hotdram

Did anyone else who owns one of the vehicles on the list below get a notice about a class action lawsuit due the fact that these vehicle are "predisposed to develop oil gel"?

Camry 4cyl. 1997-2001
Camry 6 cyl. 1997-2002
Solara 4 cyl. 1999-2001
Solara 6 cyl. 1999-2002
Sienna 6 cyl. 1998-2002
Avalon 6 cyl. 1997-2002
Celica 4 cyl. 1997-1999
Highlander 6 cyl. 2001-2002
ES300 1997-2002
RX300 1999-2002

Here is the website to find out more: Oil Gel Settlement
Click the "Summary Notice" link for more info.

Has anyone with any of these vehicles noticed any problems?

Thanks,
~Rob

MikeyB

Oil gel?? Is that another term for 'Black Death'?

MikeyB

hotdram

Aighhh!!!
Mikey, you are going to cause me not to sleep

"Oil gel or sludge is a thick, gummy substance that impedes operation of the engine, causes damage to engine parts and can, in some cases, require engine replacement. A vehicle may have oil gel if blue smoke comes from the engine tail pipe, the check engine light on the instrument panel is on, or it
consumes a lot of oil."


~Rob

ChrisLib

Sludge basically. Oh boy does this kind of thing really bring folks out of the wood work. We have been swamped with people wanting their "free" engine, LOL. Had a Camry towed in from an outside shop with a busted con-rod,hole in the block...the works. owner wanted his freebie, but infortunatly for him his engine was clean as a whistle inside (broken con rod and resulting shrapnel aside). On the flip side of the coin, we have a 98 Avalon getting a shortblock and heads...and the car has OVER 200K on the clock (car looks it too , a real rat), this one is SUPER sludged, to the point a cam siezed in the head and snapped it in two. IMO most of the gelling/sludge problems stem from owner neglect. Alot of the affected vehicles have minimal/NO service history. We have thousands of customers who take good/decent care of their vehicles and have had no problems.

hotdram

That's what I wanted to hear, as we fall into that catergory (well maintained) with my wife's RX-300.
My parent's 2001 Avalon falls into that catergory as well (well maintained). They have well over 100k on the clock and the car looks and drives like it was new. I am always amazed at how well that thing drives for the miles. No rattles, engine is still super quiet and power is "silky".

~Rob

96_12V

I've understood that some owners are getting whole engines replaced free of charge at 130k miles, provided there's documentation for thier oil services. If you're looking at any of these cars, it's advisable to pull a valve cover and inspect it for sludge prior to buying the vechile.

Also, the 1.8t VW & Audi's have shown an alarming rate of failure with engine sludge as well. Read more of it at vwvortex.com

dssimecek

Saab also has a oil sludg problem. Regular oil changes with the recommended oil seems to help. Daughter in OR has a 2001 9-3 2Lturbo, she lover that car. fun to drive also. Drove it when I was up there last week.

Redleg

I just attributed those symptoms to the 190,000 on the odometer. Guess I could've had a new engine if I hadn't smashed it.

Nozzleman

Dad had a T100 of this era that lost oil pressure at about 80K serviced by the book by the dealer.