The Trouble With Toyota Engines

Engine issues make up roughly 27% of all Toyota owner complaints. The majority of the issues have been reported by Camry owners.

The complaint we hear about most often is excessive oil consumption in the 2007 Camry.

Common Engine Problems

  1. Unintended Acceleration

    Toyota believes the problems are caused by stuck gas pedals or misplaced floor mats that trapped the gas pedals. Independent testing by NASA and other outside laboratories agreed with Toyota and concluded driver error was also a contributin…

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  2. Toyota Excessive Oil Consumption

    An increasing number of Toyotas are experiencing excessive oil consumption which may be the result of defective piston rings. Toyota, in all their 'deny-til-we-die' splendor, is reportedly denying warranty coverage on many oil consumption r…

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Where Engine Complaints Happen

Sometimes it helps just to tally up the complaints and see where the biggest stacks are. Use this information to learn about troublespots or to run for the hills.

Worst Issues

Worst Models

Recent Engines News

There's a lot of news out there, but not all of it matters. We try to boil down it to the most important bits about things that actually help you with your car problem. Interested in getting these stories in an email? Signup for free email alerts over at CarComplaints.com.

  1. The threat of electrical fires has led Toyota to recall a million Prius cars worldwide

    , with 192,000 of those vehicles in the United States. An exposed portion of one of the engine’s wiring harnesses is likely to wear down and short-circuit in the 2016-2018 model years. A short circuit can create a spark → a spark can create a flame → a flame can created a charred mass where your Prius once stood.…

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  2. Toyota is being sued for an accident that is being blamed on unintended acceleration.

    The crash involved a rented 2015 Toyota Yaris. The driver says she couldn't slow the car down after taking an exit off I-10 in California. The Yaris reached a speed of 100mph before slamming into a Toyota Solara, killing 5 people including the Yaris driver's 7-year old grandson. It's a terrible story, and one that Toyota is quite familiar with.…

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  3. Have you checked your RAV4's oil level lately? As in, this week? Seriously ... there's a chance it's incredibly low.

    A new lawsuit says that the 2006-2008 model years have a nasty habit of chugging oil at the rate of 1-quart per 1,200 miles. That's just a tad bit off the 1-quart per 5,000 miles Toyota recommends for maintaining the engine's warranty. It's easy to see why you might be confused when the "CHECK ENGINE OIL" light comes on 3,800 miles early. It's also easy to see why you might be more confused when your Toyota dealer says its normal.

    The lawsuit says Toyota dealers are being told to repair the engine, under warranty, if the consumer complains enough and their vehicle fails a test. However, consumers aren't being told the problem exists. So is it up to the owner to ask for repairs? Should Toyota be forced to repair all the defective engines? Is this just a ploy from the *United Auto Engine Oil Maker's Alliance?

    *not a real agency ... we think

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  5. Toyota doesn't exactly have a sterling reputation when it comes to unintended acceleration.

    And so, when Corolla owner Robert Ruginis petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to investigate low-speed surging in the 2006-2010 Corolla, it seemed like a slam dunk, home run or <insert sports cliché here>. Go sports team! But instead NHTSA said no to the investigation. The agency said they analyzed data from an event recorder cited by Ruginis in his petition and came up with a completely different conclusion. Ruginis said his Corolla moved forward with the brake pedal pressed, NHTSA said it didn't. Ruginis said Corollas can move forward even with the brake pressed to the floor, NHTSA said they can't.

    Instead, NHTSA placed the blame on Corolla drivers in most cases. They also said an investigation wasn't worth their time:…

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  6. Toyota thought the scourge of unintended acceleration was finally behind them.

    They had, after all, recalled millions of cars, paid hefty fines to the government, entered talks to settle hundreds of class-action lawsuits and even paid out $1.6 billion to owners because the trade-in value of their vehicles had diminished. Besides, the world's attention had turned to GM's ignition switch fiasco. So are Toyota's problems with unintended acceleration in the rearview mirror? Not so fast, or in this case ... slow.…

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