artbuc

I have/had two vehicles with the V6 3.0L engine with a combined mileage of
201k. Did not experience any engine sludge or rear oil seal leaks so far (my Avalon has only 96k miles).

Does anyone know if and how Toyota solved the sludge problem? Does the 3.5L still run hot so that it will also be susceptible to rear oil seal failures?

I have owned nothing but Toyota cars since 1974. Here are the cars we have bought, all brand new (Corolla, Cressida, Tercel, 4Runner, LS400 and RX300). I never thought I would consider anything but a Toyota but, if I am objective, I must admit that Toyota has had more than their share of major quality issues.

Yesterday we looked at the Acura MDX and it is a whole lot more car than the RX350 for less money. I'm not sure I can bring myself to buy another Toyota. My wife definitely doesn't want one.

So, can anyone confirm that Toyota has eliminated the cause of engine sludge and premature rear oil seal failures? Thanks.

Lexmex

One thing I know they have done in the 2nd and 3rd generations over the 1st is that the oil passages are much better, hence not as prone to sludge conditions (this generally should be an evolution of any vehicle over time with better materials). The problem is that we still need to see 3rd gen and more so 2nd gen models as they increase with mileage and see what issues occur, but I haven't seen them and I wouldn't bet on it being an issue given the different motors now used (and they can also use a W20 oil). Keep in mind though that more people are probably conscious of the oil sludge issue than if the problem never arose and that may factor into whether we see any issue with 2nd or 3rd, but I would bet in that case it would be someone who clearly didn't change their oil out until WELL past due and even then used some really crappy oil. One can get any vehicle to sludge under the right circumstances.