Dear auto pips,

Hope you can help me with this.

We have a RAV4 2001 model. We have only used it for 3 years, city driving with occassional long travels. Mileage pa lang niya is 100plus km. pa and sira na ang engine (beyond repair). We have consistently turned it in for periodic maintenance sa Toyota Davao ever since. We really don't know what is the real cause of this very very big problem.

Story nang RAV nito is that, the first 20,000km reading pa lang is that nag-ooverheat na siya ng bigla. Usually it does that pag naka idle kami for 5-10 mins. then when i step on the gas para tumakbo bigla na lang may rattling sound sa engine(metal) and tumataas na ang temperature ng engine. We went to Toyota to consult mga service advisors nila, bakit nagka ganun. Sagot lang nila sa amin is that wala pa daw sila experience na may nag overheat na RAV4 ever since lumabas ang bagong model. Suggestion na lang nila is that dapat hindi dapat mainitan ng araw ang RAV(kinda stupid answer)meron bang ganun?

Anyway after around 30-50000km, is that bigla na lang kaming natirikan kasi nagoverheat na xa dahil naputol ang fan belt, to think 1-2weeks pa lang sya after napasok for periodic maintenance. So we had it towed para dalhin sa Toyota Davao. So ayun nag antay kami for the belt to arrive(1 month) kasi wala pa daw stock and also first time pa rin nangyari sa RAV4(same stupid reason).

So after that, okay na for awhile.

Nung umabot na ng 90000-100000km reading, I noticed na every morning start ups ko is may puting usok na lumalabas sa tambucho. (like the smoke after ka nagpaputok ng triangle.) even after every periodic maintenance done, white pa rin ang smoke every morning.

100000plus km reading: When I step on the gas bigla na lang umilaw ang check oil na indicator sa gauge panel(at first it was just flickering, nawawala din sya for awhile), we thought na kulang lang ng oil. Check namin oil level okay naman, full. Never talaga kami naubusan ng oil, kahit service ng Toyota Davao did not find any oil leaks(except for the power steering:another problem.) For awhile, di na umilaw ang check oil after late December 2004, bigla na lang umilaw ang check oil(flickering until naging steady na ang pagilaw nya.) We immediately brought it to Toyota Davao para matingnan nila ang problem. Nawala ang indicator pag inoff mo ang engine tapos start mo uli. But pag nirevolusyon mo is umiilaw ang check oil indicator(flickering) but we noticed after ilang revolutions is that iba na ang tunog ng engine para nang may consistent rattling metallic noise sa engine. So we decided not to use the RAV anymore and put it in for servicing, matagal nila nahanap ang problem, up to the point that they suggested to remove and open the engine to take a look at the oil pump(kasi daw maybe ito ang problem), so ayun opened up the engine but pina machining pa nila ang isang bolt para lang matanggal, so that they can open the engine.

After they were successful in opening the engine, they let us see its condition, and to our surprise,  hindi na daw marepair ang engine(as what the service department told us).

If you can see the engine block and almost every part ng engine is na coat ng parang tumigas na oil.(Imagine a banana coated in hard brown sugar). Bearings damaged, yung mga channel sa engine clogged up by gunk.


As of now, di pa namin alam anong action ng Toyota Davao regarding this matter.

Di namin kaya bumili ng bagong engine(P480,000).

Sino kaya ang answerable nito? is it possible na lemon ang nabili naming RAV? Sino or what gov. agency or whoever ang pwedeng makatulong sa amin?

Hoping for your kind assistance on this matter.

I think your engine got warped due to the repeated overheating. You should bring your complaints to Department of Trade. Did the overheating start when the car was still under warranty? If it did, then you might have a case.

How often ka ba nagpapachange oil?

is it possible na your engine oil was not really being replaced even though you were being charged for it?

I agree with Conan, it probably was the repeated overheating that destroyed your engine. You mentioned that it even got to a point na tumirik yung makina because of overheating? That is a very bad thing to happen. If you have documented records about the persistent overheating then you might have a claim. But you should have insisted in the beginning for them to check everything (radiator, fan, water pump, etc.)

if you think about it... you brought it to them for the regular PMS(early on), dapat dun palang nacheck na nila right? pede ata yun as negligence since they did the checking but they never saw the problem early on. anyway, i'm no lawyer. maybe try to consult one. i think there's no lemon law that exist. draft pa lang ata or napresent na? not sure.

same thing with our van(mitsu spacegear 98). naka 3 overheat na ako dun. hirap talaga pag nagoverheat. bukod sa gastos sa pag papaayos, an laki pa bayad pag tow truck, lalo na pag sa casa. after yun 3rd overheat, hirap na magstart but afterwards ok naman takbo. i did'nt want to wait anymore for another big engine blowout or another major problem, so i sold it na lang. sa kotse pag nagsisilabasan na ang mga problems its time to consider selling it...

First of all, I am going to assume, that oil was changed at the recommended intervals.   As long as oil changes are done regularly the engine should last a long time.  

 Now comes the other problem, overheating.   When an engine overheats (whatever the cause) it is always prudent to immediately stop the engine and allow it to cool.    Never allow the engine to run repeatedly beyond what the recommened temperature range.   The first time it happens, the overheating should have been solved before the vehicle was used again.  It appears to me that the car was used repeatedly even when the overheating problem was not solved.  At high temperatures engine oil does not work and what you had was an engine that operated like there was no oil, thus your predicament.   I undestand a new engine is not an option,  is engine overhauld  a viable option?
     

Quote from: dboy on January 22, 2005, 12:41:47 AM
How often ka ba nagpapachange oil?

is it possible na your engine oil was not really being replaced even though you were being charged for it?

i think i heard some complaints lyk this on casa service due to the fact that u cant c them servicing ur car...
and it really seems lyk u let ur engine run overheating nd ka2lad nga ng sabi mo tumirik na sha and dats 1 thing to avoid...

bro, you were asking kung saan ka pwede magreklamo...why not make a formal complaint sa toyota phils (or sa toyota japan)? san nga ba head office nun? perhaps dito sa manila...

conans right, frequent overheating caused the serious engine problem...cguro nung nag-over heat cya nung una, medyo nagka-tama na cya and up to the next tumukod na and kumatok na tuluyan yung makina...

napanood ko sa tv lately regarding sa problems ng pajero and automotive companies were called in that hearing regarding this bad lemons...try to contact dti and pls keep us updated.

dapat file ka ng formal complaint.. in my personal experience, nagpaservice ako ng rav4 2003 namin last dec sa toyota shaw kasi nagstuck up ang power window sa rear, medyo rough ang idling and nagpaaline... can't u believe na pagkakuha ko ng Rav namin e mas lalo pang lumala ang alignment, d na solve yung pagkarough idling, and ngayon stuck up na naman yung power..  

mga baguhan lang ata nagtratrabaho sa casa e!

Sorry to bring this one up... what happened na sa rav4 mo n_tons11? Did toyota replace it? or change engine?

Good luck.  

A similar thing happened to me.

just after three months of my 2 year warranty of my FORD LYNX.   Nasira ang A/T transmission.  Ayaw na mag shift.    

The casa (ford balintawak)  was charging me P250,000 for a new tranny or P180,000 for an overhaul!!    

Kinausap na namin lahat ng Managers, Presidents etc.. of  Ford but the most they did was give us a 20% discount.  

In short, kami ang nag shoulder ng expenses!!!

i thought ford has a 2 year bumper to bumper warranty. the transmission should have been replaced for free.  in the us bumper to bumper means everything on the car except tires and batteries. you should have called ford in the US to help you with your problem.

with regards to your toyota, sounds like you blew your head gasket. any color smoke coming out of your exhaust is bad. i doubt toyota will help you. i had a problem with my 1.8g altis. i was one month past warranty period and they only gave me a 10% on parts.

Quote from: kennyboy on January 06, 2006, 01:06:33 PM
i thought ford has a 2 year bumper to bumper warranty. the transmission should have been replaced for free.  in the us bumper to bumper means everything on the car except tires and batteries. you should have called ford in the US to help you with your problem.

with regards to your toyota, sounds like you blew your head gasket. any color smoke coming out of your exhaust is bad. i doubt toyota will help you. i had a problem with my 1.8g altis. i was one month past warranty period and they only gave me a 10% on parts.

To kennyboy.

  The LYNX did have a 2 year warranty but it expired about 3 months after the warranty.   I emailed Ford Asia's customer service but the most they can do is a discount.  Pero mahal pa din.

 Yung TOYOTA for sure, di magbibigay ng extended warranty yan.   Mahina ang customer service ng Toyota.  Puro pera ang motivation ng toyota CASA.  

   
 

to ntons11:

The cheapest solution to your car problem is:

to order a surplus RAV4 engine in BANAWE.   Try Baltak in Banawe or some other surplus shop with a RAV4 engine or something similar that can fit the car.

OR, Try to ask around for mechanics in Banawe that can re-surrect the engine you have if it is still possible to repair it.    

I am sure, pag umandar na yung rav4 mo, nasa for sale na yan sa classified ads!!