Warning About Toyota Cars

[superfunkibey]

Just a little heads up for those who have or are planning to buy a Toyota car.

 

Our 1.6 Toyota Altis automatic was bought way back in 2002, I personally liked the huge body and style of the car. And because it was a Toyota I was expected it to live up to the Toyota standards of quality and longevity. Fast forward to the present... its 2007 and our cars has about 40,000 kilometers on it, which in my opinion isn't a lot.

 

But lo and behold, the car suddenly becomes sluggish and has black smoke coming out of the muffler. But when brought to Toyota Quezon Avenue for a check up is given a clean bill of health (change oil lang daw). 2 days later my driver reported that during his daily checklist routine he found that the car had no more oil in it! A fact confirmed by Toyota Quezon Avenue when I brought it to them that same day, and guess what else they told me. They said I needed to have my engine overhauled. OVERHAULED!!! When 2 days ago it was given a clean bill of health and when the car only has 40,000kms on it.

 

I opted to have my car fixed at a auto shop my friend (who used to work for toyota) recommended. In short I spent 40K or so on the car. Sucks aint it. But this isnt just a rant about my personal experience. Because I know of another person who had the same exact trouble on his car. He is a very good friend from high school who I met a few weeks ago during our group reunion. He casually mentioned his complaints about his toyota to which I asked for more details.

 

Turns out he bought his toyota on the same year as I did, but get this. His car only has 18,000kms on it. Same symptoms (sluggishness, black smoke) and exact same diagnosis from Toyota Quezon Avenue , complete overhaul; where my friend spent in excess of 100k.

 

To get to the bottom of this I went back to the head mechanic of the auto shop I brought my car to. He used to work for Toyota and he said the people at toyota did admit to him of certain design flaws in the engine. Specifically he said that the oil pump of the car is too small and this is the main cause of engine failure. Since the oil pump is too small it cannot circulate the oil throughout the engine and as any mechanic knows, this will definitely cause the engine to need a premature overhaul.

 

He also said this doesn't just apply to the Toyota Altis but to all cars in their stable that has 1.6 and lower engines (Altis, Vios and the new one which I forget what its called) . Only the 1.8L Altis is said to be free from this defect.

 

So a word of warning to all potential car buyers out there. Just remember a brand name is just that, and is never a guarantee of quality.

[CodenameV]

Hi there, I'm read your original post in Tsikot about your Altis. If you are posing a warning, you have to mention that you didn't follow the recommended oil change schedule. That's the first rule about maintaining your car's engine.

 

Also, Toyota Quezon Avenue has the worse reputation among all the casas of Toyota. I experienced that first hand when i had my Vios brought there for it's 1st 1,000 km checkup. Lousy service and they even damaged my car's paint. I normally have my car serviced at Toyota Shaw before and now at Toyota Otis. It's already 41,000km and counting.

Btw, I'm not working for Toyota nor am i connected them in any way.

[S14]

yes meron ako na heard of that problem about overhauling of the altis but the problem is the owner never chaneg oil and cause the engine to be overhaul. Binibigyan ng owner yung driver ng pera ng pang chaneg oil but apparently the driver is putting the cash in his pocket.

[David Aames]

Whoa, bad driver... Its really wise to really see for yourself that you follow your PMS so it'll prolong the longevity of your ride.

[pangcarshow]

ndi na un kasalanan ng altis mo bro or ng toyota. madami akong kilala naka altis and wala sa altis club ang nakaranas ng gnyang problem.

 

change oil every 5,000 kms

[David Aames]

Correct... wag magtipid sa PMS kung ayaw mo maging 'sluggish' ride nyo.

[fir3st0rm]

maybe it's not the car that sucked but the siranicos of toyota quezon ave.

[Guest foxtrotbravo]

:thumbsdownsmiley:

Edited December 16, 2007 by foxtrotbravo

[superfunkibey]

superfunkibey,

 

maybe we should get our group together and build a data base. we can probably have the engine replaced or at least get our money back (I spent P63k for the same oil defect overhaul on my 2003 with 25,000 mileage)). I know of two others in the same boat. that makes 5 of us already.

 

if interested to pursue, this my moblie is 0917xxxxxxx. text or pm if ever.

 

I knew there are others like me...

 

By the way, even if you dont follow the recommended oil change schedule it is not supposed to cause this kind of damage. Mga tol I have had my share of vehicles, I never follow oil change recommendations ( sa adventure ko nga 1 year bago ako magpalit) but this is the only car that needed an overhaul.

 

Besides, my friend did follow the oil change schedules, but even if he did not. How can u explain needing an overhaul after 18,000 kms?

[superfunkibey]

And besides...Since its the oil pump that is defective.. Even is you change your oil everyday is won't be of help.

 

Pag masakit ba tiyan mo iinum ka ng gamot pang-ubo?

[kuplet]

lol nice one super. Another one of those "sorry na lang Sir" cases. Tsktsk... I wonder if something like this happens to the US - I am sure that Toyota would make drastic actions...but sad to say not here.

 

Toyota is more than capable of defending itself. I hope that one day, consumers will learn to protect each others interest.

[Roberto Puducay]

Ung casa po sir ang may kasalanan, not toyota in general, kasi po, regular wear and tear nalang po ng engine parts yan eh (kahit naman po siguro BMW, Mercedez, Honda nasisira din naman po ang parts nya), ang naging problema po, is that hindi chineck ng casa kung sira na ung oil pump or any part in particular.

 

Normally po, pag hindi po tayo nagpapa maintenance regularly, mas umiiksi po ang buhay ng ating mga sasakyan..

 

"Oil Pump Failure

With regular oil and filter changes, an original equipment oil pump should last the life of the engine. Today, that means upwards of 150,000 miles or more. But some oil pumps may not go the distance because the pump is the only internal engine component that runs on unfiltered oil all the time. If the vehicle owner neglects regular oil changes and/or drives his vehicle in a dusty or dirty environment, the pump will suffer the consequences." - http://www.aa1car.com/library/2005/us020516.htm

 

Meaning hindi lang po sa mileage ang basehan ng breakdown ng engine part. Pag nasira po ang Oil pump nyo, ang mangyayari po nyan ay masisira po talaga ang engine nyo, kasi po lahat ng moving parts masisira. "An oil pump failure is like cardiac arrest because the results are often fatal." - http://www.aa1car.com/library/2005/us020516.htm , to which ang nangyari sa inyo po ay overhaul. Mas makakamura pa nga po siguro kayo kung bumili nalang kayo ng surplus na engine eh.

 

Malalaman nyo rin naman po yan kung nauubusan na po kayo ng oil or sira ung oil pump kasi po mag iilaw naman po sa gauges nyan. Kung na-check nyo po yan personally, at hindi po driver lang ang gumagamit, siguro po na-isalba pa ang makina nyo po.

[pinoymuffdiver]

We've had so many Toyotas in our family and so far no problems whatsoever. Parts are everywhere and cheap vs. other Japanese brands and the car is reliable and matibay except for the early 80's models which are rust magnets.

 

The thing is we never went back to the casa for maintenance of our cars from the day we bought them, even with the freee warranty thing. Why? Because (my dad's observation) the guys there are mostly young aprentice boys who are doing their OJT's from technical schools and newly grads from vocational schools AND most of them don't own cars. They know the theories but lack the experience. I think its not Toyota, it's the service quality of that particular casa.

 

I don't work for Toyota.

[Google]

superfunkibey,

 

maybe we should get our group together and build a data base. we can probably have the engine replaced or at least get our money back (I spent P63k for the same oil defect overhaul on my 2003 with 25,000 mileage)). I know of two others in the same boat. that makes 5 of us already.

 

if interested to pursue, this my moblie is 0917xxxxxxx. text or pm if ever.

 

bro, i would suggest that for the database, you try to visit grupotoyota.com. baka may mga nakaencounter na din sa kanila neto.

but i would have to agree with the previous posts here that you have to comply with the regular oil change requirements of your vehicle.

Edited March 16, 2007 by Google

[Bitoy30]

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