So much for Toyotas lasting.

[jim mansfield]

My wife and I purchased a brand new Toyota rav4 sx6 in 2010. So far so good. Serviced when needed. Total kilometers to date 80000. Now apparently I have 3 stuffed catalytic converters. I replaced the rear one for $2500 at Toyota workshop after being told it was the problem. Oh no it wasn't. They now tell me I have to replace the other two. Total cost about $5000. As my wife and I are 80 year old pensioners it was hard enough to pay for the first one and we certainly cannot pay for the other two. I complained to corporate Toyota and had a call from (lets say his name should have been Adolf) who all but called me a liar and stated " what do you expect from a 12 year old car" . So that is our life now,my wife has a terminal illness and I keep cancelling the 3 warning lights with my cheap scanner. We cannot purchase another vehicle and we cannot sell the Rav as it is. It is worth nothing. So congratulations Toyota for trying force me to comply with regulations when you yourself are being sued for breaking the law.  Jim Mansfield
 

 

[Dougsshed]

On 12/7/2022 at 12:48 PM, jim mansfield said:

My wife and I purchased a brand new Toyota rav4 sx6 in 2010. So far so good. Serviced when needed. Total kilometers to date 80000. Now apparently I have 3 stuffed catalytic converters. I replaced the rear one for $2500 at Toyota workshop after being told it was the problem. Oh no it wasn't. They now tell me I have to replace the other two. Total cost about $5000. As my wife and I are 80 year old pensioners it was hard enough to pay for the first one and we certainly cannot pay for the other two. I complained to corporate Toyota and had a call from (lets say his name should have been Adolf) who all but called me a liar and stated " what do you expect from a 12 year old car" . So that is our life now,my wife has a terminal illness and I keep cancelling the 3 warning lights with my cheap scanner. We cannot purchase another vehicle and we cannot sell the Rav as it is. It is worth nothing. So congratulations Toyota for trying force me to comply with regulations when you yourself are being sued for breaking the law.  Jim Mansfield
 

 

Hi Jim, I'm new to this forum and just read your post. Sorry you're having issues like this. Catalytic converters should last just about the life of the car....certainly longer than 80,000km. That being said, certain conditions will reduce the life of the converter. Unburnt fuel and oil will reduce its life by coating it with deposits so that the catalyst surfaces can't interact with the exhaust emissions. I'm a little worried about your comment "serviced when needed". It is really important to service your car when due. Your comment sounds like you don't do this. Forgive me if I'm wrong.  By now, your car should have had 24 services based on 6 mthly intervals.
One of the things that any dealer (any brand) will do when faced with an 'out of warranty' claim is look at the service history. If the car has been religiously serviced by the dealer at every specified interval, they may do a good-will warranty or a discounted repair but if services have only been done at random intervals, then the response will almost always be negative. In this instance, if you fall into the category of occasional services when the car 'feels like it needs it', then bad adjustments let go for too long may have contributed to the problem.
I'm not a mechanic but I try to keep myself informed about my cars and used to do all my own work when I was younger. Regarding Toyota, you'll always have some dealers that aren't user friendly (any brand) but Toyota is very well known for reliability and quality and the dealers are generally pretty good. Their reputation relies on it. I think that there are products that you can buy that may clean converters but I've never needed to use such a product and, for me, I'd be very careful with aftermarket additives. I would stay with Toyota and Toyota original equipment. If you are unhappy with this dealer, try a different one (unless there's only one in your area). Otherwise, perhaps ask a private mechanic what they think.

Lastly, in case I sound like a Toyota employee or something, let me assure you that I have absolutely no affiliation with Toyota. I've just had a really good run with Toyotas.

[CONROD]

Keep it! You've had it since new, STAY AWAY From bloody dealers, find a reputable exhaust shop (specialist), someone who has good reviews, or an Independent Mechanic, that you can trust, go there and explain what Toyota has diagnosed. Could only be a buggered O2 sensor, but keep the SX6, they dont make them anymore and they go like a scolded cat with the same 3.5 lt V6 as in the Aurion.

Have you got a family member, eg; son, nephew? even a Neighbour? who you trust to accompany you , so the buggers dont try and rip you off.

Just out of interest what are the 3 illuminated lights you keep cancelling, as they could be an indication of where the fault lies 

Edited April 16, 2023 by CONROD

[Tony Prodigy]

You can almost guarantee you'll get hosed by the dealer. Their mantra is REPLACE, REPLACE, REPLACE, despite an incorrect diagnosis. Shot gun diagnosis seems to be the order these days.

Even IF the cat was faulty, I would never pay that extortionate amount. I would most definitely find a good used one. Nothing wrong with that. Cats are supposed to last the lifetime of the car and if you have had the wrong diagnosis, paying the stealership 2.5 to 5K to fix a problem that isn't the real problem, I'd run as fast as I could.

 

[CONROD]

Speaking of Catalytic Converters;

Catalytic converter thefts on the rise in Australia as rare metal values climb - ABC News