Oil burn haunts - Toyota Vitz 2011 (KSP130)

[Noobdriver]

So a couple of months back, I purchased a Toyota Vitz 2011 (KSP130, 1KR-FE) driven about 133k kilometers, and ever since I've driven about 5k. After the first 2-3 weeks of purchase, I discovered a few problems like the Engine Mount was gone, the Shock Absorbers, and a few more things as suggested by the service center I visited for a full service of the car (I'm a noob, my first car, I just wanted something reliable and decent looking to go from A to B). Before you mention whether I got the car inspected before purchase, yes, I did when I bought it from a massive "car house" situated in Malabe (I know you can guess it) and they have an in-house car inspection service from a well-known car service center (the one that was on Baseline road and now re-branded). The car sales guys told me that I could only get it inspected by them as they do not allow cars to leave the premises.

I was naive enough to trust the company and get the inspection, which showed no faults. Biggest mistake of my life that cost me a lot of money to get fixed.

So after all the repairs, I was finally happy that I didn't have to visit service stations anymore and all that (I got the car repaired and serviced at the famous service center that starts with an "S" and ends with a "G" (St__l__g). They did an engine tune-up as well (they told me an engine tune-up is good for the car and my car-savvy friend also recommended doing so when he came with me on a drive in my car) so I did it as well during my first service.

So here comes the fun part, just about the start of December, I was planning a few trips (work holidays, yay), and right before driving to one, I decided to get a car wash and get the crucial components inspected to ensure everything was good. This is about 3000km since my last service at the previously mentioned place. All components were good except the engine oil. It had fallen significantly below the two dots on the stick you use to measure the engine oil level (my apologies, idk what it is called). It was literally only on the tip. I still didn't understand the severity of the issue at the time, and even the vehicle shop guy said it is fine to drive on a trip, just go to your service center after your trip and check what happened.

I drove about 100 kilometers and then immediately went to the service center that my first service and they checked for oil leaks - which were none as they suggested and they told me that it was due to engine oil burn and they topped up 1.5L of 15w40 (Toyota) engine oil. Fast forward about 900 kilometers later, I think I've burnt at least a liter of engine oil now. I went into the service center for another weird sound that I thought would be good to get checked, long story short, not a problem, the sound was caused by a car wash and the water had gone into the break or something. But I decided to get the engine oil checked as well, and they saw the difference. Then the service manager comes and asks me how many kilometers since the last service, and I tell him about 4000. Then he tells me you were supposed to be here on 3000 kilometers because the engine oil was sludged. I was surprised as I had never communicated about such an issue and the service book had told me to return at 5,000 kilometers since service (It has only been about 3 months since service). 

The funny thing is he was the same service manager who did the oil top-up for me when I went there about 1,000 kilometers before.

Now they told me I have to get a service immediately and I have made a booking to do so, and I will be visiting them within the next few days for the service.

They told me if, after the service, this issue is not sorted, I might have to go for an engine overhaul or engine replacement depending on my risk appetite and budget. I am not sure what to do in this scenario. Your advice would be highly appreciated in this!

Any advice is highly appreciated on how I can go about this stuff, as I do not want to sell the car as all the guys ask me to. If someone sold me a faulty product, it feels unethical to me if I forward that faulty product to someone else just because I get saved from the expenses. This car means a lot to me, it is my first ever car and I want to keep this car for at least 3-5 years.
 

Edited January 17 by Noobdriver

[iRage]

11 hours ago, Noobdriver said:

I'm maintaining around 50 km/h at very low RPMs.

Usual break-in would require you to gently increase speed and let the engine build up revs over time. So keep doing what you are doing for now but also start building these up with time. Now..don't get on the expressway and drive 100+km at 100kmph+ for hours. When you do want to drive fast...first make sure they are small short low stress trips. This also means it can't be quick accelerations to 100 and then slow down for traffic after a minute sort of drive. I would suggest you take an early morning drive to somewhere close (e.g., Wallawatte to Moratuwa/Kalutara kind of thing) when the roads are empty, and you can bring the car up to speed gradually and then back to low speed...gradually.

[tiv]

On 6/6/2024 at 12:34 PM, Izza said:

Hey @tiv,

Just for my knowledge, what is the reason you would go for re-bore and larger pistons (even if a re-bore is not needed)? To gain additional power?

If proper scoring, or a "step" sorta defect at the top end of the sleeve is felt, or at the worst, a play

Options would be to replace refit new rings, put a larger ring, Or bore to a larger size.

Why would I go to size higher? The reason being none of the machine shops in Sri Lanka can actually cut and position new sleeves to manufacturer level. Also the Quality of sleeves are not to the standard that came from the company.

Many rebuilds on the average manage about 100,000km and then start to burn oil and, with that symptom they manage another 100,000km (200,000km in total) 

Whereas a well maintained factory unopened engine can do approx. 300,000km + (Doesn't apply to 660cc engines and there are variables)

So though costly, the best possible outcome in a rebuild from my experience would be to rebore, one size higher pistons, rings, the whole kit. This way everything is new. I built my first engine with my uncle who owned a workshop in 2005, he's no longer in the country. Have had got mechanics rebuild over 20-30 engines to date and this method has always worked better than sleeves.

With this rebuild - Power gains not so much to a stock engine, just that the engine will run like a new one and you will feel the difference. 

[tiv]

You need to cause variations in RPM to bed the rings, Stop and Go traffic is ideal from my experience but don't floor between the lights and let it idle about 10 min before stopping. (Applies to the first 1000km).

On an interesting point, most of the new cars say that they are factory Run-in / Seasoned. But I was always OCD and made sure first 1000km was very careful between 1000-2000RPM and then the next 1000km was a bit more, 

Lastly the oil change. 

The newer corvettes have an electronic rev limiter and until you cover 2000miles it does not release the full range.

Apparently a similar fad was there in the Land Cruisers in the 80s-90s where a tamper proof seal was placed on the injector pump, and was asked to bring in after 2000km where they will change the oil and release the seal, allowing more fueling once the engine has been broken in / seasoned.

The best part is this, I've seen a Land Cruiser 1HZ engine in Sri Lanka with this seal intact, meaning its very very very low mileage and the bugger is asking 2mil for it

[iRage]

Welcome to the car buying horrors of Sri Lanka and moral/ethical business practices of our car salesmen (and they wonder why we car enthusiasts look at them with such disgust). I won't go into the whole you should have done this and that before purchase. You seem to know what you did wrong and hopefully learn from it.

First things first....stop going to the service station that screwed you in the first place.

Find a good garage and get to the bottom of the issue...which is why is the oil consumption high. You want someone who is willing to actually do the work and get a proper reason for it. Not someone who is going to the whole baka punditha talk.

Oil burning can be due to many reasons...you could have a gasket leak that is seeping oil into the coolant...a crank shaft seal leak that is leaking oil in to the CVT housing...a cam shaft seal leak that is leaking oil behind the timing chain cover...piston ring failure and burning oil....oil getting absorbed into the sludge...I think you get the drift now.

Once the problem is found then you can decide which course of action to take let it be an overhaul, replacement of seals or replacing the engine. My guess is if a definitive issue is not found they will start by flushing out your engine to see if the sludge can be removed. This may result in you having to replace oil seals (the sludge could be blocking out worn-out seals and once the sludge is gone it will start to leak oil). This obviously would be the best scenario/outcome for you. If it extends beyond that then you are looking at replacing piston rings and hopefully the cylinders/piston-chambers are not scratched. Once it gets to this point, this is when you probably will have to consider engine swaps. Does the car visibly burn oil ? Once the sludge is removed, etc...you might have to do a compression check as well.

Now..keeping vs. selling off. The sad reality is most people in Sri lanka would not care about the next bloke buying the car. So I tip my hat off to you for actually having the decency to even think about it. Almost all of these people will shine the car up, make it look pretty and sell it for whatever the going rate is or sell it at a discount with some BS about migrating or upgrading. Please do not do it. 

If you sell the..you will be buying another car and you will be faced with similar risks. If you sell it with a good conscience, then you will have to sell it at market rate minus the cost of fixing the problems. Which means you will be losing a lot of money :losses on the sale, cost of repairs thus far, additional money you will need for a new buying a new car and doing the preemptive work on that.

So...why not fix the car properly and use it for a significant amount of time? Considering there are no new cars coming in to the country and car prices are on a crazy rollercoaster ride...this might actually be a sensible option even if you have to replace the engine. Keep in mind even if you replace the engine, please make sure that you do a proper refurbishment of it, i.e. replacing oil seals, hoses, checking cylinders, oil pumps, water pumps, replacing belts, chains, tensioners, etc... The shop might sell you the engine saying it is from a low mileage car, etc...but there is no way of knowing (in Japan our Lankan car exporters literally tare the parts off using power tools).

RANT:

The very fact that your service guy started off by saying lets change oil and then maybe do X, Y,Z and his story is completely unrelated to what he said earlier just shows that they are just willing to take you for a long ride trying various things just to keep the car running and themselves busy until you are ready to pass it on (in which case I am sure their "friend" who is a broker or works at the car sale you bought the car from will give you the best price considering its existing issues plus those that magically pop-up like the waayusulang brake shaft seal going bad which means the air fuel compressor also needs replacing. Then they will turn around and sell your car "as-is" to another guy and take them on the same ride).

I am curious...why aren't their cars allowed to be taken off the premises ? No insurance ? Fake registrations ? Don't be afraid to insist that one of them can drive the car to the inspection place and you will pay for their trip or that you can bring a carrier, etc...if the answer is still no, walk away.

 

[tiv]

12 hours ago, Noobdriver said:

So a couple of months back, I purchased a Toyota Vitz 2011 (KSP130, 1KR-FE) driven about 133k kilometers, and ever since I've driven about 5k. After the first 2-3 weeks of purchase, I discovered a few problems like the Engine Mount was gone, the Shock Absorbers, and a few more things as suggested by the service center I visited for a full service of the car (I'm a noob, my first car, I just wanted something reliable and decent looking to go from A to B). Before you mention whether I got the car inspected before purchase, yes, I did when I bought it from a massive "car house" situated in Malabe (I know you can guess it) and they have an in-house car inspection service from a well-known car service center (the one that was on Baseline road and now re-branded). The car sales guys told me that I could only get it inspected by them as they do not allow cars to leave the premises.

I was naive enough to trust the company and get the inspection, which showed no faults. Biggest mistake of my life that cost me a lot of money to get fixed.

So after all the repairs, I was finally happy that I didn't have to visit service stations anymore and all that (I got the car repaired and serviced at the famous service center that starts with an "S" and ends with a "G" (St__l__g). They did an engine tune-up as well (they told me an engine tune-up is good for the car and my car-savvy friend also recommended doing so when he came with me on a drive in my car) so I did it as well during my first service.

So here comes the fun part, just about the start of December, I was planning a few trips (work holidays, yay), and right before driving to one, I decided to get a car wash and get the crucial components inspected to ensure everything was good. This is about 3000km since my last service at the previously mentioned place. All components were good except the engine oil. It had fallen significantly below the two dots on the stick you use to measure the engine oil level (my apologies, idk what it is called). It was literally only on the tip. I still didn't understand the severity of the issue at the time, and even the vehicle shop guy said it is fine to drive on a trip, just go to your service center after your trip and check what happened.

I drove about 100 kilometers and then immediately went to the service center that my first service and they checked for oil leaks - which were none as they suggested and they told me that it was due to engine oil burn and they topped up 1.5L of 15w40 (Toyota) engine oil. Fast forward about 900 kilometers later, I think I've burnt at least a liter of engine oil now. I went into the service center for another weird sound that I thought would be good to get checked, long story short, not a problem, the sound was caused by a car wash and the water had gone into the break or something. But I decided to get the engine oil checked as well, and they saw the difference. Then the service manager comes and asks me how many kilometers since the last service, and I tell him about 4000. Then he tells me you were supposed to be here on 3000 kilometers because the engine oil was sludged. I was surprised as I had never communicated about such an issue and the service book had told me to return at 5,000 kilometers since service (It has only been about 3 months since service). 

The funny thing is he was the same service manager who did the oil top-up for me when I went there about 1,000 kilometers before.

Now they told me I have to get a service immediately and I have made a booking to do so, and I will be visiting them within the next few days for the service.

They told me if, after the service, this issue is not sorted, I might have to go for an engine overhaul or engine replacement depending on my risk appetite and budget. I am not sure what to do in this scenario. Your advice would be highly appreciated in this!

Any advice is highly appreciated on how I can go about this stuff, as I do not want to sell the car as all the guys ask me to. If someone sold me a faulty product, it feels unethical to me if I forward that faulty product to someone else just because I get saved from the expenses. This car means a lot to me, it is my first ever car and I want to keep this car for at least 3-5 years.
 

Bro, where are you based? If it is in Kandy will be glad to help you out.

1. You probably need to get in touch with a petrol-head who knows a thing or two about cars. You have a lot to learn.
2. Don't sell it, I've had a heap of similar scenarios back when I was a noob and once we fixed up a car and used it for 20 years with no issues, ran near 400,000km (diesel engine) since the fix. Fix it and use it

 

Edited January 18 by tiv

[Noobdriver]

10 hours ago, iRage said:

Welcome to the car buying horrors of Sri Lanka and moral/ethical business practices of our car salesmen (and they wonder why we car enthusiasts look at them with such disgust). I won't go into the whole you should have done this and that before purchase. You seem to know what you did wrong and hopefully learn from it.

First things first....stop going to the service station that screwed you in the first place.

Find a good garage and get to the bottom of the issue...which is why is the oil consumption high. You want someone who is willing to actually do the work and get a proper reason for it. Not someone who is going to the whole baka punditha talk.

Oil burning can be due to many reasons...you could have a gasket leak that is seeping oil into the coolant...a crank shaft seal leak that is leaking oil in to the CVT housing...a cam shaft seal leak that is leaking oil behind the timing chain cover...piston ring failure and burning oil....oil getting absorbed into the sludge...I think you get the drift now.

Once the problem is found then you can decide which course of action to take let it be an overhaul, replacement of seals or replacing the engine. My guess is if a definitive issue is not found they will start by flushing out your engine to see if the sludge can be removed. This may result in you having to replace oil seals (the sludge could be blocking out worn-out seals and once the sludge is gone it will start to leak oil). This obviously would be the best scenario/outcome for you. If it extends beyond that then you are looking at replacing piston rings and hopefully the cylinders/piston-chambers are not scratched. Once it gets to this point, this is when you probably will have to consider engine swaps. Does the car visibly burn oil ? Once the sludge is removed, etc...you might have to do a compression check as well.

Now..keeping vs. selling off. The sad reality is most people in Sri lanka would not care about the next bloke buying the car. So I tip my hat off to you for actually having the decency to even think about it. Almost all of these people will shine the car up, make it look pretty and sell it for whatever the going rate is or sell it at a discount with some BS about migrating or upgrading. Please do not do it. 

If you sell the..you will be buying another car and you will be faced with similar risks. If you sell it with a good conscience, then you will have to sell it at market rate minus the cost of fixing the problems. Which means you will be losing a lot of money :losses on the sale, cost of repairs thus far, additional money you will need for a new buying a new car and doing the preemptive work on that.

So...why not fix the car properly and use it for a significant amount of time? Considering there are no new cars coming in to the country and car prices are on a crazy rollercoaster ride...this might actually be a sensible option even if you have to replace the engine. Keep in mind even if you replace the engine, please make sure that you do a proper refurbishment of it, i.e. replacing oil seals, hoses, checking cylinders, oil pumps, water pumps, replacing belts, chains, tensioners, etc... The shop might sell you the engine saying it is from a low mileage car, etc...but there is no way of knowing (in Japan our Lankan car exporters literally tare the parts off using power tools).

RANT:

The very fact that your service guy started off by saying lets change oil and then maybe do X, Y,Z and his story is completely unrelated to what he said earlier just shows that they are just willing to take you for a long ride trying various things just to keep the car running and themselves busy until you are ready to pass it on (in which case I am sure their "friend" who is a broker or works at the car sale you bought the car from will give you the best price considering its existing issues plus those that magically pop-up like the waayusulang brake shaft seal going bad which means the air fuel compressor also needs replacing. Then they will turn around and sell your car "as-is" to another guy and take them on the same ride).

I am curious...why aren't their cars allowed to be taken off the premises ? No insurance ? Fake registrations ? Don't be afraid to insist that one of them can drive the car to the inspection place and you will pay for their trip or that you can bring a carrier, etc...if the answer is still no, walk away.

 

Hey hey, thanks for the description. I really do not have knowledge about cars, but I'm slowly learning a few things after the repairs I went through. Obviously it had a dent in my wallet, but I learned a thing or two that will help me in future to make smarter purchases.

Just to clarify, there is two service centers in the context.

- The "Car house" in malabe (they do not own the cars, people pay them a commission for sales). Do you know who now? They have an in-house third-party doing the inspections - I did not ever engage with that in-house third-party after the initial inspection.

- A very popular service center in Sri Lanka (St_____g). This is where they told me now that my engine was 'sludged' after I ran 4,000 km and went to get an unrelated issue checked. Not even when I ran 3,000 km and went for an oil top-up and investigated the issue.

After talking to a few friends, I heard that the "car house" in Malabe is known to sell faulty cars. People who can't seem to sell their vehicles go there to sell their cars. I wish I had known this in advance.

As for visibly burning oil, yes, there's a decent difference in the engine oil level, however, the funny part is, there is no smoke from the exhaust. I do sometimes smell the 'invisible' smoke, it smells strong sometimes, but that is about it.

[Noobdriver]

4 hours ago, tiv said:

Bro, where are you based? If it is in Kandy will be glad to help you out.

1. You probably need to get in touch with a petrol-head who knows a thing or two about cars. You have a lot to learn.
2. Don't sell it, I've had a heap of similar scenarios back when I was a noob and once we fixed up a car and used it for 20 years with no issues, ran near 400,000km (diesel engine) since the fix. Fix it and use it

 

Hey bro, appreciate your gesture. I'm based in Colombo.

Yeah, I agree that it should be possible to fix. I just need some advice on whether I'm approaching the situation correctly and if there's any advice on any specialists who might be able to help me with this better.

[iRage]

12 hours ago, Noobdriver said:

Do you know who now? They have an in-house third-party doing the inspections

Yes....I think all our forum members (old ones at least) are well aware of the dirty deeds of this shop. Sadly they are not the only one.

 

12 hours ago, Noobdriver said:

A very popular service center in Sri Lanka (St_____g). This is where they told me now that my engine was 'sludged' after I ran 4,000 km

They also are well known. They offer the warranty work on imported second hand vehicles from Japan, etc... The Sterling warranty could and would have been a good thing. There are instances where they have actually honored warranty replacements, etc.. However, they progressively screwed themselves up. Partly because they were backing up and being backed up by the crooked car sales people and brokers, partly because they seem to be hiring clowns like the service manager you described. So yes..I am, sure the Malabe people have some kind of understanding with them as well.

12 hours ago, Noobdriver said:

As for visibly burning oil, yes, there's a decent difference in the engine oil level,

This is not what I meant. This is an indication of your oil level going down.

12 hours ago, Noobdriver said:

there is no smoke from the exhaust. I do sometimes smell the 'invisible' smoke, it smells strong sometimes, but that is about it.

This are visible indicators. Seeing oil smoke, smelling it. Okay...so if there is no large amount of smoke then there is a chance the oil is not getting burnt up in the cylinders (I said might). Is the smell stronger on the engine side or the tail pipe side ?
Again...your first order of business should be to find a proper garage.

[fiat fan]

Every Business named here is known to screw people over.

The punchi car place is for the low -iq poor working class people who will vote for the same 225 and complain about taxes and what-not. The type who complain about a TIN number but will sell their sack to go to a Nordic country with >50 taxes. 

I can go on and on, but need I really say more? Please tell me you weren’t inspired by the punchi car buggers cringey youtube channel with an ugly chick hosting?

“ The sudu oya mage wenwada man waGON R ekak oyalagen gattot” blokes love that channel.

Automiraj has linked up with them to scam people. Automiraj in general has subpar workmanship. Watch their very own youtube video, quality and finishing sucks.

Sterling is a hit or miss, got too big to handle and the mafia kind of took them over. Would not pay extra money to get that warranty.

Got a friend who’s a mech? These are simple cars. Someone with a brain and experience should fix it fast and efficiently. I fix my complex cars at home with a mech @AVANTE introduced. A beer and few thousand bucks is all it takes. Hard thing is actually getting the guy to show up as high in demand.

See now, thats why I buy unreliable cars only… I look cool stranded and the females dont seem to care win win. And I spend less money than most with a Jap ecobox… 😅😅

Edited January 20 by fiat fan

[Noobdriver]

On 1/19/2024 at 6:03 AM, iRage said:

Yes....I think all our forum members (old ones at least) are well aware of the dirty deeds of this shop. Sadly they are not the only one.

 

They also are well known. They offer the warranty work on imported second hand vehicles from Japan, etc... The Sterling warranty could and would have been a good thing. There are instances where they have actually honored warranty replacements, etc.. However, they progressively screwed themselves up. Partly because they were backing up and being backed up by the crooked car sales people and brokers, partly because they seem to be hiring clowns like the service manager you described. So yes..I am, sure the Malabe people have some kind of understanding with them as well.

This is not what I meant. This is an indication of your oil level going down.

This are visible indicators. Seeing oil smoke, smelling it. Okay...so if there is no large amount of smoke then there is a chance the oil is not getting burnt up in the cylinders (I said might). Is the smell stronger on the engine side or the tail pipe side ?
Again...your first order of business should be to find a proper garage.

The smell is mostly strong near the Exhaust pipe. Are you suspecting a head gasket leak? I'm doing a bit of research and learning slowly, please do me correct if I'm wrong. Mostly the indication I have gotten is damaged piston rings, but then there's no smoke. Maybe I detected the problem early on? 1KR-FE engines barely burn any oil from my research, again I might be wrong, you can't trust everything on the internet these days.

Yeah, any recommendations would be highly appreciated. Also, Sterling is a choice I made given the strong recommendations from all my friends, there was no warranty attached.

[Noobdriver]

1 hour ago, fiat fan said:

Every Business named here is known to screw people over.

The punchi car place is for the low -iq poor working class people who will vote for the same 225 and complain about taxes and what-not. The type who complain about a TIN number but will sell their sack to go to a Nordic country with >50 taxes. 

I can go on and on, but need I really say more? Please tell me you weren’t inspired by the punchi car buggers cringey youtube channel with an ugly chick hosting?

“ The sudu oya mage wenwada man waGON R ekak oyalagen gattot” blokes love that channel.

Automiraj has linked up with them to scam people. Automiraj in general has subpar workmanship. Watch their very own youtube video, quality and finishing sucks.

Sterling is a hit or miss, got too big to handle and the mafia kind of took them over. Would not pay extra money to get that warranty.

Got a friend who’s a mech? These are simple cars. Someone with a brain and experience should fix it fast and efficiently. I fix my complex cars at home with a mech @AVANTE introduced. A beer and few thousand bucks is all it takes. Hard thing is actually getting the guy to show up as high in demand.

See now, thats why I buy unreliable cars only… I look cool stranded and the females dont seem to care win win. And I spend less money than most with a Jap ecobox… 😅😅

Lmao, the reason why I picked that sale is because they had the largest stock of cars and it became easier. I was out to buy a SCP90 and they had nearly all the SCP90s on ###### at the time. But I saw the KSP130 in my budget so I went for that.

[Noobdriver]

Update: The car is serviced. Sterling suggested driving 1,000 km first and seeing for the last time if any oil burning persists before deciding on the course of action.

Also, a friend of mine linked me up with a Toyota Specialist/Mechanic who suggested that at most the piston rings need to be replaced and the entire job could be done under 100k. He suggests that the problem isn't that bad yet and I have caught it extremely early.

Is this too good to be true? (At 100k). He works at some specialist mechanic center near Toy#ta L#nka and runs his own garage at night with his team.

Looking forward for any feedback or suggestions from you guys.

[iRage]

11 hours ago, Noobdriver said:

Update: The car is serviced. Sterling suggested driving 1,000 km first and seeing for the last time if any oil burning persists before deciding on the course of action.

Also, a friend of mine linked me up with a Toyota Specialist/Mechanic who suggested that at most the piston rings need to be replaced and the entire job could be done under 100k. He suggests that the problem isn't that bad yet and I have caught it extremely early.

Is this too good to be true? (At 100k). He works at some specialist mechanic center near Toy#ta L#nka and runs his own garage at night with his team.

Looking forward for any feedback or suggestions from you guys.

Okay...so questions...if there isnt a significant oil burn are they suggesting you leave it as it is ? Even after they said the engine has sludge in it ?

About the repair cost and Toyota specialist...
It is hard to give a price without knowing what the issue is. You need to take it to someone who will actually do the work and tell you why its leaking oil and give a quote for that. Not someone who is going to base everything on a hunch. If you follow the second path it is going to lead you to a situation where you take it to the garage hoping to fix it for 100K but in reality costs twice as much and you getting broke, pissed off and at odds with the mechanic.

The oil burning/loss can happen for many reasons (see previous posts). The reason would significantly impact what the cost of the repair would be. If it is just 1 piston ring then fine..100K. But you hardly replace just 1 piston rings...you replace all. Then if there is sludge, which apparently there is, then that needs cleaning as well. Then when you open it up there might be other issues that should be addressed if the car is to be properly fixed...all this amounts to time and time costs money. If you are going to fix it..fix the whole thing once and for all. Garages will say naha mahaththaya danata prashnayak naha..ohoma thiyamu. But you are the one who gets shafted with a crappy car. S
 

So even if you have to pay a garage to diagnose the problem get it done and get a proper assessment and quote. these are machines. Mechanicals. It is not (for the most part) swing in the dark sort of thing.

[hrm]

On 1/20/2024 at 10:01 AM, Noobdriver said:

Lmao, the reason why I picked that sale is because they had the largest stock of cars and it became easier. I was out to buy a SCP90 and they had nearly all the SCP90s on ###### at the time. But I saw the KSP130 in my budget so I went for that.

Just FYI. I had a SCP90 couple of years ago and the car was burning oil since the day I bought. No smoke from the exhaust and usually show a reduction after a long outstation trip. Short city drives didn't matter much. Used for 4 years though I'm not suggesting that you should not fix it.

[Noobdriver]

On 1/23/2024 at 7:29 AM, iRage said:

Okay...so questions...if there isnt a significant oil burn are they suggesting you leave it as it is ? Even after they said the engine has sludge in it ?

About the repair cost and Toyota specialist...
It is hard to give a price without knowing what the issue is. You need to take it to someone who will actually do the work and tell you why its leaking oil and give a quote for that. Not someone who is going to base everything on a hunch. If you follow the second path it is going to lead you to a situation where you take it to the garage hoping to fix it for 100K but in reality costs twice as much and you getting broke, pissed off and at odds with the mechanic.

The oil burning/loss can happen for many reasons (see previous posts). The reason would significantly impact what the cost of the repair would be. If it is just 1 piston ring then fine..100K. But you hardly replace just 1 piston rings...you replace all. Then if there is sludge, which apparently there is, then that needs cleaning as well. Then when you open it up there might be other issues that should be addressed if the car is to be properly fixed...all this amounts to time and time costs money. If you are going to fix it..fix the whole thing once and for all. Garages will say naha mahaththaya danata prashnayak naha..ohoma thiyamu. But you are the one who gets shafted with a crappy car. S
 

So even if you have to pay a garage to diagnose the problem get it done and get a proper assessment and quote. these are machines. Mechanicals. It is not (for the most part) swing in the dark sort of thing.

Hey, I asked around and Edirisinghe Brothers recommended me to their sister company Hybrid Hub. I met the mechanic and the supervisor and they told me it is going to be anywhere from 250k-350k and roughly 7 working days. They gave me more confidence by showing me around their workshop with loads of vehicles going through an engine overhaul.

They told me to just replace the piston rings like the mechanic my friend referred me to would not be enough and they'd have to entirely tear apart the engine, clean it up properly, and see if there was anything that required replacing or fixing.

I agree for the most part with them and I think I might pull the trigger with handing the car to them for the repair. Most importantly, they told me they provide a years worth of warranty for the engine and if any oil is burnt, then they'd do another overhaul free of charge. Now I'm not sure if they'd stick to their warranty terms entirely, but they did give me a lot of confidence in terms of doing the job properly over just performing a quick and dirty fix.

[Noobdriver]

On 1/24/2024 at 9:43 AM, hrm said:

Just FYI. I had a SCP90 couple of years ago and the car was burning oil since the day I bought. No smoke from the exhaust and usually show a reduction after a long outstation trip. Short city drives didn't matter much. Used for 4 years though I'm not suggesting that you should not fix it.

Damn, that sucks bro. For me, it is for short city drives as well. I tested the long drives yesterday and it was the same. 😕

[iRage]

14 hours ago, Noobdriver said:

Hey, I asked around and Edirisinghe Brothers recommended me to their sister company Hybrid Hub. I met the mechanic and the supervisor and they told me it is going to be anywhere from 250k-350k and roughly 7 working days. They gave me more confidence by showing me around their workshop with loads of vehicles going through an engine overhaul.

They told me to just replace the piston rings like the mechanic my friend referred me to would not be enough and they'd have to entirely tear apart the engine, clean it up properly, and see if there was anything that required replacing or fixing.

I agree for the most part with them and I think I might pull the trigger with handing the car to them for the repair. Most importantly, they told me they provide a years worth of warranty for the engine and if any oil is burnt, then they'd do another overhaul free of charge. Now I'm not sure if they'd stick to their warranty terms entirely, but they did give me a lot of confidence in terms of doing the job properly over just performing a quick and dirty fix.

See that is the thing...once you open it up and if the previous service guys said there was sludge then cleaning it up is going to take more than just changing oil and seeing what is happening or just replacing a piston ring and walking off.

Playing the devils advocate here: But then again, the new guys seem to take it to the extreme right at the beginning which is also a concern. In a way it is fine but in a way, it is also them trying to just do everything and anything under the sun to fix an oil burn and get the car running and out the door and not waste time.
What if you don't have to go to the extent of replacing the piston rings? What is if it is just a small oil seep into the cylinders? You would have done that for nothing.
Are they willing to first do a proper diagnostic and work progressively?
Which by default will start off by cleaning out the sludge (depending on the extent of the sludge this can either be fixed with a simple flush or may require taking it apart). Then do the repairs that are just needed? But then if the engine is torn apart for a clean you will have to replace the seals and gaskets anyway. Which means now the only thing untouched would be the piston rings so might as well do that. Now if the cylinder walls are out of spec then replacing the piston rings are going to cause more issues.

Also, shop around. See what one or two other garages quote as well. Also try to see if you can get some reviews on the new place. Remember, if something is too good to be true that is a problem.

[Noobdriver]

13 hours ago, iRage said:

See that is the thing...once you open it up and if the previous service guys said there was sludge then cleaning it up is going to take more than just changing oil and seeing what is happening or just replacing a piston ring and walking off.

Playing the devils advocate here: But then again, the new guys seem to take it to the extreme right at the beginning which is also a concern. In a way it is fine but in a way, it is also them trying to just do everything and anything under the sun to fix an oil burn and get the car running and out the door and not waste time.
What if you don't have to go to the extent of replacing the piston rings? What is if it is just a small oil seep into the cylinders? You would have done that for nothing.
Are they willing to first do a proper diagnostic and work progressively?
Which by default will start off by cleaning out the sludge (depending on the extent of the sludge this can either be fixed with a simple flush or may require taking it apart). Then do the repairs that are just needed? But then if the engine is torn apart for a clean you will have to replace the seals and gaskets anyway. Which means now the only thing untouched would be the piston rings so might as well do that. Now if the cylinder walls are out of spec then replacing the piston rings are going to cause more issues.

Also, shop around. See what one or two other garages quote as well. Also try to see if you can get some reviews on the new place. Remember, if something is too good to be true that is a problem.

Exactly, I'm also a little cost-conscious and at the moment can't afford to spend 100k just to know what is up and try something out, just to spend another 250k on something again. I'd rather spend the 250k or 300k straight away and not have to worry again about anything for a couple of years and at the same time, if I have to sell my vehicle for whatever reason, I should be confident that the new owner will not have any unexpected troubles at least not because of the issues I have identified for upto a certain period.

[iRage]

8 hours ago, Noobdriver said:

Exactly, I'm also a little cost-conscious and at the moment can't afford to spend 100k just to know what is up and try something out, just to spend another 250k on something again. I'd rather spend the 250k or 300k straight away and not have to worry again about anything for a couple of years and at the same time, if I have to sell my vehicle for whatever reason, I should be confident that the new owner will not have any unexpected troubles at least not because of the issues I have identified for upto a certain period.

Now you have your answer on what to do. Only thing I would add is get some reviews on their workmanship and also get a quote from one (atleast) or two places more.

[Noobdriver]

On 1/28/2024 at 6:54 AM, iRage said:

Now you have your answer on what to do. Only thing I would add is get some reviews on their workmanship and also get a quote from one (atleast) or two places more.

Yeah, I did. Sterling quoted about half a mil too. Toy#ta L#nka is going to be significantly more so I didn't even bother asking xD

[iRage]

6 hours ago, Noobdriver said:

Yeah, I did. Sterling quoted about half a mil too. Toy#ta L#nka is going to be significantly more so I didn't even bother asking xD

Well...sometimes you do need a little bit of humor in your life...so why not ask  Might give you a heart attack that then slowly turns in to giggles  Well...when I said get a few other quotes I was hoping it would be from anywhere other than Ster**ng  When a doctor cuts out a kidney when you go in to get your broken arm fixed, you don't ask the same doctor to fix your broken arm would you ?

[Noobdriver]

On 2/3/2024 at 12:51 PM, iRage said:

Well...sometimes you do need a little bit of humor in your life...so why not ask  Might give you a heart attack that then slowly turns in to giggles  Well...when I said get a few other quotes I was hoping it would be from anywhere other than Ster**ng  When a doctor cuts out a kidney when you go in to get your broken arm fixed, you don't ask the same doctor to fix your broken arm would you ?

Ah yeah,

I checked with Edirisinghe Brothers and they directed me toward their sister company hybrid hub that quoted 250k-400k based on the amount of work/parts during the overhaul process.

I checked with Toy#ta L#nka, and they said the minimum would be 600k, and man, that is insane lol.

I don't know of any other company that does this kind of work without it being a complete mom-and-pop shop and I'm pretty skeptical as most of the mom-and-pop shops tend to be a massive hit or a miss.

I have also lowkey decided to hold off on the repair since the oil burn isn't too bad, I got like a liter and a half of 15w40 lying around to top up if I have to over the next 6-12 weeks, which is when I plan to do the actual repair after I practice driving super slow (BRO ITS A PAIN, unless you rev hard on a Toyota Vitz in Colombo traffic, 100 other people will jump in between and your commute increases by like 20% dealing with morons trying to brute force themselves without even using indicators). Better to fix the driving pattern before the repair than try to fix it after the repair and potentially damage the engine again 😢.

I might even push the car for repair in 2-3 weeks, I'm just looking around and meeting more garages to get advice and see what they say about the situation before I eventually pull the trigger (most likely Hybrid Hub, I saw they do a lot of engine work, and like their google reviews are really good).

If anyone has any experience working with Hybrid Hub on an engine overhaul, please do share your experience so I know what to expect (especially if you had any problems).

 

[Noobdriver]

On 2/3/2024 at 12:51 PM, iRage said:

Well...sometimes you do need a little bit of humor in your life...so why not ask  Might give you a heart attack that then slowly turns in to giggles  Well...when I said get a few other quotes I was hoping it would be from anywhere other than Ster**ng  When a doctor cuts out a kidney when you go in to get your broken arm fixed, you don't ask the same doctor to fix your broken arm would you ?

I finally dropped my car for an overhaul yesterday at Hybrid Hub. Will visit them tomorrow to see progress and take photos I guess lol

Edited May 28 by Noobdriver

[Noobdriver]

I'll be documenting the entire process here if anyone's interested or for people in the future to get an idea of the whole process since I didn’t come across any online resource to be very comprehensive within the Sri Lankan context.

DISCLAIMER: I'm not very knowledgeable about cars, however, this is the first car I have ever owned. Please correct me if I use incorrect terms. Also, please highlight any areas where I’m in the wrong. I'm willing to learn and get better. Knowledge is power, but incorrect "knowledge" is poison.

Pre-context:

I accepted delivery of my car on 6th September 2023 from Punchi Car Niwasa, Malabe who managed to sell me a car with a backlog of problems by working with their in-house Auto Miraj to provide a dishonest inspection report.

Anyhow, I took the car to Sterling for my first vehicle service within 2 weeks of purchase, and a couple of weeks later dropped my car off to get the stabilizer, link boot, and shocks replaced as those were anyway due to be replaced and heavily damaged (Auto Miraj lied to me). How did I find out that they were due to be replaced?

• When I purchased the car, the wheel alignment was extremely off, the steering wheel had to be rotated 45 degrees to the right to continue going straight.

• The first thing I did was to drive to Laughfs for a wheel alignment as someone I trust recommended their wheel alignment services. The mechanic in that place told me about the above damages.

• A day after the job, the alignment was still off by a small amount but noticeable, so I took my dad's advice and took the car to a famous place in Maligawatta, and they told me the same thing. From this point onwards, my alignment problem was solved, however, the mechanic informed me to replace the components and get new tires (which I was aware of since the car had 4 different brands and models of tires all around and all of them were way older than 5 years (which the inspected report suggested 2 years).

• Fast-forward to a week later, I got new tires from Nankang (pretty good, the handling is amazing and the price-to-value ratio is phenomenal).

• I was informed by the sales representative to get a wheel balance and alignment done immediately, and as a result, I drove back to the famous Maligawatta wheel alignment shop.

• They did a phenomenal job once again and informed me that my car had an issue with the camber alignment and quoted Rs. 10,000 to correct it.

• I was surprised and asked my dad and a couple of people I trust and see as knowledgeable in the field of cars. To my surprise, everyone including my dad told me that a camber alignment never costs that much.

• I took my car to a different wheel alignment shop in Maradana and upon inspecting the reports from the previous wheel alignment shops, they told me that the camber alignments were fine based on the reports, and would be happy to generate a new report on their machinery, which I happily paid for and that report to confirmed the camber alignment was right. However, I was reminded that the same components were worn out and required immediate attention.

• I dropped off my car at Sterling the next day and settled a hefty invoice at the end of the job on top of being upsold on an engine tune-up because I complained about the acceleration power.

Fast-forward to December 2023, a friend of mine was getting married in Galle and I was to drive there with a bunch of my friends before the trip, I decided to get a car wash at Auto Glance and requested them to inspect the critical components to ensure that I have a smooth ride to Galle and back.

Naive me, unaware of the gravity of the situation was completely puzzled about the engine oil level on the dipstick being literally on the tip of the dipstick. They told me it was safe to go on the trip but to take immediate action when I returned from the trip.

I dropped my car off at Sterling to get the situation inspected and sorted, on top of a problem with the brakes not being very effective, which required the brake liners to be replaced. They confirmed that there was no oil leak, nor did I find any traces of oil leaks in my garage. The service representative shows up out of nowhere sounding extremely pissed, telling me that the car’s engine was sludged and I was supposed to show up for an oil change after 3,000 km since the last service. For more context, I had driven 4,000 km since the previous oil change service so I agreed to his recommendation completely confused about the engine sludge story and being expected to return after 3,000 km despite the service tag and the service record book mentioning explicitly to return after 5,000 km or 6 months since oil change, whichever comes first.

They performed the “full service,” and I drove off. However, after about 1,500 km of driving around to multiple cities, to enjoy my time off from work, I decided to check the engine oil levels, and to my surprise, it had a fairly significant drop so I drove back to Sterling to consult on the situation and they returned with three options moving forward:

• First option: Sell the car (their recommended option) - No way in hell that I would pass a broken car to someone else.

• Second option: To get a “reconditioned” engine (recommended option if I do not wish to sell the car). By this time, I had done my research online and understood that even if I did get a reconditioned engine, it still would need restorative work done and the underlying condition would be a big unknown. So upon raising this concern, they introduced me to the third option.

• Third option: The dreaded phrase for any car owner’s ears and wallet, “You need an engine overhaul.” They quoted a minimum of half a million rupees for the job.

I called a good petrolhead friend of mine and asked for his advice. He suggested to allow his brother-in-law to assess the vehicle. His brother-in-law was apparently an experienced Toyota mechanic and if my friend suggests so, I believe him. However, his brother-in-law immediately told me that the piston rings needed replacing and the entire job could be done under Rs. 100,000. I immediately saw it as a red flag since he had not even taken the engine cover out yet to take a peak.

I decided to get a second opinion at Auto Glance, and they too suggested that an overhaul is needed, however, I didn’t get a quote from them. After performing a bit of research, I found out that Edirisinghe Brothers are specialists in overhauls and so I decided to ring them. They connected me to a representative from their sister company, Hybrid Hub.

Over the phone, the representative did not believe that a Toyota Vitz (1KR-FE) requires an engine overhaul and asked me to drop by. I emptied all my valuable belongings from the car and was fully prepared to drop the car for repair by the end of our conversation.

I was greeted very well by Mr. Prakash from Hybrid Hub, he gave me a tour of their workshop and showed me some of the vehicles they are performing engine overhauls on and explained a lot of things about how engines work and why they may end up requiring an overhaul but at the same time, he had never heard of a 1KR-FE (Vitz) engine requiring an overhaul, especially at I believe it was 136,000 kilometers on the odometer at the time.

He advised me that I should not drop the car immediately for an overhaul as he would like to further understand the gravity of the situation. He inspected the oil levels and noted down the mileage. He asked me to come back after I had driven 2,000 kilometers. I did so and the engine oil level had dropped significantly. We topped up some Toyota 15w40 engine oil that I brought with me.

He suggested that I drive another 1,000 kilometers and get back to him. This time, there was no drop in oil levels for whatever reason. He asked me to drive another 1,000 kilometers and get back. I got busy with work and didn’t have the time to go back but returned after having roughly driven 2,000 kilometers. At this point, I was at 139,500 kilometers on the odometer. We saw a significant dip and that’s when he suggested two options:

• I could keep running the car if I don’t mind doing engine oil top-ups on time, however, this is not an option he would recommend.

• I could get an engine overhaul or an engine swap but recommended an engine overhaul.

All in, for all the consulting and advice given by Mr. Prakash from Hybrid Hub, I was never charged a dime. I was impressed by the fact that they did not want to accept my car for an engine overhaul immediately without properly being completely sure that the car was burning significant amounts of engine oil when they could have just taken the job and made a quicker buck.

With that in mind, I decided I would go ahead with Hybrid Hub and handed over my car for the overhaul on the 27th of May, 2024.

By the end of 28th May 2024, I was told that the dismantling process was complete.

Today, the 29th of May 2024, I was missing my little car, so I decided to visit the workshop and meet Mr. Prakash at Hybrid Hub. He reunited me with my in-complete car, fully ripped apart and it broke my heart to see my car in that state. He apologized for not being able to send the cost estimate on time, which was promised to be sent over by 3 pm on the 28th of May, 2024, and promised to send it over by noon tomorrow, the 30th of May 2024, which would be based on the report from their head office on what needs to be done and from there, they would require my go-ahead to perform the engine overhaul.

One thing was shocking to hear though, there was extremely minimal sludge in the engine and that pissed me off. The guy at Sterling lied to me and I was extremely disappointed. Never going back in there, ever again.

For those interested, here are some photos of the car, however, the head and the block of the engine are not present here as they are at the head office.

[Noobdriver]

Update on 3rd June 2024:

I visited Hybrid Hub today to get an update, and was informed about the following:

• They have not been able to begin the assembly process due to parts unavailability and the parts they have ordered are expected to arrive tomorrow, 4th of June, 2024 following which they would be able to begin the assembly process.
• Per them, the car should be back in my hands on Thursday, 6th of June, 2024.

Side note: The weather is messed up, I'm running a fever, ugh.