QuestionI have a 2002 Camry, 34,000 miles, when I start the car a whitish slightly blue smoke comes out of the tail pipe. It doesn't happen everytime I start the car but more often then not. I had brought it to the dealership and they questioned my oil changes. I admit that I don't always get my oil changes done in the typical 3,000 miles but when we purchased the car they said we can go 5,000 to 6,000 miles. I had brought the car to fast lube places about 3 times and the other two were done by family members. Toyota said that I would need a new short block because there seems to be some sludge and that they would not cover it under warranty because I had oil changes done by family and couldn't prove that I actually had them done. Could the smoke be caused by some other problem that they might not be looking at and just want me to change out the block to get money out of me? Is there an additive that can be added with the oil that would help clean some of the sludge out of the engine? Also, the car seems to be going through oil quickly. In January I had an oil change done, in March I had to add a couple quarts of oil into the car and then this last week had to add another couple of quarts into the car. Could there just be a leak somewhere within the engine and the oil is burning somewhere? There isn't any oil on the ground when I park my car. How serious is this problem? I'm afraid to take their word for it change the block and still have the problem afterwards, especially since I'm female, I don't want to be taken advantage of. Please help?! Also, the service manager had told me that they just covered someone under warranty for the same problem, do you know if this is a new problem with Camry's? Have you come across this problem?
AnswerI haven't run into this condition yet with a camry this new and at this low mileage, normal oil consumption is about one quart in 500 miles, I'm not sure what the problem is here but if the dealer told you that there is a problem and the short block should be replaced they should offer to replace it under the 5yr/60,000 mile powertrain warranty, I understand their concern because the oil changes were not done at regular intervals and documented and they may have a point there.
Here is my suggestion as to a course of action to take:
Go in and talk to the service manager at the dealer
(remember, the car is still under toyota's factory powertrain warranty)
If the manager is unwilling to offer assistance call the customer relations officer at the dealer and explain the situation.
Wait for an answer from them.
If there is still no help from the dealer call the toyota customer service 800 number, it should be in your ownwer's manual or you can request it from the dealer's customer relations person, once you contact the customer service rep at the 800 number explain the situation exactly and have as much information as you can possibly have on hand, it is then up to them whether or not to assist you in solving this problem, they will also contact the dealer and recommend a course of action to take in trying to resolve this condition, Toyota has an excellent reputation for customer satisfaction and customer loyalty and I'm sure this will be taken care of in a reasonable manner, good luck with this and please keep me posted as to what happens.
