Dealer scam or real repair needed?

Thanks, I will do that. And thanks to everyone for their help and comments.

One more thing: find a new mechanic. You don’t need to go to the dealer for maintenance, even when the car is in warranty. Ask everyone you know for a recommendation. Eventually, you will hear a few names several times. Try one of those shops. You don’t have to ask for a Toyota specialist. Just about any shop should take care of lots of Corollas.

Corollas are very easy to service, and most mechanics are familiar with them. Shop around and ask; I often get asked by friends and relatives. I seldom recommend the dealer, except in the case of an unusual car or in a very small town where the dealer is the best choice.

You don’t need the work suggested.

If the timing chain guide/tensioner were bad, you’d hear it rattling.

Regarding the oil pan gasket, that’s BS. Your oil pan is nothing but a pan of oil, bolted to the bottom of the engine with a gasket between the two. The pump draws oil through a tube from about 3/16" from the bottom of the pan. It pumps it around the engine where it lubricates things and then just runs back down into the pan. The crankcase is pressurized by normal “blowby” (combustion gasses that escape past the piston rings). That pressure can push some of the oil past long-compressed gaskets and cause seepage. It’s totally meaningless to the longevity or operation of the engine.

What I’m really wondering here is… why do you keep going back there?
Any competent shop can do anything your car needs. The dealer will just keep telling you things that shake your faith in the car until you give up and buy a new one.

I went to the dealer mainly for the inspection, and thought it would be easy to get the oil change and rotation done at the same time. I pretty much expected to get some bogus repair suggestions, but didn’t know if they might be legitimate. I’m going to find a good mechanic.

Thanks for explaining the oil gasket business.

I’m going to play Devil’s Advocate here for a moment and any comments are just food for thought.

The OP apparently has close to zero mechanical knowledge, so…

How does the OP know that prior recommended repairs were scams?

None of us here have seen the oil pan so no one knows if it’s leaking or not. If there is any question on that the service writer should take the OP out into the shop and point the problem area out. At 9 years of age a leak anywhere is possible.

Regarding the timing belt, or lack of, discussion. Since the OP does not know the difference between a timing belt and a timing chain any chance the belt and belt tensioner discussion involved the serpentine accessory belt and tensioner instead of the T-belt and tensioner?
At 9 years of age I could certainly see those as being due even with low miles.

As to oil sludge, it’s entirely possible to have sludge or coked oil in an engine that sees this very limited type of use. That’s easily determined by scraping the bottom of the oil pan during an oil change, examination of the valve train area, etc.

It’s always difficult for me to have a knee jerk reaction and allocate blame without those all important details being known.

I just read more on Cartalk about timing chains, and about sludge that can be a problem.

If you change your oil regularly then there shouldn’t be any sludge. This engine is not one of Toyota’s sludge problem engines.

I’ve NEVER EVER owned a vehicle in the past 40+ years and hundreds of thousands of miles that ever had an oil leak from the oil pan gasket. Valve Cover gasket - yes…rear main oil seal -yes, timing chain gasket - yes…but NEVER a oil pan gasket.

My only recommendation is to find a new mechanic. A good independent is the best.

If there’s an oily stain anywhere on the engine due to minor seepage, not even enough to drip, the dealer will call it a leak.
it’s what they do.

The timing chain tensioner has an o-ring that seeps oil after a few years.
Yours is at about the age this starts to happen.
The o-ring by itself is ~$5.
The dealer will probably suggest changing the whole tensioner.
It’s not a difficult DIY job. Did it on my 2006 Matrix a couple years ago.

I recommend ignoring most oil leaks until they drip or affect the oil level.

@ok4450

“As to oil sludge, it’s entirely possible to have sludge or coked oil in an engine that sees this very limited type of use.”

I doubt it

OP said they get the oil changed every 6 months, which seems to be every 2000 miles, based on the limited use

Given the limited usage, OP is maintaining the car the correct way to prevent sludge

If OP was only changing it every 5000 or so, based on mileage, I might agree with you

But that’s not the case here

Well never ever say never. On my Buick at about 450,000, I did have a bad oil pan gasket leak. About a quart a week (600 miles). It wasn’t bolts loose or anything. I put a new gasket on myself for $20 and that took care of it. The only one in my life though that I ever had leak that didn’t just require tightening the bolts, but it did happen to me once.

Playing Devil’s Advocate again as usual, I might state that pointing out what appears to be a minor leak is not always an event that should be looked at as thievery.
If the customer has fear tactics used on them that a very slight, negligible leak is going to be the end of their car within a week then yes, that’s a problem.
If the customer is told that slight leak is tolerable at the moment but could become a problem at some point in time I don’t see an issue with pointing things like that out to the customer.

The same goes for other areas.
What if a mechanic pointed out a tiny crack in a CV boot that was slinging a tiny amount of grease…
Or if he pointed out an oozing water pump…
Or slight oil weepage that appears to be coming from a timing belt cover…
Or a slight transmission fluid leak around a halfshaft seal…

Those are all things that can be tolerable one week and serious the next.

A belt is made of rubber and is outside the engine. A chain is metal and inside the engine with oil on it. If your four cylinder is making scraping noises there could be a problem with the chain but I don’t think so. Timing chains can last a very long time and timing belts could fly apart today. Oops, I see that there are two more pages of answers. Sorry if I added to the answer. There isn’t an oil pan leak unless you let them fix it; then there will be.

When I bought my most recent car three years ago the oil pan was an oily mess. I could have lived with it, I usually park on gravel. I resealed the oil pan for personal satisfaction and it has remained clean. The engine oil pan cools better without a 1/4" of oil and dirt on the outside, not a concern for most people but it is 110F plus here. Did I scam myself?

Well never ever say never. On my Buick at about 450,000,

After 450k mikes - anything is possible. I’ve only kept one vehicle that long.

Ugh…

:grin:

Your first mistake was to take the car to the dealer. Once the warranty has run out, take it to a reputable independent mechanic (check the mechanics files on this website). Even if the dealer is honest (is there such a thing?) they will charge you twice as much. But whoever it is, if they tell you you need something, don’t be afraid to ask, “how do you know that?” Make them show it to you or demonstrate. It sounds like the tensioner thing, if real, maybe had to do with the serpentine or accessory drive belt(s), not the nonexistent timing belt.