Using Oil.. now new pistons!

Chef1969 · November 1, 2019

Hi all,

I though I would share my latest situation with my CT. A while ago I posted about it using oil and to update the issue.. it is taking about 2litres to top up between services. I had the 160K service done as its on 159K and I told Lexus about the oil consumption and they have agreed under the warranty to fix the problem. I was pleasantly surprised to say the least, as it being a high miler now I was happy to keep topping the oil up. The car is fine and runs really well but on Monday it goes in and it is having new pistons, rings etc and whatever else to fix the problem. Its in for 3 to 4 days. I think I have done well as the warranty which I took out was about £600 and they have already fixed the steering UJ issue and it had a new built in tom-tom Sat Nav fitted when that went faulty. I was always weary of warranties as in the past and from previous experience they always seem to refuse to pay out, but not in this case with the Lexus one.. fantastic.

I was wondering what to expect from having the new pistons fitted and your thoughts?

Britprius · November 1, 2019

The CT 1.8 engine "shared with the Prius" is known for this problem. Toyota/Lexus will not always admit to this, but if you go onto the American Prius chat forum you will find many posts about this. Many more Ct's, and Prius have been sold in the US than here.
The forum has a CT section as well as numerous Prius sections to deal with various iterations. The thing that is rely apparent is the need to use only 0W20 oil in this engine as any other grade causes problems particularly higher than expected fuel consumption.

John.

royoftherovers · November 2, 2019

11 hours ago, Chef1969 said:

Hi all,

I though I would share my latest situation with my CT. A while ago I posted about it using oil and to update the issue.. it is taking about 2litres to top up between services. I had the 160K service done as its on 159K and I told Lexus about the oil consumption and they have agreed under the warranty to fix the problem. I was pleasantly surprised to say the least, as it being a high miler now I was happy to keep topping the oil up. The car is fine and runs really well but on Monday it goes in and it is having new pistons, rings etc and whatever else to fix the problem. Its in for 3 to 4 days. I think I have done well as the warranty which I took out was about £600 and they have already fixed the steering UJ issue and it had a new built in tom-tom Sat Nav fitted when that went faulty. I was always weary of warranties as in the past and from previous experience they always seem to refuse to pay out, but not in this case with the Lexus one.. fantastic.

I was wondering what to expect from having the new pistons fitted and your thoughts?

A wonderful response from Lexus, Peter.

Difficult to imagine Audi, BMW or Mercedes acting like this.

Which Lexus Dealer in Cheshire did you use to pursue the Warranty claim?

me140 · November 2, 2019

I wouldn't be surprised if they end up putting a short motor in. The bore wear might be quite high and when they measure it they may find piston ring replacement won't be enough. Mind you, it won't cost you as you obviously have a great warranty. I bet you smile every time you think about the day you took it out. 😁

Britprius · November 2, 2019

43 minutes ago, me140 said:

I wouldn't be surprised if they end up putting a short motor in. The bore wear might be quite high and when they measure it they may find piston ring replacement won't be enough. Mind you, it won't cost you as you obviously have a great warranty. I bet you smile every time you think about the day you took it out. 😁

While I agree in principle to your comments it is unusual with modern engines to get any measurable bore ware at 160,000 miles. Often the bore honing marks will still be clearly visible. If broken rings have scored the bores that would be a different matter.
Toyota have had problems with the oil return holes in the oil ring groove getting clogged. They now fit pistons with larger holes, and a modified oil control ring.

John.

Chef1969 · November 2, 2019

Hi all and thanks for the responses. 😁

John I have heard about the Prius in the US having this issue with the engine and oil consumption and so on. I can imagine that Toyota & Lexus wouldn't want to shout about it. I must admit when I purchased the 0W20 I was surprised at how thin it was.. so when that is hot it must be even thinner.

Remind me what the short motor is again? I will of course up date the forum once the repair has been carried out and find out exactly what they do to it.

Mark.. oh yes I smile every time I think about signing the dotted line for the warranty I took as, at the time I wasn't sure but so glad I did. It was paid monthly too so I didn't even miss it,It is with Chester Lexus and they have been amazing. They really have looked after me and the customer service so far has been wonderful.. compared to Trust Ford when I had my TDCi Mondeo there's no comparison.

There is a UX waiting for me whilst they have mine next week which will be very nice.. Do you guys think I will feel a difference in the performance once its done? cheers

royoftherovers · November 2, 2019

2 hours ago, Chef1969 said:

Hi all and thanks for the responses. 😁

John I have heard about the Prius in the US having this issue with the engine and oil consumption and so on. I can imagine that Toyota & Lexus wouldn't want to shout about it. I must admit when I purchased the 0W20 I was surprised at how thin it was.. so when that is hot it must be even thinner.

Remind me what the short motor is again? I will of course up date the forum once the repair has been carried out and find out exactly what they do to it.

Mark.. oh yes I smile every time I think about signing the dotted line for the warranty I took as, at the time I wasn't sure but so glad I did. It was paid monthly too so I didn't even miss it,It is with Chester Lexus and they have been amazing. They really have looked after me and the customer service so far has been wonderful.. compared to Trust Ford when I had my TDCi Mondeo there's no comparison.

There is a UX waiting for me whilst they have mine next week which will be very nice.. Do you guys think I will feel a difference in the performance once its done? cheers

Lexus Chester and Tom in particular are outstanding.

Chef1969 · November 2, 2019

I fully agree and Tom is excellent there.. I always give him great feedback on the survey afterwards.

200h · November 2, 2019

Yes Tom is a decent bloke pity the same can't be said for his boss Phil he is a different story altogether

Lexus liverpool on the other hand are absolutely fantastic i cant recommend them enough.

royoftherovers · November 2, 2019

1 hour ago, 200h said:

Yes Tom is a decent bloke pity the same can't be said for his boss Phil he is a different story altogether

Lexus liverpool on the other hand are absolutely fantastic i cant recommend them enough.

Yes, Mark, I found Phil to be less than forthcoming intially but have now built up a satisfactory rapport with him.

I believe that he has now moved into another position in the Main Building.

Have you met Richard Clapham at Liverpool as I found him to be excellent when dealing with him.

200h · November 2, 2019

yeah.... richard is at lexus liverpool i first met him at chester in 2013 when i went to purchase

my 1st lexus he was the sales person i dealt with, he done all the groundwork took all the details

but true to form chester didnt get back in touch with me with a p/x valuation and after 5 days

i became tired waiting so i bought from liverpool.

me140 · November 3, 2019

On 11/2/2019 at 2:02 PM, Britprius said:

While I agree in principle to your comments it is unusual with modern engines to get any measurable bore ware at 160,000 miles. Often the bore honing marks will still be clearly visible. If broken rings have scored the bores that would be a different matter.
Toyota have had problems with the oil return holes in the oil ring groove getting clogged. They now fit pistons with larger holes, and a modified oil control ring.

John.

I totally agree John that it isn't that common anymore but it occasionally still happens. I have a friend with a Kia and earlier this year 6 years into it's 7 year warranty it developed a thirst for oil. It was stripped by Kia and wear level dictated an new short motor. It had been dealer serviced all its life and had 70k on it.

I was once talking to a bloke who worked on the Vauxhall V6 engine plant at Elsemere Port and he said that there was a noticeable difference in bore size from when the cutter was new compared to when it was time to replace it. That was a lot of years ago. Crikey, I still remember doing de cokes every other year on Fiesta Mk1's.

me140 · November 3, 2019

On 11/2/2019 at 3:42 PM, royoftherovers said:

Lexus Chester and Tom in particular are outstanding.

Short motor is head gasket down.

ira lexus customer · July 5, 2020

On 11/1/2019 at 6:12 PM, Chef1969 said:

Hi all,

I though I would share my latest situation with my CT. A while ago I posted about it using oil and to update the issue.. it is taking about 2litres to top up between services. I had the 160K service done as its on 159K and I told Lexus about the oil consumption and they have agreed under the warranty to fix the problem. I was pleasantly surprised to say the least, as it being a high miler now I was happy to keep topping the oil up. The car is fine and runs really well but on Monday it goes in and it is having new pistons, rings etc and whatever else to fix the problem. Its in for 3 to 4 days. I think I have done well as the warranty which I took out was about £600 and they have already fixed the steering UJ issue and it had a new built in tom-tom Sat Nav fitted when that went faulty. I was always weary of warranties as in the past and from previous experience they always seem to refuse to pay out, but not in this case with the Lexus one.. fantastic.

I was wondering what to expect from having the new pistons fitted and your thoughts?

I purchased my CT in 2012. It currently has only 98,000 miles. I just experienced the same issue and brought it in to the dealer to see what was happening. Of course it came back needing new pistons and rings with a total cost of $5,900. I obviously am very upset. I took good care of the vehicle and serviced it according to the manufacturers guidelines. I experienced the worst possible customer service you could imagine. I was basically dismissed and told that I didn't purchase the extended warranty therefore there was nothing they could do. Is this common? How could I ever trust this brand again? Any thoughts?

Chef1969 · July 6, 2020

Hi Shirley

Sorry to hear about your experience with your CT and the dealer. I don't think the issue with the oil consumption and piston rings is common no. i believe there was some issues with the Prius (which is the car the CT is based on) in the states, So maybe just a few slipped thro the net and ours were one of them, generally the CT is extremely reliable. Lexus has just come First in recent consumer surveys for reliability etc.

As for the dealer you went to and that huge repair bill.. my advice would be that you maybe should have considered getting a quote from a good reliable independent garage before having the car fixed by them. If I had not purchased the dealer warranty that covered me for the new pistons and repair, then I would have just driven the car away after the diagnosis of the problem. Lexus told me the repair cost was around £4k if I was to pay for it myself.. which is just crazy! I could have a bought another car for that ! I was happy to keeping topping up the oil until I could have had the car fixed or, just part exchanged it and moved it on. Now the car is fine and at 168K miles covered and no use of or burning of oil. I hope your car is also running well now.

Pete

olliesgrandad · July 7, 2020

On 7/5/2020 at 10:44 PM, ira lexus customer said:

I purchased my CT in 2012. It currently has only 98,000 miles. I just experienced the same issue and brought it in to the dealer to see what was happening. Of course it came back needing new pistons and rings with a total cost of $5,900. I obviously am very upset. I took good care of the vehicle and serviced it according to the manufacturers guidelines. I experienced the worst possible customer service you could imagine. I was basically dismissed and told that I didn't purchase the extended warranty therefore there was nothing they could do. Is this common? How could I ever trust this brand again? Any thoughts?

Try talking to Lexus Customer Services.

Often they will make a goodwill gesture outside of any Warranty.

My Last 4 year old RX450h had wheel corrosion not covered by extended warranty and Lexus Customer Relations paid for them to be refurbished.