'07 Scion tC

[CharBaby]

Hi Folks,
Car in question is an '07 Scion tC 2.4L 4 cyl w/> 100K miles now!

A friend calls me the other day and said..."my daughtes tC is down over 2 qts of oil(oil light came on) and it's only 2K miles into the OCI".

They bought the car in the summer 2011 w/~97K miles, clean CarFax and all repair/maintenance history.

The car came with a folder of dealer serviced maintenance/invoices. The previous owner(young lady) really got taken on everything including struts. But, it was a selling point as it was compiled neatly and orderly. The car was driven between NY & NC which is why there are higher miles on the car.

My buddy does the OCI's on all of the vehicles and their kids cars as well. Appearently they neglected to check the oil between OCI's on a regular basis due to their great success with vehicles not burning/leaking oil between OCI's.

There is no noticable leaking and the engine top/bottom is dry.
I asked him to check the PCV to see if it's plugged/not working. This is the first place to start IMHO! I didn't know where the PCV is on this engine but, he'll look tomorrow.

His daughters '07 tC has the same 2.4L engine that his '04 Camry uses. Both engines have over 100K miles and run identicle to one another which is to say, very nice!

A quick search on the web shows lots of tC with oil burning issues very similar to the tC in question here.

The tC's engine runs like a top with great power and very smooth throttle responce and no noticable smoke from the tailpipe.

Only 5W20 and 5W30 popular oils were used, outside tempurature dependent.

Any comments are welcome.

Thanks,
CB

 

[Artem]

My 06 tC was burning half a quart per 5,000 mile OCI's except this current one where it ate 2.5 quarts in 7,500 miles

It's just something they have to keep an eye on very carefully as a low oil pressure light isn't good.

 

[bepperb]

How is the coolant level? There have been a few issues of head bolts not holding, though that seems to be in the early 2az engines and there has been at least one block revision in the 03~04 timeframe that seems to have corrected this. Otherwise I haven't read a lot of high consumption issues with that engine, although Highlander owners are probably a lot easier drivers than TC owners.

 

[VVTinme]

There is a TSB out for this engine related to high oil consumption. With that many miles there may not be anything you can do on that front though.

 

[saberz]

The 2.4 vvt is a high rev motor(is it an auto or manual)? Typically the auto's aren't run very hard. The manuals get run "right" by high rpm shift points for freeway merging. You could burn oil doing that.

It is typical for the engine to burn a little oil at higher mileage though. The scionlife forums can better answer you on this. I used to own an 08 and even new by 5k i'd be down slightly(manual).

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Probably crusty rings from to easy driving and substandard ILSAC oil. Nobody I see on the road drives hard - only in movies. I drive hard. Toss some amsoil ATM 10w30 in there and clean her up.

 

[CharBaby]

Originally Posted By: bepperb
How is the coolant level? There have been a few issues of head bolts not holding, though that seems to be in the early 2az engines and there has been at least one block revision in the 03~04 timeframe that seems to have corrected this. Otherwise I haven't read a lot of high consumption issues with that engine, although Highlander owners are probably a lot easier drivers than TC owners.


Thanks, I'll mention the coolant to my buddy.
Originally Posted By: VVTinme
There is a TSB out for this engine related to high oil consumption. With that many miles there may not be anything you can do on that front though.


He'll have to look for the TSB, thanks!

Well, his daughter is a new/reluctant driver so the high reving nature doesn't quit apply here as she is only driving back/fourth to school and part time job

 

[CharBaby]

UPDATE:
Everything seem to be fine with the coolant level and PCV
I mentioned to him about using Auto RX. Any comments about the RX for this situation?

 

[CharBaby]

Originally Posted By: Char Baby
UPDATE:
Everything seem to be fine with the coolant level and PCV
I mentioned to him about using Auto RX. Any comments about the RX for this situation?


Another update:
Another 500 miles have gone by since my original post and the engine oil is down 1/2 qt again.

My buddy topped off again with Mobil Super 5000

 

[hattaresguy]

What's Toyota's spec for when oil consumption starts to become a problem?

1 quart per 1k miles is a bit high but nothing to be alarmed about if it doesn't change. Some engines just burn a bit of oil, especially after they get a bit of time on them.

 

[CharBaby]

Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
What's Toyota's spec for when oil consumption starts to become a problem?

1 quart per 1k miles is a bit high but nothing to be alarmed about if it doesn't change. Some engines just burn a bit of oil, especially after they get a bit of time on them.


Yeah, I know! Most manufactures say that 1qt/1K miles is acceptable oil useage. I have heard this since I was a kid in the early 60's when more engines burned oil more frequently. Every car that came into my dads gas station just about needed a qt of oil when filling up with gas. P/S fluid, brake fluid and tranny fluid too. I remember very well as a kid, that I was always putting in some fluid into a customers car each time they came in for gas and I wasn't "short sticking" them !
They were good faithfull customers and dad didn't want to loose them due to something stupid like selling oil/other fluids and stuff that they didn't need.

My buddy is having an issue with his daughter's '07 Scion tC burning this much oil since his own Camry has the exact same engine(2.4L 4cyl) and doesn't burn a drop in 6K mile OCI's. Nor has any other of his Toyota engines burned this much oil in his own experience excetpt his wifes '98 Sienna(sold in '07) which burned 1qt/4K mile over the 4mo/4K OCI. But by then, he was ready to another OCI on the Sienna and too, the Sienna didn't start burning/using oil til close to 140K-150K miles.

To my buddy, this just isn't his experience with Toyota engines over the past 30 yrs. So, the Scion tC burning oil is odd to him.

My own SEARCHING for him and this '07 tC, has come up with lots of tC's burning/using oil as just nature of the beast it seems.
This particular '07 tC(purchaced used in summer 2011 w/97K miles) has all maintenance records and the oil/filter changes are right on the 3+ months/3+K miles. Can't get much better than that! They did well on this car,(condition & price)

 

[dsmdriver2588]

i have an 06 scion tc and burn about 0.75 quarts every ~5,000 miles.

If you look at the owner's manual, it states that our vehicle can burn up to a quart per 600 miles!!!

 

[CharBaby]

Thanks again for the responces!

CB

 

[MrCritical]

If it's using oil, stay away from 5w20. Also,some engines are more prone to use some brands than others? Maybe their add packs? What can I say? Castrol has worked the best for oil consumption probs in my experience.

Be sure the air filter is clean, and you're starting off from the full mark on the dipstick. Some specs as to capacity do not bring the oil up to "full" on the dipstick.

 

[CharBaby]

Yep! This car is "father maintained". Or as I call it..."Fatherized"

Air filter and all fluids are fine. IDK what oil they're using in the tC???
I see in his garage, a bunch of Puro Classic filters and several straggler qts of Penz YB, Mobil Super 5K, Havoline DS, Castrol GTX, ProLine, SuperTech... So, I trust all their vehicles are getting good oil/filters.

I drove it(tC). This car runs GREAT!

 

[sunfire]

Try taking it easy on the engine see it that helps. When my dad had his 06 Camry the 2AZ-FE didn't consume any noticeable oil. I gave him mainly QS, PYB, and Havoline.

 

[CharBaby]

Originally Posted By: sunfire
Try taking it easy on the engine see it that helps. When my dad had his 06 Camry the 2AZ-FE didn't consume any noticeable oil. I gave him mainly QS, PYB, and Havoline.


I'd have to see for myself how the girl drives! My buddy(her father) also has an '04 Camry with the same motor as the tC. He burns no oil either.