2006 Toyota Avalon

ON WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8TH I WAS IN THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY AND NOTICED THAT MY CAR WAS LEAKING OIL SO I WENT TO THE SERVICE STATION AND FILLED IT WITH TWO QUARTS OF OIL. I WAS ON MY WAY HOME TO MARYLAND AND HAD TO STOP FOR GAS IN PENNSYLVANIA SO I CHECKED THE OIL LEVEL IN MY CAR AND FOUND THAT IT WAS VERY LOW. AT THIS POINT I REALIZED THERE WAS A SERIOUS PROBLEM SO I PUT ANOTHER TWO QUARTS IN MY CAR AND CONTACTED LANCASTER TOYOTA IN LANCASTER PENNSYLVANIA (717-569-7373). I EXPLAINED MY SITUATION TO THEM AND THEY TOLD ME TO BRING MY CAR IN FOR SERVICE. MY SERVICE ADVISOR'S NAME AT LANCASTER TOYOTA WAS MS. SHARON ESHELMAN. MS. ESHELMAN INFORMED ME THAT MY OIL COOLING LINE ALSO KNOWN AS THE VVTI LINE HAD RUPTURED AND TOYOTA HAS A NEW REPLACEMENT PART THAT IS ON NATIONAL BACK ORDER. LANCASTER TOYOTA DIDN'T HAVE THE NEW REPLACEMENT PART HOWEVER THEY COULD PUT THE SAME DEFECTIVE PART THAT IS A KNOWN PROBLEM BACK ON MY CAR AT A COST OF $307.09 WHICH WOULD ALLOW ME TO GET HOME. I PICKED MY CAR UP FROM LANCASTER TOYOTA THURSDAY, APRIL 9TH AND DROVE IT TO TOYOTA OF BOWIE TO CHECK MY ENGINE FOR DAMAGE. ON FRIDAY THEY CALLED AND SAID HE DIDN'T SEE ANY DAMAGE TO MY ENGINE AND PICK THE CAR UP. I DROVE IT DIRECTLY TO MY SON'S DOCTOR'S OFFICE IN CROFTON, MD APPROXIMATELY 3 MILES AWAY FROM TOYOTA OF BOWIE. PUT THE CAR IN PARK AND SMELLED SOMETHING BURNING AND HEARD THE ENGINE KNOCKING. I LIFTED THE HOOD AND SAW OIL SPURTING OUT AND DRIPPING EVERYWHERE, THE OIL COOLING LINE (VVTI LINE PART NO. 1570731012) HAD RUPTURED AGAIN! I CALLED TOYOTA AND INFORMED THEM OF THE EVENTS AND THEY TOLD ME TO TOW THE CAR BACK TO THEM. TOYOTA HEADQUARTERS IN CALIFORNIA SHOULD RECALL THIS PART BECAUSE IT IS NOT SAFE. THIS PART CAN RUPTURE AT ANY POINT AND TIME AND THE OIL LIGHT DOES NOT COME ON. PLEASE SEE LINKS HTTP://WWW.CARCOMPLAINTS.COM/TOYOTA/AVALON/2006/ENGINE/COMPLETE_LOSS_OF_ENGINE_OIL_WITH_NO_WARNING_LIGHT.SHTML HTTP://WWW.ABOUTAUTOMOBILE.COM/COMPLAINT/2006/TOYOTA/AVALON. *TR

MY WIFE WAS DRIVING DOWN THE FREEWAY AND NOTICES A CLOUD OF SMOKE TRAILING FROM THE REAR OF OUR 2006 TOYOTA AVALON. WHEN SHE ARRIVES AT WORK SHE SEES OIL POURING ONTO THE PARKING LOT SURFACE. THERE WAS NO WARNING LIGHT OR DASHBOARD NOTICE SIGNALING OIL PRESSURE LOSS. WE HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED TO A REPAIR SHOP WHERE THEY NOTED THAT A RUBBER HOSE THAT PRESUMABLY CIRCULATES ENGINE OIL HAD RUPTURED. THE REPAIR WAS DONE THAT DAY WITH PARTS READILY AVAILABLE FROM THE LOCAL DEALER. WHEN THE REPAIR MAN WAS CONVERSING WITH THE TOYOTA SERVICE MANAGER (A FRIEND), THE SERVICE MANAGER HAD NEVER HEARD OF THE PROBLEM THEN LATER CHANGED HIS STORY. RATHER SUSPICIOUS.*TR

I HAD DRIVEN ABOUT 3 MILES AT 40 MPH IN MY '06 AVALON WITH 40,000 MILE. THERE WAS NO WARNING. MY CAR BEGAN SMOKING FROM THE HOOD. OIL WAS LEAKING, LARGE AMOUNT OF OIL. NO OIL LIGHT CAME ON. NO DASHBOARD LIGHTS OR NOTIFICATION OF A PROBLEM WAS INDICATED. MY DIPSTICK SHOW THAT I HAVE NO OIL IN THE CAR. I JUST HAD AN OIL CHANGE RECENTLY. I AM WAITING FOR MY TOYOTA DEALER TO CALL ME BACK. I HAVE LEFT 2 MESSAGES. *TR

A FEW MONTHS AGO I BROUGHT MY CAR IN TO TOYOTA ON NICHOLASVILLE WITH AN "OIL PROBLEM". IT HAD BEEN SLOWLY LEAKING OIL. NO OIL LIGHTS HAD COME ON. THEN WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD I SAW SMOKE AND SMELLED OIL. THE VVTI OIL LINE WAS LEAKING AND HAD SORT OF "BLOWN UP" ALL OVER MY ENGINE. NEEDLESS TO SAY, I WAS VERY UPSET. I WENT DIRECTLY TO THE DEALER. IT WAS REPAIRED QUICKLY AND I PAID ALMOST $500.00 FOR THE REPAIR! I THEN RESEARCHED ON-LINE AND BECAME AWARE THE VVTI OIL LINE LEAK WAS A PROBLEM FACED MY MANY AVALON OWNERS. AFTERWARDS I REMEMBERED I HAD PURCHASED "TOYOTA EXTRA CARE" AND FREE SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE. I SUPPOSE I SHOULD PROBABLY FILE A CLAIM WITH TOYOTA FOR REIMBURSEMENT; BUT I GUESS THAT IS ANOTHER ISSUE! I NOW REMEMBER TO TELL MY SERVICE TECH BEFORE EACH REPAIR! NOW, A FEW MONTHS LATER, I HAVE THE SAME ISSUE ALL OVER AGAIN. THIS TIME I AM EXTREMELY UPSET. I CALLED TOYOTA ON NICHOLASVILLE AND WAS TOLD TO BRING MY CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP RIGHT AWAY AND THEY WOULD WORK ME IN THAT AFTERNOON. I DID. I KNEW THE PROBLEM WAS THE SAME ISSUE WITH THE VVTI LINE, AND REALIZED IT WOULD NOT BE REPAIRED THAT SAME DAY. AFTER WAITING ABOUT TWO HOURS, THE TECH CAME AND SPOKE WITH ME. HE TOLD ME IT WAS, ONCE AGAIN, A PROBLEM WITH THE VVTI OIL LINE. ALTHOUGH TOYOTA DID HAVE A REPAIR PART AVAILABLE, IT WAS A BACK-ORDERED PART. DAVE INDICATED MANY PEOPLE HAD BEEN WAITING FOR THIS PART AND IT WOULD PROBABLY TAKE AS LONG AS 4-8 WEEKS TO GET MY CAR REPAIRED. I REALLY THOUGHT HE WAS KIDDING. FINALLY, HE CONVINCED ME HE WAS NOT! I DID RECEIVE MY CAR BACK IN A WEEK. SO FAR SO GOOD. SEEMS TO ME THIS SHOULD BE A "RECALL" FROM TOYOTA. I WISH I UNDERSTOOD WHY IT WAS NOT. *TR

CAR STARTED LEAKING LARGE AMOUNT OF OIL AND HAD TO BE TOWED TO DEALER. NO OIL LIGHT CAME ON. OIL LINE ON ENGINE LEAKING. OIL COVERED OTHER PARTS THAT HAD TO BE REPLACED. TOYOTA HAD NO MANUFACTURE REPLACEMENT PARTS IN USA AND STATED THEY WOULD HAVE TO BE MANUFACTURED. MANUFACTURE OF PARTS COULD TAKE 60-90 DAYS. DEALER REPLACED PART WITH SUBSTITUTE OIL LINE RECOMMENDED BY TOYOTA IN ORDER TO REPAIR CAR IN A TIMELY MANNER. CAR WAS COVERED IN OIL UNDER CAR AND WAS NOT CLEANED. MOTOR COULD HAVE BEEN RUINED HAD OIL LEAK NOT BEEN DISCOVERED WHEN PARKING THE CAR. NOTICE THIS HAS BEEN A PROBLEM NATIONALLY AND THERE HAS BEEN NO RECALL. PRICE OF NON TOYOTA PART AND REPAIRS WAS $683.00. THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN COVERED IN A RECALL, WITH ALL THE PROBLEMS THIS PART IS CAUSING. *TR

CAR COMPLETELY RAN OUT OF OIL WITH NO WARNING LIGHTS EVER ILLUMINATING. THE CAR WAS NOT DRIVABLE AND HAD TO BE TOWED. FOUND OUT VVTI LINE HAD TSB (ALTHOUGH I HAD BEEN IN THE DEALERSHIP SERVICE DEPT FOR OIL CHANGE THE MONTH BEFORE) THE PART WAS BEING REDESIGNED BY TOYOTA AND WAS BACKORDERED. SIX WEEKS LATER ( I STILL DO NOT HAVE MY CAR), TOYOTA REPLACED THE PART AND REFUSES TO TEST THE ENGINE FOR DAMAGE CAUSED AS A RESULT OF CAR RUNNING COMPLETELY OUT OF OIL. THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENT ASSIGNED US A CASE NUMBER BUT THEN NO ONE EVER CALLED US BACK, MEANWHILE I DO NOT WANT TO ACCEPT MY CAR AS I FEEL IT IS POTENTIALLY UNSAFE DUE THE OBVIOUS ENGINE DAMAGE THAT HAD TO HAVE OCCURRED SINCE THE ENGINE WAS BANGING AND KNOCKING BEFORE I REALIZED WHAT WAS GOING ON. TOYOTA REFUSES TO ISSUE RECALL AND HAS FAILED AT WARNING CONSUMERS AND THE DEALERS HAVE FAILED AT DOING DUE DILIGENCE IN CHECKING THE TSB ISSUES WHEN PEOPLE ARE IN THEIR SHOPS. IF I HAD KNOWN THIS WAS A POTENTIAL ISSUE, THE ENGINE DAMAGE COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED. *TR

1. WITHOUT WARNING, THE ENGINE STARTED MAKING WHIRRING NOISES WHEN IN MOTION AND THE ENGINE CHECK LIGHT ILLUMINATED (UNBEKNOWNST TO ME, IT WAS DROPPING OIL. 2. AFTER IT WAS FIRST REPAIRED UNDER WARRANTY, IT OCCURRED AGAIN. 3. DEALER REPORTED FAILURE OF THE VVT-I PIPE, REPLACING THE PIPE, TIMING CHAIN COVER, GASKETS, CAMSHAFT GEAR ASSEMBLY, CYLINDER HEAD GASKET, CAMSHAFT BEARING, CAMSHAFT GEAR ASSEMBLY, ADDITIONAL GASKETS AND BOLTS. *TR