320K with no maintenance other than occasional oil changes? Pretty impressive. Toyota definitely designs their cars to be tough.
Most people really like their Toyotas and there are plenty of 30 year old ones out on the road that seem to run about like new. One exception was a friend with a 2007 Camry. Apparently this was a bad year for whatever reasons and the car was basically a lemon. They were good about changing the oil but this one drank it quite nicely. It burned through at least a quart per week. They had no problem selling it though because it was a Toyota. I seem to remember it only had about 150k when they got rid of it which I didnât think was all that great for a Toyota. Toyota isnât perfect but I agree they make overall reliable but not the most exciting cars out there. Apparently that formula has worked quite well for them so I wouldnât suggest changing it.
You might be in an unusual area. Vehicle bodies last a very long time in the desert but there are few 30 year old Toyotas here. There are Landcruisers and MR2s around as collectors but generally not seen on the road.
The 30 year old vehicle that I see daily are mid-sized and full-sized GM cars and Chevrolet pick-ups.
After thinking, the ones I see are more like 25 years old. They are usually the Corolla or Chevy/Geo Prism flavor. I see a few older Toyota trucks but donât see many Camrys of that vintage.
Cars do rust here as they salt the roadsâŠ
Isnât this becoming more of the norm?
Going to 150k with nothing but oil changes doesnât seem that unusual these days, especially for cars getting mostly highway miles. Fluids have improved as well as the mechanics of cars themselves. Another issue with newer cars is the electronics which can be super expensive to repair once the warranty expires. The engine and transmission may be perfectly fine but some body control module fails or the electronic controls in the dash go out.
One of the posters here @db4690 has mentioned here about an oil consumption problem known to exist on some of the new-ish Toyota engines as I recall. I forget what the exact cause was tho. Maybe it was the piston rings were working their way to a position where the gaps aligned, something like that.
2AZ-FE engine rings and pistons
No . . . itâs not ârings were working their way to a position where the gaps alignedâ
Where did you get that idea . . . ?
That would mean that some dope assembled the engine wrong
I recall hearing about that problem happening on some major manufacturerâs engine a few years ago. I donât remember which manufacturer or engine it was tho. Maybe somebody here remembers.
I remember seeing that as well about the ring gaps aligning and causing major oil consumption issues but donât recall the engine. I did a search on the topic and it seems that certain Toyota and Honda engines MAY have an issue with this. I donât know as it is just what people say in online forums.
The friend who had that 2007 model Camry was pretty disappointed with all the issues they had. Oil consumption was just one of them but this was the major one and most costly to fix so the car was gotten rid of. The rate of consumption seemed to be getting worse with time and then the rear main seal started to leak so he suspect there might have been excessive blowby pressurizing the crankcase beyond what the PCV could handle.
I remember seeing that this was a bad model and year for Toyota. It was a complete lemon for he and his wife. She got a job where she had to drive through a rough part of town and the rate of problems was increasing so they moved it along.
Toyota announced a warranty extension on vehicles with the 2AZ engine in December, 2014. The oil consumption issue is covered for 10 years from the in-service date/150,000 miles. If the car had less than 150,000 miles they may have been eligible for a free repair.
I think this is about when they got rid of the car actually. I am pretty sure it would have been eligible for the repair which probably would have basically been a complete engine rebuild or a replacement engine.
Thereâs quite a few of the 1990âs Corolla versions still on the road here in the San Jose area. It would be unusual in fact not to see one or two just driving about town. Less commonly seen on the freeway for some reason. Just within a block or two, I have one, and two of my neighbors still drive theirs, not as daily drivers but second cars.
The only way to tell if a fluid (like motor oil) is worn out is to send it to a lab to have it tested, and that usually costs so much itâs just cheaper to change it than it is to have a lab analyze it.
That is a common thought process. But, once you see an oil report and understand it, you realize the value of an oil test is not IS THE OIL STILL GOOD!
If you have valve train wear, it shows up in the oil test. Ditto for bearing wear; coolant contamination; blow-by; almost anything nasty that happens in the motor will be identified by the oil test.
You are correct it makes more sense if your only concern is, is the oil bad now, to just replace it.
But, if your motor has a problem, you wonât know it if you just replace the oil without testing.
You need not do it every time. Once in the summer; once in the winter if you live in the Snow Zone, and you can get an idea how bad your driving pattern is for that season, instead of guessing.
On the one hand, we are told if you care for your car, you will replace the oil at xxxx miles, just as a guess or personal opinion. No, if you care for your car, you will spend a modest amount and find out the true condition of your motor, as well as the condition of your oil at a given mileage.
Let me repeat, though, as always, during warranty, you MUST follow warranty directions no matter what an oil test says about the condition of the oil.
I started this answer, and was interrupted overnight. If someone has said the same thing, I would not know it.
A dope on the engine assembly line is not impossible. Also sabotage by a disgruntled employee.
You did not state if your friend was the original owner. That is often a requirement of extended warranty.
Iâm retired military aviation. Oil and other (hydraulic) fluid analysis is required at regular intervals based on flight hours or time and changed accordingly. It can find something failing before it fails.