Blklex96

I agree with keeping your car maintanined on a regular basis. I also want to post this response I received regarding some recourse on these engines. Hope this helps the rest of you guys. ..

Has Toyota notified you about its "Customer Support

Program" for "Engine

Oil Gelation?"

Who: Owners of 1997-2002 Toyota and Lexus vehicles

with 3.0L IMZ V-6

engines and all 1997-2001 Toyota vehicles with the now

discontinued 2.2L

four cylinder engines. Nine models are included.

What: Engine oil sludge accumulation in the oil pan,

valve covers, and/or

cylinder heads with possible symptoms such as blue

smoke on cold start up

and oil consumption. Toyota maintains this "oil

gelation" is caused by the

owner's improper maintenance of the vehicle! The

owners disagree.

When: Former, current, and repeat repairs for

sludge-related damage are

covered for a period of 8 years from date of first

sale or lease with

unlimited mileage. This coverage includes all

reasonable incidental

expenses. If questions, consult with affected owners

in the groups listed

below.

Where: Effective April 3, 2002. Contact the Toyota

hotline at

1-888-802-9436. You'll be asked to show a reasonable

effort (not all oil

change receipts are required) to regularly maintain

your vehicle. Toyota

considers this a generous offer especially since the

owner is at fault!

Proceed cautiously.

What if you have received no letter? OR, you want more

information?

1) First, notify Toyota via certified letter with

return receipt requested

and give your case details. Let it know you have NOT

received your letter.

Ask it when you will get your letter, too.

2) Notify the National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration at

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov and the Federal Trade

Commission at

http://www.ftc.gov. NHTSA: 1-800-424-9393.

3) Also, file with the Center for Auto Safety at

http://www.autosafety.org

and Consumer Affairs at

http://www.consumeraffairs.com. Read other owner

stories there.

4) Visit the "Toyota" folder in Cartrackers "Forums"

at

http://www.cartrackers.com and find the links to

articles listed there. You

should also post your own story there for others to

read.

5) Read the third Automotive News article "Toyota

broadens sludge-repair

program--Automaker alters V-6, insists neglect is

cause" by Richard Truett

published on April 4, 2002.

What if you want to do MORE in the way of consumer

action? OR, you don't

qualify for CSP?

6) Join other owners in the "Toyota Sludge Yahoo

Group" at

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/toyotasludge. Subscribe

at

"toyotasludge-subscribe@yahoogroups.com." Post at

"toyotasludge@yahoogroups.com."

7) Join "Toyota Owners Unite for Resolution" at

http://communities.msn.com/ToyotaOwnersUniteForResolution.

Read other owner

stories there.

8) Visit the "Complaint Station for Toyota" at

http://www.thecomplaintstation.com. Please ignore

those who are strongly

countering the legitimate complaints of other Toyota

owners who have had

major problems.

9) Visit Edmund's Town Hall at http://www.edmunds.com.

First, you must

obtain a login and password to be able to access the

original (over 6,000

posts) "Engine Sludge?" discussion that began January

5, 2001. There are

other Toyota sludge discussions. All Toyota sludge

discussions have been

CLOSED at this site as of May, 2002.

10) Read other stories and post your own at

http://www.RipOffReport.com

under "Toyota" or "Lexus."

11) Contact cblake@erols.com for more resources and

links, as well as to

discuss other concerns with your Toyota vehicle,

customer service, or

warranty issues. Network with other owners to stay

informed on these auto

consumer matters and to work collectively!

Stay-tuned?

Is it lack of oil changes or is it something that is common with the Toyota/Lexus engines? There are several web sites out there that have documented on-going problems with engine sludge. After just experiencing this myself, I am trying to investigate if this is a common problem. I have noticed several other members mentioning the same symptoms-excessive smoke on start up, faster oil consumption, etc. Anyone have any other feedback on this?

I would be more concern with the "sludge" than the wheels. If the engine locks up, you 'ain't ' a' gonna anywhere, anyway! Thanks for the info on the web site. I'll check it out and see what happens.

I did contact the dealer I bought it from and the owner promised to reimburse for the repairs up to 1000.00.

Hopefully he will keep his word after the reparis are complete. It was nice that the Lexus dealer gave me a RX330 to ride around in while mine is in the hospital... :P

This is exactly what is happening to my 96 that I just bought. I took it to the Lexus dealership and they pulled the head cover off. There was sludge all inside the engine. They said it was due to lack of regular oil changes. They couldn't find any records on the car except when it was first sold. Like yours, it was burning oil too much-I was having to put at least two quarts in each week. On start up, it would smoke for awhile but after the engine warmed up, it would stop. I would have them take a look inside and see if you have too much sludge built up. This will also kill your gas mileage. If not corrected, they said it will eventually lock up the engine. Hopefully, it won't be as bad as mine. When their done-I'm looking at 3000-3500.00 in repairs, parts, labor. :(

Before I say anything, I spent the last 2-3 hours sifting through this entire forum to look through all the topics. :D I saw a lot of topics, but not very many problems for the 96 models of ES300s. I guess no news is good news...

I've recently won a bid on a 1996 Lexus ES 300. There are no service records, 119635 miles on the car, and sold at $5200 and change.

According to the used car dealer, a timing belt has been changed, but he isn't sure at what mileage. >< He could just be saying this to make me feel comfortable. I called the Lexus dealership and they quoted a price of $1500 for a "60 point" (includes timing belt, flushing fluids, etc). If there's one thing I learned from reading all those topics, I'm also going to give a Toyota dealership a call and see if they do the same work.

My question to the experts is, what should I be looking/checking for, when I go and inspect this car. Couple of things is to check the shocks, brakes (sputtering), error codes on the hvac, the speedometor light, oil fluid, brake fluid, etc. I'm not going to hand the money for the car if it's broke. Can you guys give me some more stuff for a checklist?

For reference: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...item=2453977981

Thanks for all your help in advance and patience for a first time owner of a car.

Some other things you might want to check out. Make sure the oil was changed regularly. I just bought a 96 ES300 and it started smoking when it started up. They pulled the head cover off and there was sludge all inside as thick as molassis. Couldn't find that by just changing the oil (which they did previously), you have to get inside and see it. Like yours, there were no service records that the dealership could pull up on their database. Worse yet, this car only has 55,000 miles. Also, if you ever get a Check Engine light and they determine it is the Charcoal cannister, there is a new EPA recall out that the 95-96 falls under (within a certain VIN number) that will allow them to replace it at no charge. That will save you about 450.00 (if Lexus performs the work).

Best of luck with your "new" car. :)

Have you guys ever tried WD-40? I used this on a previous car before and was really amazed how it looked and how easy the gunk sprayed off. The engine was pretty dirty and I just used the can without the long red attachment and went to work. Let it sit for a little bit and then I began to wipe it all down. I know it will leave a little residue on the components but it's safe for electrical and will help prevent water forming which will cause rust. :)