SR180 gone - head gasket

[Artiom]

Hi all,

This is a (very) short review of my Auris.

I had a Toyota Auris SR180 - it was a lovely car to drive, however a while ago it started to develop head gasket issues. It manifested for the first time while driving on motorway - the engine started overheating. I had to slow down to 60mph and drive at lowest revs possible to nearest services - I noticed that the blown head gasket was allowing the exhaust gases to get in the cooling system and due to pressure buildup it pushed out the coolant causing a leak. I topped it up and continued the journey - as I didn't had any more overheating issues. A diagnostics at a mechanic confirmed the issue. While the car could still drive as long as you bleed the pressure (or just don't push the engine hard) - I decided to get rid of it and to get another car. The replacement car is much newer and with comparable "oomph", but from a different manufacturer, so we won't discuss it here 🙂

I would have kept this car indefinitely, as it was a pleasure to drive, it was fully packed with all bells and whistles an SR180 could possibly have and didn't had any other issues. Well, that's pretty much it.

[Countrylad]

Summary of the Toyota diesel head issue: https://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/topic/132178-charliefarlies-guide-to-the-toyota-2ad-diesel-engine-and-its-issues/

I had a blown head gasket once on a diesel Ford Focus TDCI. As you say, the problem was (temporarily) manageable if I depressurised the coolant reservoir from time to time.  It cost me about £700 in the end to get it replaced at my local indy, but that was because everything else was clean and tidy inside. (No EGR issues, for instance, and the head hadn't warped from the overheating.)

I am sure you fessed up to the prob at trade-in time? Hope the new car serves you well.