On March 5th, 2022 I just purchased a base model 2013 FJ Cruiser from a used car dealer. It had 83,390 miles at time of purchase. Nothing unusual at time of purchase. 6 days into driving I stepped on the throttle to pass a slower vehicle. A lot of exhaust fumes and what appeared to be oil in the exhaust. The outdoor temperature was approximately 40 degrees F. I drove approximately 20 miles and the TRC off & service engine light came on. The vehicle was shuddering & I stepped on the throttle to see if it would clear the shudder but, it did not. I slowly drove approximately 1.5 miles to home at ~35 mph. The next morning the TRC off & service engine lights were not illuminated. I drove approximately 28-miles and, both illuminated again with the service engine light flashing on & off repeatedly. And, when this happens I see blue exhaust. I stopped at O'Reilly and borrowed their scanner. The code was P0306, misfire on cylinder 6. Before I restarted the engine I performed a code clear by setting the odometer to overall miles, held in the trip meter button, turned the key to on, let the bars go to blank and, return to overall miles. I restarted the motor and the TRC off & service engine light were illuminated but, the service engine light remained steady. I have an appointment with Toyota on 3/17 to have them check the vehicle to see if it is a bad spark plug coil, bad spark plug and, to see if the spark is coated with oil. I will ask them to move the coil to a different cylinder to see if it is the coil.
My questions are, 1 - if I have a bad cylinder can this engine be rebuilt? 2 - do you know if it is less expensive to rebuild the engine or replace it with a short block? 3 - Does Toyota offer an engine swap? If so, do you have any idea on what the lead time is to get a new motor from Toyota (probably a better question for the Toyota dealer)? If I need to replace the engine who would you recommend for a short block or engine remanufacture? 4 - I'm hearing to do a short block replacement from start to finish will run approximately $7,000 - $8,000. And as you know, trying to find a reasonable priced used vehicle is next to impossible.
I look forward to your responses.
Thank you & keep making YouTube videos that even an idiot like I can understand.
Have you done a wet/dry compression check? That would tell you how much life is in the engine, and what's wrong with #6 - valves or rings.
As far as getting work done, yes, you can have a Toyota dealer do an engine replacement, but that's probably the most expensive way to have it done. An independent shop and a re-manufactured engine would be a lot more reasonable. Rebuilding could be problematical if there is metal in your oil passages now.
Where are you located? That would probably have a lot of influence on what is the best option and how fast it could happen. We have people from Iceland posting here - and I think was about Toyotas.
I would go with the reman long block, about $5500 plus a grand to put it in. I would never let a dealer touch my vehicle.
Update: Pulled #6 plug and it was coated with oil. Changed to a new plug. Mechanic swapped coil from #6 plug with #5 plug and live code showed it was still #6 misfiring. The PCV is in good condition. As the mechanic took it for a drive he also noticed occasional clouds of blue smoke. Mechanic also checked the oil level and it was down 2.5 quarts. Note - four days prior to taking it to the mechanic I had added two quarts of 0W/20 (manufacturer recommended oil). So, in approximately 633 miles since I purchased the vehicle it had gone through approximately 3.5 quarts of oil. The mechanic (30-years experience) said he encountered a similar situation with a Toyota Forerunner that took him three months to find the cause. He is, at this time, assuming something is wrong with the driver's side valve cover baffle which, is what he found to be the issue with the Forerunner. I reached out to the lot where I purchased the vehicle and, they are stepping up to pay for all repairs and car rentals especially after I point out that the mechanic said this is an issue that should have been apparent to any reasonably intelligent mechanic. I really have to thank the individual where I purchased the vehicle as he had nothing to do with my purchase however, he is adamant that they should make this right and, has gone to his sales & maintenance managers to remind them about doing the right thing. In addition, the lot where it was purchased said that if this isn't the cause they are dedicated to making it right. More to come...
Got my FJ back today. All spark plugs were replaced. Mechanic's statement is "Removed valve cover (driver's side) and found sludge due to lack of oil changes in the past. Replaced valve cover with gasket & topped off oil. Recommend keeping an eye on oil level to inspect for oil consumption due to stuck oil consumption due to lack of maintenance." Service manager will send photos of the sludge that was encountered. Also stated - "Expect to have engine trouble in the future from the amount of sludge they found under the valve cover as sludge will slowly break free and get stuck in small openings and will stop oil flow into some areas."
Trying to save a few bucks by not following oil change recommendations will most likely result in several thousands of dollars in repairs. {black}:serious: {black}:serious: {black}:serious:
So what is your question?
Have not performed a wet/dry compression test. That will happen tomorrow. Located outside of Green Bay, WI.
Thank you for your comments.