Question3 quarts in 750 mi (driving 350 mi one way then back)
previous to this i drained my oil and had about half a quart left!
got home and pulled the plugs to do a compression test
but compression checks out on all cylinders
4/6 plugs had moderate to heavy white deposits
(cylinder 1,2,4,6)
very surprising since i just had the plugs replaced due to misfiring 3 months ago
also having error codes from the EGR system, replaced the egr vsv and seem to need to replace the valve position sensor as i now get p0402 code (prior p0401 and p1411)
cleaned out the egr valve too
not to confuse w/ the egr system just including the info in case its pertinent
smoke is some times apparent when i start the car taking on a large white shape that sits w/ faint blue
really worried here and am too broke to take it into a dealer at this point
AnswerThere are a couple of possible causes neither of which are going to be good news, the valve seals are probably leaking, this is an expensive repair, about $1,500 on the V-6 engine, there could also be a piston ring problem, with this much oil usage there should be blue smoke out of the exhaust most of the time.
These engines also had a problem developing excessive sludge buildup in the engine due to lack of regular oil changes, I would advise that the front valve cover be removed to inspect the inside for excessive oil gelling/sludge, if that's the case it will mean a complete engine overhaul or possibly an installation of a remanufactured engine,at that point I would consider trading the car in because it may cost more to repair it than it's fair market value. If you are the original owner and have proof of regular maintenance contact the toyota dealer and have them inspect it for oil gelling, if that's the case the factory may assist in the repair because they are aware that there was this problem, please remember that the dealer has to verify this condition and then get toyota involved, there are certain guidelines that must be met in order for the factory to assist, this is all the information I'm going to give to you about this, please do not tell anyone where you got this information.
You can get more information about this issue on the internet, try google.com and type in a search.
