Wanted to respond, not open a flame fest - Corolland: the Toyota Corolla Forums

I wanted to respond to Corolla Sludge...Why not covered?, Corolla owner's story but it got locked.

In my case, I wasn't necessarily questioning the story of the original poster, but the repair action that was performed.

Perhaps I didn't come across clear, but it seemed odd to me that the repair was effected in the manner presented. So my questions

were more from a protect the consumer POV. If a shop pads the charges by choosing to do the head themself rather than just ordering the less expensive long block, then the consumer is shafted.

Now to be fair, there may not have been a price difference, or perhaps the source of longblocks couldn't get them in timely fashion, so this solution was the only one that fit into the time horizon needed by the customer.

I think we all need to take a breather and ask qualifying questions rather than questioning the motives of others. I think it would be better to ask if that is what the topic starter really meant and if there was some reason given for proceeding in that fashion, rather than a long block.

My $0.02

Guest Paul Cherubini

All I can say is that it will be educational if you can get ahold of those service receipts and post the time and mileage interval between each oil change and determine if all the other required maintainance was performed or neglected. Be sure to look over the "Part list" of each receipt where it shows what specific parts and amounts of lubricants that were replaced. For example, was the antifreeze and thermostat ever replaced since 1998? Spark plugs, etc.?

PC, I seem to have about 20 (I haven't counted them) pages on the fax machine in the last 5-10 minutes, but can't go over them right

now. Including a 4K+ bill for the engine replacement (short block plus head rebuild)

First I'll summarize, and then get the scanner working at home, looks like photocopies that were then faxed, so I don't know how

clear they will be after scanning, but they are legible now.

Had I known he was going to kinkos to fax, I'd have asked him to just have them scanned there, sorry.

Guest autoresearcher

Yes sir, Mr. Cherubini, we want to find some iota of an infraction that will allow Toyota to escape any blame for producing a Corolla that could not handle *proper* maintenance.

Let's not forget that this owner went a grand total of 35,000 miles or so when he got a sludge diagnosis. He had *better* than recommended oil changes.

Toyota told him it was sudge; now it says it wasn't. Big surprise? They say it *probably* was caused by "oil starvation." They say a rod made a hole in the block.

So.....these wonderful vehicles that should get over 400,000 miles can suddenly throw a rod like that when all oil changes are better than recommended?

Mike Michels is a well-known spokesperson for Toyota, is he not? He has publicly stated that there as not been a *single* case of engine oil sludge in a properly maintained Toyota. Shall we ask Mr. Michels to intervene now? Afterall, we have a case where the owner did maintain is vehicle and he still got sludge. Is Mr. Michels open to making sure that this owner gets coverage under warranty?

IF NOT, then this Toyota spokesperson needs to come forward and publicy change the statement he made in the press. It is simply not the case. Mr. Nayar is not the first sludge victim to show proof of proper maintenance nor the is he the first to have Toyota slam the door in his face post "Customer Service Program" for engine oil sludge.

Mr. Nayar has a right to find other owners in his same situation. I hope he will do so and log the results for all to see.

Autoresearcher