Toyota’s reputation for reliability has made it a force to be reckoned with in the mass market automotive segment. But that reputation may be lulling some into a false sense of security.
In a recent video on The Car Care Nut YouTube channel, a Toyota Master Diagnostic Technician who goes by the name AMD shows the world what can happen to the interior of an engine that receives the minimum care recommended by Toyota to satisfy its warranty requirements and follows the 10,000 mile (16,093 km) oil change interval.
For his example, AMD takes a 2015 Toyota Camry with 180,000 miles on it that was owned by a customer who wanted to get the most out of his car. He was diligent with care and even questioned the dealer when they said that the car’s oil only needed to be changed every 10,000 miles. The dealer insisted, though, and the owner relented.
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At around 120,000 miles (193,121 km), the Camry started burning oil. It only burned a little at first, about a quart every 1,000 miles (1,609 km), which wasn’t too bad. By the time the odometer rolled past the 150,000 (241,401 km) mark, though, it started burning two or three quarts per thousand miles.
Eventually, the owner couldn’t take it anymore, so he took to AMD’s shop, which is where it now is, having its engine pulled out. In the video, he shows exactly what was causing the oil to burn. Wear marks in two of the cylinder walls show where oil could seep past the piston rings and into the combustion chamber.
He attributes the damage on the cylinder walls to seized oil control rings on the pistons, which he blames on the infrequency of the oil changes. The result of the damage, meanwhile, is the complete replacement of the engine block, which is by no means an inexpensive solution.
To prevent this from happening, AMD recommends changing your oil every 5,000 miles (~8,000 km) or every six months instead.