£1485 For Oil Leak!

[talim]

Hi Guys,

Newbie here. I bought a 2006 Rav4 XT5 about 6 months ago. Done just 21K miles. I took it in for servicing at Toyota. They found an oil leak near the timing chain cover and quoted me £1485 to fix it. The leak is just a small one and is not dripping onto the drive etc but they said I can still drive the car but the leak will get worse over time. Any ideas where I can fix this problem for a more sensible price? Cheers.

[trevnhil]

That is an enormous amount of money or an oil leak on a 4 year old car with 21,000 on the clock.

Can we assume that it was obtained through a private sale, as you do not seem to say anything about a 12 month warranty from the seller.

Trev..

[anchorman]

Welcome to the club.

That kind of leak is not uncommon on that age of car and there have been several owners that have been made aware of it or had it done. There is also a TSB on it.

Write to Toyota HQ or ask your dealer to do it for you with a request for a "policy warranty claim". If they refuse it, don't bother about it until it does leak onto the drive as it could weep like that for many years. If you get chance to look you will see we are talking about more of a damp stain than a leak but to do it the engine has to come out and they will reseal the sump at the same time which is why it is so expensive.

You should also be aware that your engine might use a surprising amount of oil (up to 1 litre per 1000 miles but probably more like 1 litre per 5000 miles) so keep a close eye on that too. The oil is burned and nothing to do with the leak.

Its not all bad news though. You have bought a superb vehicle so don't be too disappointed!

Tell us more about it and where you are as it doesn't say in your profile

[bluevortex]

Welcome to the club.

That kind of leak is not uncommon on that age of car and there have been several owners that have been made aware of it or had it done. There is also a TSB on it.

Write to Toyota HQ or ask your dealer to do it for you with a request for a "policy warranty claim". If they refuse it, don't bother about it until it does leak onto the drive as it could weep like that for many years. If you get chance to look you will see we are talking about more of a damp stain than a leak but to do it the engine has to come out and they will reseal the sump at the same time which is why it is so expensive.

You should also be aware that your engine might use a surprising amount of oil (up to 1 litre per 1000 miles but probably more like 1 litre per 5000 miles) so keep a close eye on that too. The oil is burned and nothing to do with the leak.

Its not all bad news though. You have bought a superb vehicle so don't be too disappointed!

Tell us more about it and where you are as it doesn't say in your profile

I am guessing my Rav4 is a prime candidet for this also? 2006 with 35K on the clock... a bit worrying

[MarsKy]

I am guessing my Rav4 is a prime candidet for this also? 2006 with 35K on the clock... a bit worrying

No - it seems to be hit-and-miss.

And I have a bottle of oil bought when I got my 57 plate T180 and it is still unopened. I check the oil weekly and it has had nothing done to it except when it is changed at its service.

No point in crying over spilled oil until (if) it happens.

[anchorman]

By May 2007 the oil consumption problems were fixed but not necessarily the oil leak. Again I must stress that in most cases they either didn't leak (my red RAV was always bone dry) or they only weeped and had a damp patch.

If you change your own oil you can look for yourself or make arrangements to have a look when the garage does it. As MarsKy says, if it hasn't shown itself underneath don't worry about the leak but keep an eye on that oil (you probably know from your Dad whether or not it uses any).

[talim]

That is an enormous amount of money or an oil leak on a 4 year old car with 21,000 on the clock.

Can we assume that it was obtained through a private sale, as you do not seem to say anything about a 12 month warranty from the seller.

Trev..

Bought it from a dealer...got a 12 month warranty but it does not cover oil leaks!

[talim]

Welcome to the club.

That kind of leak is not uncommon on that age of car and there have been several owners that have been made aware of it or had it done. There is also a TSB on it.

Write to Toyota HQ or ask your dealer to do it for you with a request for a "policy warranty claim". If they refuse it, don't bother about it until it does leak onto the drive as it could weep like that for many years. If you get chance to look you will see we are talking about more of a damp stain than a leak but to do it the engine has to come out and they will reseal the sump at the same time which is why it is so expensive.

You should also be aware that your engine might use a surprising amount of oil (up to 1 litre per 1000 miles but probably more like 1 litre per 5000 miles) so keep a close eye on that too. The oil is burned and nothing to do with the leak.

Its not all bad news though. You have bought a superb vehicle so don't be too disappointed!

Tell us more about it and where you are as it doesn't say in your profile

I am guessing my Rav4 is a prime candidet for this also? 2006 with 35K on the clock... a bit worrying

Thanks for the advice...I will write to Toyota HQ...Cheers