gameboy

I have the same experience with the thread starter. I bought my Toyota Altis 1.6 from Toyota Marikina in May of 2003. I religiously followed the preventive maintenance schedule (PMS) of the car bringing it to Toyota Marikina every 5,000 km. I used only Toyota parts and oil for my car. What I immediately noticed everytime my car is serviced at Toyota Marikina is that they always use engine flush everytime the oil is changed. Please note, I only use the ordinary Toyota oil that they recommend and not the synthetic ones. The engine flushing surprised me a lot because this should be done only when you switch oil from synthetic to ordinary or vice versa. Pinabayaan ko na lang i-engine flush kasi mura lang naman ang cost.

Sometime in 2006, I switched to Toyota Makati along Metropolitan Avenue because my girlfriend was working there and secondly, that dealership is owned by Toyota Motor Philippines. Toyota Marikina and Cubao and others are owned by the Metrobank Group of Companies. Bottomline is, I was able to avail of huge discounts plus the fact that the car will be taken cared of much better because of the affiliation of the dealer with Toyota Motor Philippines and the fact that my girl was working in the service department. The first thing I observed when my car was serviced by Toyota Makati is that they did not flush the engine when the oil is changed. Fast forward to October of 2007 and at 78,000 kms, I heard some noise emanating from the engine. I brought the car to Toyota Makati and lo and behold, they discovered the oil in the engine to be half full. Further investigation revealed that my Altis has developed oil sludge in the crank case. The service technicians tried all remedial measures like cleaning the oil sludge (binabad sa sosa and kinudkod) and others. They failed in all their attempts because the engine continued to emit noise and consume oil at the rate of 1 liter every two weeks or even less. When all things proved futile and ineffective, they recommended a general overhaul of the car which they did last month and at a cost of PHP37,000.00 inclusive of the machine shop where the sludge was sand blasted to remove it from the crank case. Please note, the cost is net of the 15% discount on parts and labor and a huge slash on the machine shop from the initial estimate of PHP25,000.00. Ang dami pinalitan. My altis is now working fine again and like brand new. However, I just bought a Honda Civic from Honda Cars Manila and will be using it from hereon. Yung Altis, ibibigay ko sa pamangkin ko.

The question that begs the answer is what caused the general overhaul of the engine of my Altis. Toyota Makati offered two explanations to me namely,

1. The oil that Toyota Marikina used. It is Toyota oil alright but with an additive which they call AMALI OIL. It is different from the oil used in other Toyota dealerships not owned by the Metrobank Group of Companies. Toyota Makati came short of calling the AMALI OIL inferior in quality than the regular Toyota oil. This is the reason why the engine has to be flushed every oil change. The problem could have been avoided if Toyota Makati was made aware that Toyota Marikina was servicing my car before I switched to them. They would have flushed my engine the first tme I used them to service my car. So beware when you have your car serviced with Toyota. Ask first if the dealer is owned by the Metrobank Group of Companies. If it is, go somewhere else.

2. There is a flaw in the engine design of VVTi engines of Toyota. It is prone to engine sludge if you exceed the 5,000 km PMS. That is why you have to make sure that you have your Altis PMS'd every 5,000 km or near that but not beyond that. This was the cautionary notice I got from Toyota Makati when I claimed my car after it was overhauled. To give you an idea on what I am talking about, please search the internet using the key words sludge and Toyota and you will find a wealth of information on the subject including court cases in the United States filed by irate consumers. The problem is not confined to Altis only. All models with VVTi engines are susceptible to sludge if you do not change oil every 5,000 kms. My new Honda Civic requires 10,000 km check up and not 5,000 km.

Yun lang.

My current cars are RX7 Mazda, Mitsubishi Eclipse and Honda Civic.

Just in, a brand new Toyota Corolla Altis. Barely a month old.

My dream car? None.

Profession: Lawyer specializing in rape cases

Age: 45

Location: Makati

School: Mababang Paaralan ng Silanganan

43 po ang nasa EB kagabi hindi 42. I was there also sa Cafe Bola with my friends. Dingding lang po ang pagitan.