Should I avoid Toyota Used Cars because of Sludge?

Great answer! One other problem that made the sludge situation worse was the very long oil drain interval Toyota used to have, and has now shortened. Stop and go driving and cold weather operation with the long drain interval made the sluge problem worse. Even on 4 cylinder models.

So, if buying a used Toyota of those years , I would like to see the maintenance records to see if oil was changed suffuciently frequent.

Merry Christmas!