Hello,

I have a 2016 Toyota Corolla LE (4-cylinder 1.8L CVT engine, automatic transmission) with 32k miles on it. I keep regular oil changes and tire rotations. I plan on changing my engine air filter and cabin air filter in the next week. Yesterday my engine light came on and I took it to the dealer. I also noticed that my car was a bit jerky when I was going anything below 40 mph. There weren't any abnormal sounds or anything. They found that there were oil deposits in one of my spark plugs. So I had them replace the spark plugs and they also filled up the oil in the car. They told me to come back to after hitting 1k miles to see if there is any oil leakage and where its happening. They also explained that this can be caused by not driving the car much. This may be the case since the previous owners did not drive it much (only to get groceries. I bought the car at 16k in circa 2018). Also, I have not used it much either, I only take it to school and errands so I only put 4k miles/year as well. During the pandemic, my car didn't see a whole lot of road. I would drive it around 10-15 miles every week just to keep the engine somewhat active (it kind of felt like walking the dog XD). I was wondering if this issue warrants the follow-up visit and how severe this issue is. Will it compromise my engine? Can I go on long trips with my car? What can I do to prevent this from happening again?

Any guidance is appreciated. Thank you in advance

Sincerely,

Concerned college student