hold your breath every time you get an oil change.

 

[Bliss]

Recalls will nearly always expose new issues, we just don't know about them. My 2004 Tacoma has a hole in the floor so they manager tells me Toyota is going to replace the frame for free. Sounds great , loner for a month , new frame.. Well 3500 later, I'm out. It's like you got to hold your breath every time you get an oil change.

I would never pass up a recall for free upgrades (they do seem to expose new issues as you said). A recall for
valve cover gasket on my Monte led to the dealer's report that it had an oil pan gasket leak, needed an alignment, and new front brakes. "Shall we fix this for you?" (at my expense) Nope, had my own mechanic install new brakes and do an alignment. He said the oil pan gasket would require "raising" the motor on a lift and replacement would run about $600. He also said not to worry about it because the leak was just an occasional drip and shouldn't be a problem. Car has 75K on the clock and runs like a dream.

 

[GemParty]

What years? What engine? Have a 2012 I just got last year to replace my totaled 2003 Suzuki (great little car). We had a 2010 Chevy Equinox that had a recall just like that. New rings and pistons for an oil issue. We traded it in before the 1 year warranty was up.

There's a list of models & years on this YouTube channel.

 

[Fishy]

OT- I took my wife's 2006 Toyota RAV4 to the dealer today. It's had several small recall & fixes over the years. I figured this was a gasket it something. I got blindsided today when they were doing a milage test.

Hard to really see what your issue is here....it's a ten year old car.

They're replacing the pistons for free and providing a one-year warranty on the repair.

This is a positive thing. Doofus.

 

[sledog]

Sounds good to me. Replace it. Then you can say you have new pistons when you sell it, and raise the price.

BMW recalled my model ~15 years ago (car was ~7-8 years old at time). Apparently there was some piston wall combustion scaring in V-8s due to ethanol mix in gasoline. While I never saw a performance decline, they replaced the whole block (with new / improved cylinder walls) and labor for free. Dealer was paid by BMW HQ, so they loved it too.

 

[GemParty]

Hard to really see what your issue is here....it's a ten year old car.

They're replacing the pistons for free and providing a one-year warranty on the repair.

This is a positive thing. Doofus.

I think when you take a ten year old engine completely apart there's lots of grey areas on costs/problems down the road. To replace pistons they have to touch dozens of hoses, rings, gaskets, etc. It's a complicated fix. Plus dealers aren't used to variances on building an engine like a factory would be. I'm not even sure if they hone piston cylinders with this fix. Wear/tear items touched are a question mark. It's not like your getting a free motor. Lots can go wrong that might not be covered.

I'll take the high road & ignore the Doofus comment.

 

[Fishy]

This is a run of the mill repair for an auto mechanic.

 

[UConnMike04]

I had the same problem in my old car (08' Accord, recently traded it in when it got over 100K miles). There was no recall until after I already had agreed to trade it in so I never had it done but all I had to do while I had it was keep a small thing of oil (you can get it from any Autozone, Walmart, most gas stations that work on cars) in my trunk and every couple of weeks I'd just check the dipstick. If it was running low I'd put more oil into the car. More of a minor inconvenience than anything else. Also, if you don't want to do that you can just get your oil changed at a garage every 3-4K miles or so instead of every 5 or 6K.

 

[Jaker]

screw the piston/ ring job, tell them you want a whole new engine put in.

 

[CL82]

OT- I took my wife's 2006 Toyota RAV4 to the dealer today. It's had several small recall & fixes over the years. I figured this was a gasket it something. I got blindsided today when they were doing a milage test.

Turns out, it's part of an Oil Comsumption problem. It's burning oil and losing it. The fix, is major with all new Pistons. Two days to repair it once they get the parts in a couple months. Ridiculous.

I've lost faith in the brand. I'm worried about us driving safely. I'm sure this hurts resale value. They say it's s 1 yr unlimited miles warranty but it just seems like it's such a major overhaul that's not enough. Wish I could trade it in, but I'm sure it's tagged a problem. Any suggestions, appreciated.

I will give $500 for it, only because I've always liked you.

 

[Dove]

OT- I took my wife's 2006 Toyota RAV4 to the dealer today. It's had several small recall & fixes over the years. I figured this was a gasket it something. I got blindsided today when they were doing a milage test.

Turns out, it's part of an Oil Comsumption problem. It's burning oil and losing it. The fix, is major with all new Pistons. Two days to repair it once they get the parts in a couple months. Ridiculous.

I've lost faith in the brand. I'm worried about us driving safely. I'm sure this hurts resale value. They say it's s 1 yr unlimited miles warranty but it just seems like it's such a major overhaul that's not enough. Wish I could trade it in, but I'm sure it's tagged a problem. Any suggestions, appreciated.

Look, ya dingus...nothing can replace Brad. He's getting 1 year of unlimited warranty. Take it and run.