Sludge 2003 Rx Or Hylander?

lenore · December 8, 2008

Does anyone know whether the sludge issue on the 2003 toyota and lexus imze engine has been addressed for warranty work?

My neighbor has a 2003 manufactured date hylander that has massive sludge issue at 50k miles with all oil changes done at Toyota until the 36k mark. Then the rest of the maintenance was done elsewhere. It really sucks as he is getting smoke after startup for about a 2 minute interval. He had the sludge professionally cleaned by a mechanic. But the smoking is still happening. Any thoughts or ideas of what he could do at this point. HE want s to replace the engine with a used one with 40k miles on it. I think toyota should be held accountable. I cant believe how bad the sludge was at 50k miles and the dealership had changed the oil last with a full synthetic before this discovery. I got a check engine light with a P0222 code when he noticed the problem. Can this engine be still good and the cleaner is still throwing crap in the catalytic converter?

code58 · December 9, 2008

Does anyone know whether the sludge issue on the 2003 toyota and lexus imze engine has been addressed for warranty work?
My neighbor has a 2003 manufactured date hylander that has massive sludge issue at 50k miles with all oil changes done at Toyota until the 36k mark. Then the rest of the maintenance was done elsewhere. It really sucks as he is getting smoke after startup for about a 2 minute interval. He had the sludge professionally cleaned by a mechanic. But the smoking is still happening. Any thoughts or ideas of what he could do at this point. HE want s to replace the engine with a used one with 40k miles on it. I think toyota should be held accountable. I cant believe how bad the sludge was at 50k miles and the dealership had changed the oil last with a full synthetic before this discovery. I got a check engine light with a P0222 code when he noticed the problem. Can this engine be still good and the cleaner is still throwing crap in the catalytic converter?

Hi Lenore- Do you have any idea what the "professional cleaning by a mechanic" actually entailed? Having worked in automotive all my life I can assure you not all mechanics are created equal. Though I have worked with a few really good mechanics, it saddens me to say I feel they are in a clear cut minority. The one thing (among many others) that your neighbor needs to do is a compression check to see if the rings actually seem to be worn or stuck. My bet is the damage is done but there is a lot more checking that needs to be done before that determination can be made. I actually laugh when someone says or advertises "maintained by professional mechanic". I could tell you horror stories till the cows come home of the things I have seen "professional mechanics" do over the years- and that was almost all in dealerships! It ain't pretty!

lenore · December 9, 2008

Does anyone know whether the sludge issue on the 2003 toyota and lexus imze engine has been addressed for warranty work?
My neighbor has a 2003 manufactured date hylander that has massive sludge issue at 50k miles with all oil changes done at Toyota until the 36k mark. Then the rest of the maintenance was done elsewhere. It really sucks as he is getting smoke after startup for about a 2 minute interval. He had the sludge professionally cleaned by a mechanic. But the smoking is still happening. Any thoughts or ideas of what he could do at this point. HE want s to replace the engine with a used one with 40k miles on it. I think toyota should be held accountable. I cant believe how bad the sludge was at 50k miles and the dealership had changed the oil last with a full synthetic before this discovery. I got a check engine light with a P0222 code when he noticed the problem. Can this engine be still good and the cleaner is still throwing crap in the catalytic converter?

Hi Lenore- Do you have any idea what the "professional cleaning by a mechanic" actually entailed? Having worked in automotive all my life I can assure you not all mechanics are created equal. Though I have worked with a few really good mechanics, it saddens me to say I feel they are in a clear cut minority. The one thing (among many others) that your neighbor needs to do is a compression check to see if the rings actually seem to be worn or stuck. My bet is the damage is done but there is a lot more checking that needs to be done before that determination can be made. I actually laugh when someone says or advertises "maintained by professional mechanic". I could tell you horror stories till the cows come home of the things I have seen "professional mechanics" do over the years- and that was almost all in dealerships! It ain't pretty!

I agree with you, The guy that did the professional cleaning (quote from my neighbor he said he uses a solution only available to mechanics) charged him $300. As far as I can see the valve covers were not removed. I agree with you he needs to do a compression or leak down test. I agree with you about mechanics (not my trade) however I am a meticulous when doing mechanical work. I have rebuilt three engines and one automatic transmission on my own and was successful on all three. I am self taught and you may laugh, but I learned the hard way on British sports cars, and you know how undependable those were in the 60 and 70's . I enjoy your posting by the way I kind of relate with you when fixing things properly and making do when necessary (ie door lock solenoids). I feel for my neighbor, whom is no slouch when it comes to fixing things, He tears in and goes, but is not meticulous is his work. I think he should be pushing Toyota, after all it is obvious the sludge problem was not fixed in 2003....

code58 · December 10, 2008

Hi Lenore- Do you have any idea what the "professional cleaning by a mechanic" actually entailed? Having worked in automotive all my life I can assure you not all mechanics are created equal. Though I have worked with a few really good mechanics, it saddens me to say I feel they are in a clear cut minority. The one thing (among many others) that your neighbor needs to do is a compression check to see if the rings actually seem to be worn or stuck. My bet is the damage is done but there is a lot more checking that needs to be done before that determination can be made. I actually laugh when someone says or advertises "maintained by professional mechanic". I could tell you horror stories till the cows come home of the things I have seen "professional mechanics" do over the years- and that was almost all in dealerships! It ain't pretty!

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I agree with you, The guy that did the professional cleaning (quote from my neighbor he said he uses a solution only available to mechanics) charged him $300. As far as I can see the valve covers were not removed. I agree with you he needs to do a compression or leak down test. I agree with you about mechanics (not my trade) however I am a meticulous when doing mechanical work. I have rebuilt three engines and one automatic transmission on my own and was successful on all three. I am self taught and you may laugh, but I learned the hard way on British sports cars, and you know how undependable those were in the 60 and 70's . I enjoy your posting by the way I kind of relate with you when fixing things properly and making do when necessary (ie door lock solenoids). I feel for my neighbor, whom is no slouch when it comes to fixing things, He tears in and goes, but is not meticulous is his work. I think he should be pushing Toyota, after all it is obvious the sludge problem was not fixed in 2003....

Lenore- I would love to remove the front valve cover and see what the top side of your neighbors Toyota looks like. I'm betting I know, but maybe I'm wrong. Always glad to hear when someone cares enough to do something right. I used to be a perfectionist. I realized one day many years ago how difficult it can be to live around a perfectionist. I told my wife I am leaving perfectionism behind (and I did) but I didn't leave behind a standard of quality that I could be proud of. I decided in my teens (working in a Lincoln-Mercury dealership) that if I couldn't do better than what I saw the "professional" mechanics do, shame on me! I have worked on my own vehicle to this day, and will til I can't do it any more. I love a challenge. I spent the last 8 years of my working career doing Special project outfitting for the Sheriffs department. I absolutely loved it. Was given free reign to use my creativity and built some very interesting projects. They came and asked for things that they had never had before and it was a pleasure to create them. I'm retired now but still have to smile at a job that I couldn't wait to get to each day and had a very hard time leaving. I won't say how old I was but I've always been young at heart and in body. :D

Lenore- I did laugh because you did learn the hard way (working on British cars)! :lol:

lenore · December 10, 2008

Hey code 58, He finally found out the solution, it was from the BG products. so much for what it did, the car is using 1qt every 400 miles. He went and got a used engine yesterday. I walked over and the front camshaft sprocket was bent in toward the cylinder head. I asked if he noticed and he hadnt. So the engine goes back today for another which has 50k miles on it. I really feel sorry for the guy as I feel Toyota should have been hit up for this. Time will tell on this episode. Maybe I will standback and take pictures of his experience (yea I will probably help it is my nature) I used to be an absolute perfectionist also, but it does create tension, so as you I reserve it for my work, and not others. I give my opinion when asked....