Oil leak or oil burnt out?

[DeafDave76]

Hi guys,

Car has done 39,128 kms. Last night i caught for a few secs the low engine pressure oil warning light came on then disappeared after i suddenly braked to avoid hitting a duck near my place. There was no more warnings all the time I was driving.

This morning, something in my guts told me to check the dipstick and sure enough not a drop of oil in the stick. I went to supercheap to get more oil and put it in before i went to work.

Valvoline Armour 10W-30 (pays to check the FAQ) was on special here for $33 for 5 litre

I just checked my car during lunch time for any leaks and found none which bothered me.

Before I book the mechanics to have a look and potentially waste $$$ over what could be nothing, i thought i could ask the brains here.

I remember on FAQ something about VVTI leak but my car is built 2011 and should have metal hose instead of rubber as the first 2006-2009 had so that potentially rules that out(?).

Regards

Dave

[Full-Throttle]

Hey Dave, the only way to tell for sure if your Aurion has the metal lines is by looking at them. The easiest one to spot is the one at the back the engine near the firewall, on the driver's side. Once you open the bonnet you'll see it going down the back of the engine. The facelift Aurions typically had the 'revised' rubber hose on them, which was much more durable than the rubber hose on the 1st generation Aurion but still prone to leaking due to still being made of rubber. The latest shape Aurion (GSV50) had the full metal lines on all versions however. It is possible that you have a pin hole leak in that line or the oil cooler line at the front of the engine.

I have experienced both of these failing on my Aurion in the last 3 months - The rear one 2 months ago and the front one about a month ago, both of which I have upgraded to the full metal replacement. The rear one started as a pin hole leak and the only thing that caught my attention were tiny oil drops on my garage floor. Fortunately I got the car to my mechanic the next day as I was very aware of the potential disaster waiting to happen and caught it just in time. The front line however didn't give any warning whatsoever. One minute it was fine, and the next thing I know the engine temperature started rising and oil was spraying everywhere under the car. This was also a pin hole leak but squirted out the oil rapidly.

Some engines have a tendency to use more oil than others, but, depending on when your last oil change was, to go through 6 litres of oil on a 39,000km motor is rather concerning. I'd be checking both the front and rear oil lines, the sump nut and the oil filter, to make sure everything is tight and leak-free. It could be nothing, but it's definitely worth getting under the car and having a look. Bear in mind that the oil lines will only leak when the engine is running, so you may have to get the car up on a hoist with a torch to properly inspect everything.

[DeafDave76]

Hi Full Throttle,

Service was done on 17th July 2015. so that means in just under 4 months, oil was gone! I will bring the matter to that servicing place to complain about it. I suspect they may have not tightened either sump nut or oil filter. But I will check the lines, the rear and front. You could be right that I may have got pin hole leak in either one of them.

I will have to take it to Toyota mechs to have them replace those 2 lines with metal ones but last thing I need is to go to stealership garages. My warranty expired this year in January.

Regards

Dave

[DeafDave76]

UPDATE:

Took my car in at a separate Toyota garage near Perth CBD. This garage is not linked to dealer car yards. The car yards are at 2 different locations: one in Northbridge and one in nedlands.

Cause of oil link: damaged oil filter seal (probably the cheap service center I went to may have over tightened the filter damaging the seal in process - I will never go back there!)

Replacement: new filter plus engine flush and new oil in = $185.

VVTI oil line no issue according to them. It still held. No pin hole leak.

Today is black friday but i got extremely lucky this time! No damage inside the engine.

Happy days. Thanks Full Throttle. One of your guesses was spot on.

[Full-Throttle]

Great to hear that you resolved the problem and that it was an easy fix. Probably a good thing that duck was on the road as it likely saved you the cost of a new engine! ^_^

[mg85]

Good News,

Sounds like a fair chance the service centre did not locate the oring on the filter housing properly it sits in a groove of its own not against the filter flange.

The genuine filters come with a little diagram of where it sits.

Simple job but not for some ay.

[DeafDave76]

mg85,

Yeah I think you may be right. Could be an apprentice mechanic doing this

Regards

Dave