I have attached some advice for Toyota consumers (or any other make as well) with ENGINE OIL SLUDGE. Toyota sludge continues and so does the denial of coverage under Toyota's very own "Customer Support Program for Engine Oil Gelation." What I have done is but the tip of the iceberg in terms of uncovering the details from thousands of Toyota owners online. These owners include some vehicles not currently included under the CSP--Corolla, Matrix, Rav4, 4Runner, Tacoma, etc.
If you have an affected vehicle--Camry, Avalon, Sienna, Celica, Highlander, Solara, Lexus RX330, Lexus ES300, etc.--you need to insist that Toyota actually honor its "unprecedented" and "generous" program. After all, the company has bragged about it for years! Have you noticed how visible the program has been since initiated in 2002, though?!? "Out of sight, out of mind" must be Toyota's motto!
Those who own the other models may well have to do what the other owners had to do before--voice loudly and often their concerns. Unfortunately, you cannot pull up the 10,000 angry Toyota postings from the now defunct "Complaint Station for Toyota" as the site mysteriously went down in 2004. Same is true for the Cartrackers.com Toyota forum. You have to really dig to find the CarSpace.com (once "Town Hall" at Edmund's) archives on Toyota engine oil sludge. No, such information has been effectively buried...and I guess for good reason considering how many new complaints are emerging!!
Some Toyota owners are noting thrown engine rods, failed emissions testing, and even ENGINE FIRES! Sludge clogs up their vehicles engines until catastrophic failure results. This has happened in as little as 12,000 miles on brand new Highlander! The reason the original sludge victims were so angry is because their new vehicle warranty was made VOID by this engine-choking material.
Toyota blamed the vehicle owners in the beginning. It STILL blames them. There has been no ownership of responsiblity in this matter other than to say that "certain" models are predisposed to owner neglect (lack of maintenance according to Toyota). Hmmmm...makes sense...NOT!
Toyota won't give the updated figures for sludge complaints. Who or what is monitoring what it does? No one, apparently. The NHTSA accepts the CSP but isn't keeping tabs on the follow through.
It is important for the Toyota owners to SPEAK OUT. Start by signing my petition entitled "Toyota Owners Unite for Resolution: Engine Oil Sludge." It can be found at http://www.petitiononline.com/TMC2003/petition.html. Take the time to read the Toyota owner online accounts.
Consider getting engine oil analyses regularly to find out what is happening to your engine oil over time. You will be quite surprised, no doubt.
Contact me for further information.
Charlene Blake
cblake@erols.com
charleneblake@cox.net