Oil leak Aurion 2007

[nushydude]

Hi, 

Yesterday morning I went for out in the car and came back in the afternoon. On the driveway I noticed an oil trail. Checked couple of hours later and there was spill underneath the engine. Checked with the dipstick and nothing showed up! 

The engine oil had been completely leaked. 

 

[The spill and the oil trail]

Searched the forums here and found out that there is a known issue with the oil cooler hose and the vvt-i hose. Hopefully it's one of those and as per what I read and heard from an independent mechanic it will be replaced by Toyota free of charge. 

I'm just glad that we didn't end up getting stuck in the middle of nowhere yesterday. Would have been horrible with the babies. 

I towed the car down to Chadstone Toyota today the first thing in the morning which is about a couple of miles from where I live. Let's see what happens. They said they'll keep me updated. 

I hope I can get the car back by Wednesday (before the Australia day) because I had plans for Friday. *sigh*

Will keep you guys posted.  

Wish me luck. 

Edited January 23, 2017 by nushydude

[trentmeyer23]

Hopefully you got it before it did any damage.

[nushydude]

Just now, trentmeyer23 said:

Hopefully you got it before it did any damage.

I hope so too. I didn't apparently run it with no oil because there was a reasonably large spill after I parked the car. They had to start the car for a few seconds to load it up to the truck though. 

[campbeam]

Based upon my recent experience, it sounds more like being the VVT-i line. My hose only had a pinhole and output lots of oil while the engine was idling on the driveway . Apparently, if it is the oil cooler hose, you lose most of the oil onto the road very quickly. The only indication that the engine has lost so much oil is if the oil pressure warning light displays. In my case, this warning light just flickered on briefly then went away.

Toyota Australia will definitely cover the oil cooler hose. When I asked about the VVT-i oil line, I was told not covered by extended customer service.

Expect to pay about $500-$600 to have the oil line replaced with the full metal line. I had previously bought the parts and spent a frustrating weekend doing this repair.

[nushydude]

9 minutes ago, campbeam said:

Based upon my recent experience, it sounds more like being the VVT-i line. My hose only had a pinhole and output lots of oil while the engine was idling on the driveway . Apparently, if it is the oil cooler hose, you lose most of the oil onto the road very quickly. The only indication that the engine has lost so much oil is if the oil pressure warning light displays. In my case, this warning light just flickered on briefly then went away.

Toyota Australia will definitely cover the oil cooler hose. When I asked about the VVT-i oil line, I was told not covered by extended customer service.

Expect to pay about $500-$600 to have the oil line replaced with the full metal line. I had previously bought the parts and spent a frustrating weekend doing this repair.

Darn! $500-600! I hate these unexpected expenses when we are saving up for a house!!! 

I never saw the oil pressure warning come up. Why would it come up and go away? If you missed it, you are a goner, aren't you? 

Anyways, I called Chadstone Toyota a short while ago but they haven't had time to take a look at it yet. They are prioritising the scheduled services. Hopefully the guy in charge of my car will be able to look at it in the evening. I have a feeling that I won't get the car back by Wednesday. :(

[Full-Throttle]

If it's either of the oil lines (VVTi or oil cooler lines) they only leak when under pressure (when the engine is running). It doesn't take long for the oil to squirt out at an extremely fast rate though, so if you left the car running for a minute or so when you got home that would definitely explain the puddle underneath and the lack of oil in the engine. If it randomly leaked out overnight however then it could be something else, such as a leaking seal or cracked sump, but the oil lines are the most common to go, so it's more than likely what's happened.

[nushydude]

I didn't have the engine running after parking the car. I came home, parked the car, switched the engine off, spotted the oil trail, went up to the apartment, came back in an hour or so, and then there was the puddle. 

Edit: added the image of the spill and oil trail.

Edited January 23, 2017 by nushydude

[nushydude]

So...I heard from them. It was a damage in the VVT-I line. Told me it will cost me $520, so like @campbeam mentioned, it is not covered by warranty. :(

[Full-Throttle]

16 minutes ago, nushydude said:

So...I heard from them. It was a damage in the VVT-I line. Told me it will cost me $520, so like @campbeam mentioned, it is not covered by warranty. :(

That's a shame. There's a piece of foam along the side of the VVTi line, so what likely would have happened as it would have leaked into that until it couldn't absorb any more, then dripped down through the engine bay until it hit the concrete and pooled up. Probably a good thing as you could have quite easily driven away the following morning. My VVTi line blew in a similar fashion, and then a month later the front oil cooler hoses blew too. $520 sounds steep, should only be a couple of hundred at the most. Make sure that whoever you get to do it uses the FULL metal VVTi line, NOT a rubber one.

[campbeam]

 

6 hours ago, nushydude said:

there was a reasonably large spill after I parked the car. They had to start the car for a few seconds to load it up to the truck though. 

Your engine should be OK.

 

1 hour ago, nushydude said:

Told me it will cost me $520,

This quote should be for the full metal line. Extra time involved removing the belt driven steering pump to access the lower bolt on the VVT-i line.

US Highlander model has the 2GR-FE engine but with electric steering. This explains why people on Toyota Nation forum were able to do the replacement in <2 hours.

[nushydude]

$520 is for the part, engine oil and labour. Not just the part. I think most of it is labour. But sure, it isn't cheap! I could think of million things I could have done with that much money. 

Unfortunately, the guy wasn't sure whether the part will be metal or rubber. He said all he knows is that the part is a genuine Toyota part. I really hope that Toyota doesn't make rubber hoses anymore. 

I will be getting the oil cooler hose replaced with a metal one as well, now that you've spread some horror into my head, @Full-Throttle :D I was told the part won't be expensive. Is there any way to get it done free of charge, because this is a actually replaced free of charge in the event of a burst. Should we have to wait for something to happen to claim it out on warranty??? That is stupid.

[trentmeyer23]

20 minutes ago, nushydude said:

 I was told the part won't be expensive. Is there any way to get it done free of charge, because this is a actually replaced free of charge in the event of a burst. Should we have to wait for something to happen to claim it out on warranty??? That is stupid.

In this case, Toyota very much believe in the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" train of thought. It all comes down to money and supply.

[nushydude]

4 minutes ago, trentmeyer23 said:

In this case, Toyota very much believe in the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" train of thought. It all comes down to money and supply.

What happens if the engine gets ruined because of a burst cooling hose? Would they fox the engine fee of charge? No right? So they probably do this for more money. 

[trentmeyer23]

3 minutes ago, nushydude said:

What happens if the engine gets ruined because of a burst cooling hose? Would they fox the engine fee of charge? No right? So they probably do this for more money. 

I think they do if the busted hose hurts the engine. Replacing/rebuilding a few engines is still cheaper than replacing(parts/labour) every line ever fitted.

If the engine failures cost outweighed the hose cost, then their tone would change.

[campbeam]

12 hours ago, nushydude said:

$520 is for the part, engine oil and labour. Not just the part. I think most of it is labour. But sure, it isn't cheap!

To give you a good understanding of what is involved have a look at the tutorial posted by DJKOR. As he states at the very beginning:

Difficulty: Frustrating

Swear Factor: Extremely high

Notes: I would advise to NOT do this yourself unless you have small hands and A LOT of patience. Working with the 2GR in the Aurion engine bay is not the most pleasant experience.

 

Totally endorse his "warnings". I did my replacement a few months ago so I am a bit over the "anger management experience".  Just as well I love having the extra KWs for overtaking on the highways.

[07Prodigy]

Hey guys/girls, so basically from what I've read there are two oil lines that get replaced for free, plus an vvti oil line that you have to pay for?

 

is this correct?

[nushydude]

Just now, 07Prodigy said:

Hey guys/girls, so basically from what I've read there are two oil lines that get replaced for free, plus an vvti oil line that you have to pay for?

 

is this correct?

VVT-I line is not replaced free of charge. 

Oil cooler line is replaced free of charge only if it goes bad. Otherwise they will charge for replacing it. 

[07Prodigy]

But isn't there two oil lines plus the vvti line

[nushydude]

2 minutes ago, 07Prodigy said:

But isn't there two oil lines plus the vvti line

You got me there. I seriously don't know.

[07Prodigy]

Yeah that's what I'm having trouble understanding. See when I read it, from my understanding, toyota replaced one oil line as a campaign/recall. Then there was another they would replace as a campaign type thing if it leaked. Then the vvti line the customer had to pay for.

[campbeam]

1 hour ago, 07Prodigy said:

But isn't there two oil lines plus the vvti line

There are two VVT-i oil lines; front bank and rear bank. Front bank VVT-i oil line is full metal which is what you would expect as it is so close to the exhaust manifold.

The rear bank VVT-i oil line had the rubber hose section which was eventually replaced by the full metal line in later production.

The oil cooler hose has 2 lines/hoses connecting into and out of the oil pump and the engine. Attached document has a parts diagram and photos to better explain/understand these different parts.

2GR FE Oil Cooler Replacement Information Instructions.doc

[07Prodigy]

Ok sweet thanks for that.

I have just looked at my car and they are rubber, but it has the "AHG56B2" campaign sticker. So I ran toyota and asked, and according to a Toyota  dealership in Nerang, they don't always replace them with an all metal pipe. Apparently it's whatever Toyota has is stock that they use. So I have two rubber hoses going to/from the oil cooler.

The hose that is leaking is coming from near the power steering pump, which going on that diagram is for the VVTi, and I'm guessing this could be why it's always making the clanging noise when I first start it, because oil is leaking out while the car is sitting.

[07Prodigy]

Ok so is this a 40 series issue?

i was thinking of buying a 50 series, but if I'm going to have all these issues I'll just get a Tesla.

[campbeam]

On 23/1/2017 at 4:00 PM, Full-Throttle said:

My VVTi line blew in a similar fashion, and then a month later the front oil cooler hoses blew too.

I previously read this post by Full Throttle then did a bit of research. I replaced my VVT-i line in early October just before a scheduled interstate trip.

For emergency purposes for the front oil cooler hoses, I bought Silicone Rescue Tape from Jaycar.

https://www.jaycar.com.au/silicone-rescue-tape/p/NA2829

[07Prodigy]

Thanks, but I can't get my hands in there to tape up where it's leaking from, and without axle stands I can't really get my head under to see wha I'm doing.

Ill just have to call a tow truck if it bursts...