Frequent readers of this blog know that I’ve had issues with my 2009 Toyota Matrix. I had a weird electrical issue followed by several recalls. For details, check out my customer service nightmares page. Now, here’s the latest thing I am dealing with when it comes to this car. Oil consumption. In other words the engine consumes more oil than it should. Now all cars consume some degree or another, but I’ve never owned a car that consumes the amount of oil that I documented here:
Toyota clams that 1 litre per 1000 KM’s is “normal.” In my Matrix, I am consuming just under half that per 1000 KM’s. Anything over 1 litre per 1000 KM’s may require a very expensive engine repair that is documented in technical service bulletin T-SB-0094-11.
If left unchecked (meaning that you check your engine oil every couple of weeks or so), you could kill your engine due to it being low on engine oil. In my case, I check it every couple of weeks and top it off almost every time I check it. I go through at least two liters of oil between oil changes. Sometimes three if I do a lot of highway driving. When I first raised the issue with my dealer four years ago, they first claimed it was “normal” and then when I called them on it, they then said that I would have to pay four digits to have it fixed.
It now turns out that it is not normal. I got a letter from Toyota Canada recently stating that there is a “Warranty Enhancement Program” related to the engine that I have. Here’s a quote from the letter that I got:
Toyota has received some reports where vehicles equipped with the 2AZ engine may exhibit excessive engine oil consumption.
And
At this time, Toyota is currently preparing the necessary parts to implement this Warranty Enhancement Program (Ref 812), and anticipates that it will take several months to build the necessary parts.
Finally:
- The Primary Coverage offers warranty enhancement until August 25, 2016
- After the Primary Coverage period ends, the Secondary Coverage is applicable for 10 years from he date of first use or 240,000 km, whichever occurs first.
The fix that Toyota Canada is going to perform if the engine in question meets their filter is to basically rebuild the engine. Likely implementing this Technical Service Bulletin [Warning: PDF].
Now, I have a friend who has an Audi A4 which required a similar repair for a similar issue that Audi did at no charge after he threatened to sue them. He was without his car for a week and a half because they pretty much have to disassemble most of the engine to replace the pistons. But they did give him a loaner while they did it. Potentially being without my car for that long does not thrill me and I seriously doubt that Toyota is going to serve up a loaner. Though they are free to surprise me.
But the fact that Toyota calls this a “Warranty Enhancement Program” is Toyota’s way of saying to don’t call it a recall. Though I am not sure what else you could possibly call it. That may be due to a class action lawsuit that Toyota is facing in the US. I’m guessing that a lawyer told Toyota that admitting that this is a defect of some sort openly will open them up to a similar lawsuit in Canada. But I’m a computer nerd, not a lawyer. It could also be that Toyota doesn’t want to open itself up to having to repair every single engine of this type seeing that this engine was used in lots and lots of vehicles ranging from my Matrix to the RAV4, Camry, and Corolla among other models going back to 2006. That I am guessing would be very expensive. But I’m a computer nerd, not an accountant.
Now I’ve just had my oil changed and I asked for the engine consumption test to be done. Here’s what they do as part of the test:
As you can see, they added tamper resistant tape to the oil cap and the oil dipstick. That way you can’t top off the oil or cheat the test. I am to then drive it 2000 KM’s and come back in so that they can check the oil consumption. If it is more than 1 liter in 2000 KM’s, then I am eligible for the fix.
My thoughts? I have to admit that my faith in Toyota was questionable before this latest episode. Now this latest episode has my wife and I certain that our next car is not going to be from Toyota. Now you could argue that at least Toyota is trying to do something about it. But if you do a Google search on this issue, one thing is clear and another is subject to interpretation. The thing that is clear that this is a widespread issue that has been going on for years. The part that is subject to interpretation is that it Toyota Canada might have sat on this issue until they were forced to do something. I say that because the US had had a similar “Warranty Enhancement Program” for some time now. That doesn’t exactly inspire trust when it comes to Toyota Canada.
So, what happens if my engine fails the test? We’ll likely be trading in the vehicle for something more reliable, but after getting Toyota to fix it on their dime. I review enough cars so it gives my wife and I a good place to start looking at what we like and don’t like. Once we have a short list, we’ll see if we can get reliability data to firm up the likely suspects and take it from there.
I’ll keep you posted on my progress with this issue. This should be “interesting” and not in a good way.