I meant to say, I am asking, because I am considering a 2002 Avalon XLS, with 137K miles. It is loaded to the maximum. They are asking $9995, which seems good according to KBB/NADA. It is supposed to be in excellent conditions.
Also- what about the timing belts? Are they non-interference engines? Thanks!
Any car that doesn't get regular oil changes will sludge. The 3.0 Toyotas tended to have the problem more. High operating temp to cut down emissions didn't help, nor did the ridiculously long recommended oil change intervals. I had two of these engine equipped vehicles with well over 100k miles & absolutely not a hint of sludge. I also did 3k mile oil changes & kept very detailed records.
My advice: Pull the oil drain plug & look inside with a bore scope. If you see brown mud, it's toast or close to it. If everything looks like steel, it's OK. Most mechanics have a borescope.
Thanks for the advice and links! Most informative. Its too bad that most of the Toyotas I am currently considering are at higher risk of this- such as the Camry as well. I am glad to see the Tacoma and Tundra are NOT on the list, because I am considering those as well.
This Avalon as mentioned, is an 02' XLS model in EC. I have not yet checked it out closely, but it seems to have been very well cared for. I can only hope that the engine has been treated the same. I am skeptical, because they are only asking $9995. for it, which seems cheap for an 02' XLS model. It does have 137K however.
Sometimes I think I may be better off with an older Camry- like a 92-96 model, with ultra low mileage. I had a 93' LE V6 in the past that was a wonderful car, even with 220K.
I am wondering if the 02' Avalons had the sludge issue, or was it the 4-cylinders only? What all models/years were troubled?
4 cylinder was never in the avalon v6 allways .....
yes it's be noted the 3.0 liter v6 used in the avalon had sludge issues and toyota ext the warrent on certain avalons but key is getting oil done every 3 to 5 k to avoid problems
I meant to say, I am asking, because I am considering a 2002 Avalon XLS, with 137K miles. It is loaded to the maximum. They are asking $9995, which seems good according to KBB/NADA. It is supposed to be in excellent conditions.
Also- what about the timing belts? Are they non-interference engines? Thanks!
There are Timing belt's on the avalon has to be done every 90 k and on some avalon's even sooner....
4 cylinder was never in the avalon v6 allways .....
yes it's be noted the 3.0 liter v6 used in the avalon had sludge issues and toyota ext the warrent on certain avalons but key is getting oil done every 3 to 5 k to avoid problems
I think he meant 4 cylinder had issues with the sludge in general and not that there was a 4 cylinder in an Avalon per say. But thats how I read it and interpreted it.
Anyhow, those links were pretty nice. We do sludge checks on all toyota's at work that come in. We just pop the valve cover off and its pretty obvious when you see it. It looks as if someone squeezed grease all over that thing inside the engine.
Holly macro, here are some pictures from the links above...
This one has a comparison of an engine with and w/o sludge.
With sludge: \
W/O sludge
As mentioned, popping the valve cover is nice and easy (don't do this on a Volvo though, big no no). Sometimes the oil hole looks sludgy, but thats just how it looks like. Usually the internals will look nice and clean if you do your oil changes peroperly and an time.
Thanks for the advice and links! Most informative. Its too bad that most of the Toyotas I am currently considering are at higher risk of this- such as the Camry as well. I am glad to see the Tacoma and Tundra are NOT on the list, because I am considering those as well.
This Avalon as mentioned, is an 02' XLS model in EC. I have not yet checked it out closely, but it seems to have been very well cared for. I can only hope that the engine has been treated the same. I am skeptical, because they are only asking $9995. for it, which seems cheap for an 02' XLS model. It does have 137K however.
Sometimes I think I may be better off with an older Camry- like a 92-96 model, with ultra low mileage. I had a 93' LE V6 in the past that was a wonderful car, even with 220K.
Thanks again!
The Camry is where it is on the list due to the volume of sales. Tons more Camrys than Avalons on the road. My guess is folks that drive Camrys tend to not keep up with maintenance.
My guess is since the car has that many miles, acceptable maintenance was done. Most croaked at between 50k & 75k miles. I'd still have a peek at the bottom end...much easier to pull a drainplug than pop a valve cover.
Asking price seems pretty good for the age & mileage. The closer you get to KBB trade in, the better.
I have a 2000 Avalon and received a letter from Toyota several years ago warning about the sludge problem. They extended the warranty for sludge engine failures. Also, Consumer Reports recently discussed sludge issues in several makes/models and the manufacturer's responses, Toyota is among the more responsive with lower level of proof of oil changes.
Because of these issues, I use Mobil 1, which is less sludgie.
Thanks... yes, this is a old thread and I ended up passing on that 2002 Avalon. Thanks for the replies though!
And yes I did understand that all Avalons have V6, but wondering at the time if it was a 4-cylinder issue as well. I understand more about it now, but....
[B]NOW, I am considering a 1995 Avalon and wondering if this issue dated back on the 1995 models as well? I do not recall reading about this being a problem on the 1995-97 models.
The one I am looking at is a 1995 and has 171K miles and at 78K when the current owner acquired it, he ONLY used synthetic motor oils, but at this time, not sure at what intervals. Can I use a flashlight and look into the oil fill hole and see if there is sludge? Would that be good enough of a guide? I obviously cannot pop the valve cover off of someone elses car. Any other ways to tell if it has sludge? Will is be smoking? Engine noise? Low power? etc? Is Toyota offering any discounts on repairing locked up engines, or? [/B]
Did the 02' Avalon have the "sludge" issue?
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