My 2001 Highlander with 80K miles is using about 1 quart of oil for every 600-700 miles.
The dealership is doing a required Toyota oil consumption monitoring. The current thinking is that the Highlander may need a ring/valve job.
If that is the case, what is involved in a ring/valve job? Should I ask for additional work (e.g.,new valve covers, etc.) in order to be sure that I will not have additional problems later (the extended warranty is in March 2009)? Anything else I should be aware of?
Thank you
This is unusually high oil consumption for a low-mileage Toyota.
The rings go around the pistons, and the valves are in the cylinder head. You may need one (most likely rings) and not the other, depending on why the oil consumption is so high.
If they will throw in a valve job, fine, but it may not be necessary. When they take the engine apart, they will replace the gaskets, etc. Valve covers don’t wear out, just the gaskets that seal them.
As long as the job is done correctly there should be no problems of this nature in the future.
I would recommend a compression check first; this will determine where the problem is. The dealership should do more than “think”; they should conduct a test to accurately pinpoint the problem.
As mentioned, this is very unususal for a low mileage Toyota. If the car blows some blue smoke on startup, and when you take your foot off the gas at highway speed (look in the rearview mirror), you may have leaking valve guides. This prioblem is much cheaper to fix, and does not require disasembling the engine.
If a engine mechanical problem is found to be the cause is your warranty company saying the way the situation will be handled will be to repair the old engine? I hope this job gets dispatched to a Tech with the skills for this kind of repair.Years ago most Techs had internal engine repair skills,now the jobs are so infrequent,I don’t have the data but I suspect a independant shop sees more of this kind of work.Does your warranty say on the Dealer can repair your car under extended warranty?
Replacement of piston rings essentially means an engine rebuild and this is expensive.
With rings, there’s a dozen ways of doing this but only one by the book, correct one.
The oil consumption is too high for sure and very unusual for an 80k miles Toyota.
Did you buy this vehicle new or used? If used, it’s possible the oil consumption could be caused by abusive drivng habits, an episode of overheating, or failure to change the oil often enough. The latter can lead to gummed up oil control rings on the pistons and this leads to excessive oil consumption.
I have on '01 Highlander with 77K that also eats incredible amounts of oil, but only on high speed long trips. A 300 mile trip at 70-75 MPH will take a quart. For local usage, there is no such loss. It has been doing this for some time. I noticed the oil pressure light would come on when I hit the brakes after coming off an exit ramp from a highway
Now, I just make sure to check oil before long trips, and I travel with unopened quarts in the back with the spare.
I change oil completely every 5K.