Toyota 2AZ - FE!??

[miden851]

I was wondering what's the community's take on this engine; from I can see, it mostly runs all Toyota vehicle between 2002-2009; I'm familiar there is oil consumption on some of these engines but I don't know what's the time frame or what production years got affected by it; also, if someone would shed light upon, is there any other downside of the engine we should look at it please

So my friend is on the hunt for a Toyota with the same engine for around $5k that's his budget; we have tested some vehicles today but we did not pull the trigger on it yet

As always, I thank for all constructive suggestions and advice!

 

[CR94]

Originally Posted by miden851
...I'm familiar there is oil consumption on some of these engines but I don't know what's the time frame or what production years got affected by it...
You can find a lot of info, including complaints and service bulletins on line. The worst affected years were about 2007-2010, as best I can recall (which may not be exactly correct).

 

[The Critic]

The early ones have issues with stripped head bolt threads in the block.

The later models (the ones that called for 5w20/0w20) had oil consumption problems. But the head bolt threads were no longer an issue.

 

[miden851]

I thank you guys!

So, what year would be the best bet for this engine 2.4l in order to hopefully avoid a headache down the road if he decides to go with this route

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Valve adjustment is a complete top end teardown on certain versions of this engine so make sure its not clattering

DOHC with mechanical shim under bucket inverted tappets ala earlier nissan style. I had about 7 valves way out of spec (wide) on ours by 56K miles. I think toyota wanted near $1700 to re-clearance the lash.

2005 rav4

Ours was using about a quart per OCI. This was with MC5000 5w30 dino at 5K intervals and Toyota denso filters.

 

[eljefino]

I took my mom's 02 camry to 240ish k with zero engine issues. If it burned oil it was a negligible amount. I went easy on it during warm-up as I think she did as well.

I flipped another 02 camry with 200k-- came with a VVTi code but an oil change cleared out the solenoid and it too ran just fine.

I think it's a very nice motor, especially in front of a stick shift. Only issue I have is the electric throttle is a little crabby in the cold in 1st gear, and it wasn't something solvable by cleaning.

I think this "head bolt" thing is something that's barely statistically significant, but people are able to latch on to it via the internet amplification effect. "That sounds like an expensive part of the engine" they think.

I've been driving "mediocre" used cars (think saturn s-series) since forever and let their mediocrity run the price down so they're a good value. In my neighborhood Toyota sedans of a certain vintage are a dime a dozen. (Trucks and SUVs still have sky high values.)

 

[LeakySeals]

I'm very familiar with that engine. I had a 02 Camry auto with the 2AZ-FE for several years. The motor blew on the highway. Broke a valve. Burned up, chipped, fell down in the cylinder. Oil consumption caused that. A combination of bad valve seals and clogged piston oil return holes. Burning 1 qt every 1500 over 150k miles eventually takes its toll. I replaced the seals and it did the same thing to the second set. Its heat. The aluminum block is real thin. The thin block and heating leads to other problems. If you google "stripped head bolt 2AZ-FE" you will see a HUGE problem with that engine. The thin aluminum block gets real hot, and the block threads let go. The head separates causing a massive coolant loss. In later years the oil consumption got so bad they issued a TSB for modified pistons with larger oil return holes.

It was never smooth. Always shaking, rattling at startup, burning oil. In my opinion there is no good year for that engine. You're better off with the 6 cyl. Smoother, stronger. Within 2 mpg of the 4 cyl.

 

[supton]

I'd avoid the 2AZ-FE for the reasons stated. I get eljefino's point but I don't like taking gambles. Maybe on a car for the kids that I got cheap and would be ok with tossing if a repair exceeded that which I was comfortable with, but for my own daily driver I'm pretty gun-shy on this engine. The preceding 5S-FE seems better (reliability wise, not on power or mpg, and they're old now) and the succeeding 2AR-FE seems to be what people think a Toyota ought to be (not having these issues).

 

[JustinH]

Have a 2011 XB with this engine, it has been typical Toyota boring with good service.

Change oil every 4500-5000 miles with whatever dino is on sale, and it uses about half a quart in 5000 miles.

Ours has 88k now.

 

[HangFire]

A friend has one in an 09 Camry approaching 150K miles, gets regular service on schedule, and has zero problems. But I know some people have had problems with them.

 

[blupupher]

Originally Posted by JustinH
Have a 2011 XB with this engine, it has been typical Toyota boring with good service.

Change oil every 4500-5000 miles with whatever dino is on sale, and it uses about half a quart in 5000 miles.

Ours has 88k now.

Supposedly fixed the issues by 2011.
I also have an xB with this motor and have had no real issues in 50,000 miles (but that is when the oil burning tends to start according to many).
Mine goes through ~1/2 qt in 5000 miles (although last change I was down almost a qt, but had a small drip from the oil filter).