The following article comes from today's Wall Street Journal:

Toyota Agrees to Sludge Pact Accord Will Settle Claims on Damage
From Oil Build-Up
By JONATHAN WELSH
Wall Street Journal January 30, 2007; Page B14

In an important legal precedent for car owners, Toyota Motor Corp.'s U.S. sales unit agreed to settle with thousands of consumers who say oil-sludge build-up ruined their car engines even though they followed maintenance guidelines.

Under the pending agreement between Toyota Motor Sales and motorists who are part of a class-action lawsuit, the Japanese car maker will compensate owners of sludge-damaged cars for engine-repair costs and related expenses from towing and storage charges to rental cars, attorney fees and "inconvenience, annoyance, anxiety and aggravation," according to the settlement agreement filed this month in Louisiana state court in Jefferson Parish. A judge is expected to approve the agreement in a Feb. 7 hearing.

The outcome sets a pattern under which similar cases against car companies could be pursued. Though Toyota's sludge problems have received a lot of attention, car makers including DaimlerChrysler AG, Volkswagen AG and General Motors Corp.'s Saab also have received a large number of complaints from customers about sludge-related damage.

While car makers' standard defense has long been that sludge is the result of neglect by the owner, the Toyota case seems to make clear that many owners had sludge problems despite changing their oil at proper intervals and otherwise maintaining their cars according to car-company recommendations.

Engine sludge or oil gelling can occur as metal particles and other sediment collect in engine oil and cause it to thicken. Eventually it no longer can flow properly through an engine's network of tiny oil passages and parts of the engine fail after being starved for lubrication. In some cases an engine may seem to be operating properly before a sudden failure. Other times drivers will notice the car emitting bluish smoke from the tailpipe as the first symptom of a sludge problem.

Some of Toyota's critics, including a number of mechanics, have said certain oil passages were too small in the Toyota and Lexus engines that became known for sludge problems. One theory is that openings inside the engines that let oil to pass from the upper part of the engine to the lower parts -- often called the bottom end -- were easily clogged by even tiny amounts of sediment. As a result major components such as piston rings, crankshafts and connecting rods tend to fail, causing enough damage to require engine replacement. Such repairs can cost as much as $10,000, which can be close to a cars total value depending on age and model. Toyota still says the sludge didn't result from any engine-design problem.

A Toyota spokesman says the new agreement, under which the company will repair sludge-related damage for as much as eight years after the purchase of certain vehicles, is essentially the same as a customer-support program the company started in 2002. Toyota agrees to treat the repairs as if they are under warranty even if customers haven't strictly followed the company's oil-change guidelines, according to the spokesman.

The preliminary agreement focuses on two engines; a four-cylinder model called the 5S-FE and a six-cylinder known as 1MZ-FE. The engines were used in Toyota Camry models from 1997 to 2002, Solara models from 1999 to 2002, Sienna minivans from 1998 to 2002, Avalon sedans from 1997 to 2002, Celica coupes from 1997 to 1999, Highlander sport-utility vehicles from 2001 and 2002, Lexus ES 300 sedans from 1997 to 2002 and RX 300 SUVs from 1999 to 2002.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs said they have sent about 7.5 million notices of the class action to owners and former owners of vehicles included in the lawsuit. Vehicles covered by the settlement could total as many as 3.5 million. Gary Gambel, a partner in the New Orleans firm of Murphy, Rogers, Sloss & Gambel, says he won't know the size of the plaintiff class for awhile but says disgruntled Toyota and Lexus owners "have been coming out of the woodwork" as an agreement has drawn near.

The case began with Jeff Meckstroth, a New Orleans stockbroker, who purchased a Lexus RX 300 sport-utility vehicle in late 1998. After about two years and 42,468 miles, the Lexus's engine failed. He wound up winning an arbitration case under which Lexus replaced the engine in his vehicle.

 

Yea, I got something from my dealership about this in the mail a little while back.

 

Good info thanks. I never recieved anything in the mail about this though.

 

They told me to keep the letter in my glove box too.

 

Interesting and thanks for the heads up.

 

what if we just bought our lexus a year ago w/ 89K miles on it and this just happened? if it turns out to be sludge, are we covered, and who do we contact about this?

 

Hello Everyone,

I just wanted to share my story about my sludge problem.

My wife and I have owned a 1999 RX300 since 2003. In 2007, the engine light came on and the car was acting sluggish. I took it to my local dealer and engine sludge build-up was the culprit requiring an engine replacement. We bought is as a certified pre-owned and all maintenance was done through Lexus at the proper intervals. The RX was well out of any warranty, yet Lexus still replaced our engine for free. That was back in 2007 when Toyota had a TSB (Technical Service Bulletin) regarding this issue. Bottom line is that if you speak to your service advisor, Lexus will try to work with you. Now we have a 1999 RX300 with 134K on the odometer, but only 20K on the engine.

If you speak to your service advisor and have proof of regular maintenance, Lexus would take care of you, even before this article even appeared.

 

What if we didnt buy it directly from the dealer? Can we get this done?

 

^^^ good question

 

probably not .. especially if your car is out of warranty.

 

My previously owned ES had the engine rebuilt (new short block, gelled engine, rebuilt heads) around 35K miles ago (60k) due to this exact same issue! Dumb thing is they offered to replace the water pump and timing belt for just the cost of the parts while it was apart, and the previous owner declined! Now I gotta change them!

 

can't win them all. You don't have to replace the water pump man...

My 01, i was recommended to have the gaskets replaced. All i had done, was gaskets/seals waterpump & T-Belt. Something else too, i forget

 

I might as well while I have it apart (if not, that will be the next thing to go!) - can get the whole kit (water pump, belt, idler pulleys) on eBay for $100.

 

Get all the maintenance pulled at the Lexus dealer with the VIN - it MIGHT have been done already, like mine!

 

I have a 2000 RX300 with the sludge prone engine. It currently has 175,000 miles and I have had all maintenance done on time at the dealer.the dealer advised me that their was an oil leak due to failed gaskets and seals and wanted $3,000 to repair it. After reading this thread, I am suspecting that this is a sludge related problem. Has anyone had similar problems and Does anyone know if the expense of the repair would covered under the lawsuit Toyota settled several years ago regarding this issue? Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!