Hey Scotty! I've had a strange problem with my 2002 Camry 2.4L (226k miles) I'd say during the past year. I bought it in 2020 with 155k miles, and it has always burned around 1 quart every 500 miles. During the past year, it has been idling at very low RPMs after it's been warmed up, to the point that it vibrates excessively.
It also has misfires every now and then (along with a flashing check engine light), which come and go randomly as I drive. Sometimes when I'm taking off from a stop light, the engine suddenly has a "hiccup" and then continues running normally. I've researched everywhere online, changed ignition coils, sparkplugs, checked the wiring harnesses, checked the injectors, MAF sensors, and I just couldn't find the problem, so I decided to take it to a professional shop to do a full diagnosis.
They had my car for a full day and concluded that I have a small head gasket leak (from the inside, they said, even though I haven't seen my coolant level go down), and they pulled out one of the fuel injectors, and came to the conclusion that my intake valves are not seating properly. They also said they checked the compression on each of the cylinders, and it was good (which I found strange considering all these problems).
They said they would need to remove the cylinder head and take it to a machine shop where they will have the head fixed, and put it back together, which will be around $2500 and take about 7 days.
I've attached the following link pictures of the check engine light codes and a video that the repair shop sent me of them checking the intake valves:
https://postimg.cc/gallery/nBJg2V0
Video of intake valves: https://youtube.com/shorts/UkXisSJXCro?feature=share
I've been really considering getting rid of the car altogether, but I have to say that, considering the rising prices of used Toyotas, and how many miles I drive a year (15k miles), I'm actually considering doing the repair, but I really at a cross-road right now and not sure what to do.
Given the age, mileage, and oil consumption it certainly could be the engine has excess wear. I would not put that kind of money into a valve job for an engine with such a prodigious appetite for oil. You may also experience catalytic converter failure down the road due to the oil burning problem.
Exploratory surgery should not be necessary since a leakdown test would reveal any problem with the valves sealing properly. (Usually it is the exhaust valves that fail first due to the extreme heat they are exposed to.)
