2010 Tundra Check Engine Light Issue and Fix

mk – You’re absolutely right about the fact that 98% of the time, changing oil any sooner than recommended on a brand-new vehicle is a waste. New engines used to have oil contaminants all the time (well into the 80’s for some manufacturers), but over time this has become pretty rare. I don’t think it’s necessarily bad to have a little metal flake in the engine oil, but it wouldn’t make me very comfortable. I’m glad to know that the check engine light is setting as soon as contaminants are detected. It’s actually a really good feature…but it’s a pain the rear for someone that just bought a brand-new truck. Hopefully it’s limited to 100’s of people instead of 1000’s.

NO thanks on dealer’s doing my oil changes. I know it has only happened about 3 times, but when it does, this ticks me off: Dealer once overtightened on my brand new truck the oil filter (yes, I know – a chevy at the time) for the first free oil change and come 2nd oil change, I could NOT get the oil filter off. I finally got an extension bar with more leverage onto the socket and luckily, the threads did not break off. But, the oil filter rubber gasket was cracked all over from overtightening. Twice with Tundras, the dealer oil change dept. cranked on too tight the oil filter housing cap and I could not get off very easily either – big pain in the butt. Besides, I like knowing the job is done right even if it takes me 3 times as long as a dealer can do it and saving 40 bucks or so in the process per oil change. Synthetics are nice, but at 8 bucks per quart times 7 quarts on the tundra – OUCH! – 56 bucks per oil change plus 5 dollar toyota filter – yikes every 5K mileage! vs. regular conventional oil at a little over dollar a quart (1.50 or so now) does just fine for me and total costing me about 15 bucks vs. 60 or so every 5K/4-5 months of driving. Pretty soon customers will not be able to change their own oil and mfgs. are going to require you take your vehicle in for basis service the way they mfg. some of these components that a regular guy cannot access to do a basic routine maintenance. Yikes – another story though entirely.

ASSUME? Is this what we pay 40k for? I can assume that the engine will not blowup or assume I got a good deal, maybe assume this is BS. I assume that all the above is correct. I assume this will be my last Toyota. I assume no one else finds assume a bit concerning. I assume that they would not have these kinds of issues, I assumed wrong!!!

Pat56 you’re frustrated by the 3 hour wait to do an oil change. I take it they ran diagnostics on your truck, which can be several pages long and they have to do what the manual instructs them to first. Not to mention were you the first one in line? Should others get out of the way for you even though they were there first?

Wait a minute what does first in line, everyone should get out of the way comments have anything to do with the issue at hand. Did I say anything about time or lines in the first post, I assume not Mickey.

Ditto Jason. More here than meets the eye. Pat56 you wrote the same article in two threads. You know you wrote about your 3 hour ordeal with a oil change. That’s one of the remedies for that code. You apparently like to assume. I don’t.

I purchased a 2010 Toyota Tundra yesterday 11-27-09 and my check engine light came on today, approximately 27 hours after purchase. Needless to say I was sick to my stomach. I checked the gas cap, because this happened on my last Tundra, and it was caused by the gas cap not being closed tightly. After reading this article, my mind is at ease and I will be able to sleep tonight.

I brought 2010 Tundra on November 17. The check engine light came on with 362 miles on December 1st. The dealship said it code p0022. The changed the oil and the filter.

Then the light came on again on December 4th with 462 milages. They cleaned the DTC. The light was off. I was driving it the same night the check engine light came back on. I will be going back to the dealship again.

The check engine light went off today on my way to work. So, I guess the oil change and clearing DTC work from the other day

Tom – Keep us posted.
John – Most people that have had this problem only report one or two incidents, most of which are cured by an oil change and perhaps a sensor cleaning. However, as you can see from Tom’s story above, that’s not working for everyone…so it looks like this problem still isn’t fully understood. Hopefully Toyota will issue a TSB soon that will detail the problem.

John – P1604 is a VVTi controller error code. It could be a bad controller, or it could be a VVTi malfunction on account of the crank position sensor generating false readings. I’ll do what I can on my end, but all the people I’m talking to aren’t exactly sure how and why this is happening.

Tom what codes are you getting with the check engine light? “S” drive won’t give you better mpg’s. To get best mpg’s you have to use street tires vice all terrain for off road. You can’t have a 4×4 extra weight and drag there. Can’t be lifted higher than stock. More height increases drag which lowers mpg’s. Flat terrain you’re driving on. Weather plays a good role. Winter takes longer to warm up thus runs richer and burns more fuel. I drive 28 miles to work and out of 28 I can do 55+ on 26 miles of it. I do 55 in a 70 mph zone to get max mpg’s. In doing so I can get 23mpg on my 07 Crwemax 5.7 here in Florida.

Tom what part did they have to order and why?
Mickey, why do 55 in the 70? First its unsafe, second VERY annoying to other drivers! If I was that worried about gas, or the cost of, I would buy something more efficient and cheaper. Tire air pressure, maintenance of vehicle, alignment, altitude, accessories on vehicle (adds weight and drag), certain all-terrain tires will not affect MPG (Micheln ATX2 actually get better than all seasons), items not needed in vehicle adds excuse weight. There’s a million and one ways different things help or hurt depending on other factors. Each play hand in hand with others.
If you buy a truck and worry about the fuel economy you probably don’t need it. See beautiful trucks all the time sitting because to expense to drive, they had to have them but apparently could afford them. If you have to go out of your way to save gas either because it is to expensive or your just saving the environment, then maybe you should NOT have bought a truck.

I just got my truck back from the December 16th.

The dealership end up replacing part because of the check engine light. I part was coming from CA to MA. Last week the dealership putting truck back togather broke a part.

This was third time back to the dealership. The error code was P0012 bank 1 and Bank 2 VVTI oil drums to correct. They had drive my truck for 200 milage to make sure everything work okay.

Mickey – I’ll see what I can dig up next week. There are a few phone calls I need to make…waiting for some people to come back from vacation.

Jerry – It’s very likely that contaminated oil would cause your engine to run oddly, but that’s because of the computer control. You might want to re-read the section in the article that explains the technical aspects, but here’s my quick explanation: the contaminated oil effected the function of the cam position sensors. Since the engine computer wasn’t sure about where the cams were at any given point in time, the engine went into “lifeboat” mode and eliminated any potential for damage by deactivating VVT. Consequently, you felt your engine hesitate because the computer wouldn’t let you run hard. Make sense?

Jason, Thanks for the feedback.
Scott, I feel your pain brother. My dealership told me the oil change was what the Factory told them to do even though the codes were telling them something else…. I would contact Toyota directly because it sounds like your dealership SUCKS, and I would file a formal complaint with the Better Business Bureau. You can do it online in about 10 minutes. Trust me, it works!

I am new to this forum, but feel that my experience is important to share for the benefit of all owners of the 2010 Toyota Tundra 4.6L V8 who are experiencing check engine lights on their brand new trucks.

I took ownership of my truck on January 31, 2009. On Monday, January 4, 2010, on my way to work, my check engine light came on for the first time at 180 miles on the odometer. After a phone call to the dealership, I went right in to have them check it out. Sure enough, I also had a p0022 code, and like others on the forum, they reset the code, replaced the oil and the filter.

I hoped all would be well. But on Wednesday, January 6, 2010, on my way home from work, my check engine light came on again. My odometer reading was about 280 miles. I called the dealership and told them I would be in after work today, Thursday, January 7.

The same code came up…p0022. This time the Toyota Service Bulletin (tsb) instructed the dealership to do nothing except reset the light. According to Toyota engineers, a repair will be necessary. (And I think that you will all get this notification if your lights come on again) However, what that repair will entail is not clear at this time. So, in similar regards to the above post, I do not believe that the evasiveness in a response is an indication that they are “blowing you off”. Instead, I believe that there is enough data to support a real problem being experienced by many owners. Now the engineers are working on a solution and then will give these instructions to the dealership once they really know what they want to do for us.

It is all very unfortunate. I hate having to wait a week for a solution. Furthermore, not knowing how invasive the repair will be does not sit well. I also don’t like the idea how this early mileage issue will affect the truck at a later time.

I do want to compliment the dealership’s service department for their understanding of my frustration and concerns. In addition, I called the Toyota Customer Service Center and opened up a case file. I am told that I should expect a call from them within 24 hours to go over more details, which the individual on the phone was not capable of answering. In addition, I do believe that I will be compensated in some way for the time I have spent in the dealership, etc. I encourage everyone on this forum to assert themselves in every way to have Toyota provide us with the satisfaction we deserve for making an expensive purchase, which supposedly represents quality and reliability…something which has not been experienced up to this point.

In addition, the dealership did not want to call the reset on the code for the second visit an actual service. I believe, as the service technician also hinted to, that Toyota is concerned about owners following through with Lemon Law rights. I believe that the one week wait on notification of needed repairs is Toyota’s way of making sure that once instructions are given, they get it right the first time, or else they will be faced with some people reaching that third visit to the dealership with the same problem. The fourth visit=lemon!

Let’s maintain solidarity on this…If I had my way, I’d ask Toyota to take the hit on their product and give me a new Tundra off the assembly line (with the issue resolved)!

I received a phone call from a Toyota Customer Service case manager today at 3:46 p.m., January 8, 2009. I was optimistic for this call. I thought that I would receive additional information regarding Toyota’s next response to my problem. However, I was told that I was entitled to a fix under the warranty’s legal wording. Of course, we all know that a customer is entitled to a fix for a manufacturer’s defect for 3 years or 36000 miles, whichever comes first.

Toyota still does not have a solution at this time. I must wait to be contacted by the dealership to know what the fix entails.

Meanwhile, my check engine came on again this morning on the way to work. Now it has come on three times in less than 375 miles.

The individual on the phone told me that I can pursue arbitration through a third party. This is free of legal fees, and there is a form in the glove compartment with the vehicle manual to fill out.

I don’t know what would come of this, but I would encourage all owners with the problem to pursue this. With more complaints, maybe there would be greater leverage to ensure TOTAL customer satisfaction.

If I could have my way, I’d like Toyota to give me a brand new truck without the problem. Another option to request: Perhaps Toyota should extend all of our warranties for 10 years/100000 free of parts and labor. They have to be ready to do something. There is no way that I can accept this on a brand new truck, purchased with my hard-earned money.

Cheers!

Sam – I agree that people should know what their rights are, but I disagree with the idea that this is a major problem. It’s annoying, it’s inconvenient, and if it can’t be fixed soon (and there’s every reason to think that it will be) it’s cause for concern. However, as you can see from most of the comments posted, this is an easy fix most of the time. I think it’s important to keep some perspective…a check engine light brought on by some quirky cam position sensor readings shouldn’t be cause for a full truck replacement! That line of thinking will only lead to disappointment, as I can assure you the dealership and Toyota won’t take your satisfaction seriously if you sound like a person who’s demanding the world. Take it from me – a guy who worked at dealerships for years – people who demand a new vehicle as a result of a check engine light just don’t get very good treatment. It’s not supposed to be that way of course, but that’s how it is. If you tone it down, you’re much more likely to get something of value in exchange for your trouble.

Hello All, I wanted to share my experiences, and also ask a few questions.
First, I too am experiencing the Check Engine Light with codes P0012 / P0022. I bought my truck on 29DEC09 in SE Georgia, and have been in to the service dept. with the check engine 3 times now. On the 3rd visit, the service dept. rubbed me the wrong way by attempting to ammend my visit on the still open 2nd case. Aka, make it look as if I only had 2 cases instead of 3. To say the least, I called them out on it and walked out with them aknowledging 3 seperate cases with 3 seperate invoices. To me, this is nessicary to protect myself as a consumer. I am contiplating Lemon Law, but wish to give Toyota every chance possible to make this right. In my eyes, I have a really nice vehicle. Not I state vehicle and not truck. This is because I cannot use my vehicle as a truck in it capacity. I brought to the attention of the GM and Service Dept Manager that I was not going to hook a trailer up to my truck with the check engine light on. The Service Dept Manager reminded me that I have a 60,000 powertrain warentee, and if it were him, he would haul with the light on. I in turn told him that unfortunatly I am unwilling to do so. I know the dealership is trying to protect themselves from a possible Lemon Law proceeding. I love my truck and really hope it does not come to that, but again, as a consumer I have to be prepared. In reading this forum, I do favor Toyota extending the powertrain out to 100,000 miles to calm their customers. I feel this problem with the check engine light is somewhat related to Toyota switching from 4.7L to the 4.6L engines. (aka. grimlins). Now, with that off my chest, I will move to my secont part with my questions.

Questions:
1) Is it possible for the Toyota Service Tech to disable the ECU or the sensor itself from reporting the P00?? error codes to prevent the check engine light from coming on?

2) What is the possibility of the P0012 / P0022 error codes causing actual damage to the engine?

3) If Toyota decides to replace an engine, will it be reported on Car Fax thus reducing the resale value?

4) If Toyota decides to rebuild the engine, will it be reported on Car Fax and thus again reduce the resale value?

Sam – My apologies. I didn’t want to see you end up in the proverbial “lose-lose” situation. If you have a good relationship with the dealer, I would ask for a free oil change and tire rotation on account of your troubles. I would also ask it Toyota would grant you a free extension on your powertrain warranty (not likely, but worth asking for). It depends on the dealership, but most places would offer a free oil change + rotation in this situation. If that doesn’t float your boat, a free detail is likely workable as well.

CSM – In order: No, none, no, and no. Keep in mind that the check engine light is setting because the computer has stepped in and decided to protect the motor. Your truck has variable valve timing, but in order to function correctly VVT needs to know *exactly* where the cam is at any point in time. If the cam position sensor isn’t reading correctly, the VVT system will not engage in order to prevent valve damage. As for requesting an increase in powertrain warranty, I think you have a case. 3 visits for the same problem – especially when the owner’s manual states clearly that you should take your truck in for service as soon as the light comes in – is grounds for a lemon law claim in some states.

My check engine light has come back on. I feel like my acceleration and suppposed gas mileage is down. Would this be expected with an over-retarded camshaft?
I also think that a rebuild of the engine is unacceptable. I don’t want a new truck with these issues. Toyota is trying to be slick about not counting individual visits on the reset of the light as individual incidents. I stilldont know what the repair will be. Meanwhile they tell me that continued driving while I wait is safe. This issue consumes my thoughts and thoroughly removes the joy of ownership!

I would rename this blog…I have not heard much about a “fix”.

I hope to holy hell we will all laugh this off ten years from now when we can hardly remember this and our trucks are servicing our needs flawlessly!

You’re right “Anonymous”…free oil change, tire rotation, and detailing to compensate me for a 30K purchase!
I should cut my losses now!
Get a good trade in value now!
Let’s see how much Toyota values their own product…let’s see how much they’ll give me for a trade with only 500 miles!
The dealership I bought the truck from also sells Chevrolet…I wouldn’t mind a Silverado at this point. It would be an internal transaction…I’m ready!
WTF!
I hope your “LOL” stands for “lots of luck” and NOT “lots of laughs”!
I know the Chevys, Rams, and Fords are laughing!
At this point, Toyota sucks.
Is there an optimistic person out there that can contradict this? I need a salesperson out there to change my mind! Sell me again…why is Toyota the best?
Is there a lawyer out there ready to initiate a class-action lawsuit?
I’ll take a few thousand dollars loss spread out over a 60 month loan to get the hell out of this vehicle!
Read this Toyota!
And Jason…I’m starting to wonder if you work for Toyota.

Sam – Your perceptions are out of whack. If you think that this couldn’t happen on a Ford, Chevy, Dodge, Rolls Royce, or Ferrari, you’re wrong. Every car comes with a warranty Sam, and it’s because they NEED them. If you’re looking for something that is flawless from day one and never needs anything done to it, you’ll have to wait for God almighty to build cars. Anything built by man is inherently flawed. While I agree your situation sucks – it does – I don’t think your expectations are reasonable. I worked at a Ford dealership for the better part of a decade and at a Toyota dealership for about 2 years. During my time at both places, new cars with 500 miles came back needing repairs.

As far as a fix is concerned, most people just need an oil change to clear the contaminants and the problem goes away. Your truck needs more. If you had bought the green one instead of the blue one, you might not be having this problem. What can I tell you – luck of the draw. Look at the comments – most people have success.

Finally, as for me working for Toyota, they wish.

Jason…when a consumer is on the losing side in a business transaction, it is good business practice to rectify the situation so the consumer comes back next time…there should never be a “tough luck” attitude.

In addition, a recent advertisement in my Newsweek magazine, Toyota boasts that they “spends 23 million dollars a day researching future technologies”.(Pg. 23 in the January 11, 2010 issue)

If Toyota has that type of money to spend, they better make sure they have future consumers. In addition, this exorbitant amount of money they have to spend is from profits they have made from us, the consumer, their bread-and-butter!

Jason, you lose the “pissing contest” and give consumers less leverage with your passive approach to making sure people get what they deserve. Nothing meaningful was ever achieved without the collaboration of others dedicated to a common goal!

I will pursue every avenue I have to make sure all goes right for ME (and maybe my efforts will also help others)…if we sit back and contemplate a perfect vehicle made by GOD almighty as you suggest, we will all look like imbeciles…but to accept a new truck with a rebuilt engine would surely make me look like an imbecile…I don’t think that’s ever going to happen!

The whole “pissing contest” blows my mind. What do you think Toyota was doing with those stupid commercials. The whole towing capacity and HP is all a pissing contest! As for anther manufacture having issues, yes. Ford had piston slap on 97-99 models of the 4.6, 5.4 and 6.8. They replaced them with new motors unless your was at the limit of the warrenty. Then they replaced it with a FQR. Its funny how Toyota can do no wrong and the customer has to be flexible and understanding. He probably gave up a better running vehicle than this 30k Truck, its a 5,000 lb paperweight as I see it. Useless until it is fixed! Here’s a idea, they should have saved the money from stupid commercials and spent it on more RD! As for BBB, I don’t believe it is all it cracked up to be! Who pays the BBB? The business, so you give them a bad rating and your taking money from yourself if they cancel their membership. Especially if they have been a member for a long time you will NOT affect their rating no matter they did, even with proof! Here’s a idea give him back his truck and let him make the decision.

Jerry…I absolutely know where you’re coming from.

I agree, the BBB complaint is on Toyota, not the dealership.

The dealership has been great to me. They just have the difficult role as the intermediate party.

Here’s what I *meant* to say:

The warranty is clear in that Toyota’s only obligation is to repair the vehicle. However, in my experience, manufacturers often view this type of situation as a special case. As a general rule, the type of work that a brand-new vehicle needs is usually very limited. Therefore, when there’s a significant repair needed, most auto manufacturers will consider increasing the term of the standard warranty.

The thinking behind offering an extension is that it will bolster a consumer’s confidence and demonstrate the manufacturer’s commitment.

Additionally, the dealership has the ability to offer concessions in an effort to try and make a customer happy. Often times, this is limited by a dealer’s budget. So, instead of spending hundreds of dollars on an extended warranty, a dealer will try and do some little things (like oil changes, details, etc.) to demonstrate that they’re concerned and that they understand. These are meant as a “trade” – they’re simply a gesture.

Based on my experience, I think it’s reasonable to expect a gesture from the dealer, and I think it’s possible that Toyota will extend the warranty. I would hope that these would be viewed as what they are – an attempt at facilitating goodwill.

The trouble is that some consumers don’t view these situations simply as a matter of luck. I suppose that’s hard to do when a consumer only sees a few vehicles in their lifetime, but as someone who has seen thousands of new vehicles delivered I can say that getting a defective vehicle really is nothing more than bad luck.

Some of the consumers who are unlucky enough to have a new vehicle with a defect will take the situation very personally. If expectations aren’t managed, these situations can degrade into a bitter, ego-driven contest that has little to do with the facts.

We all know that the key to resolving conflicts is to put yourself in the other person’s shoes. It’s my hope that Toyota upgrades the warranty of any vehicle that needs a significant engine repair simply out of goodwill. It’s also my hope that anyone who is unlucky enough to buy a vehicle with a defect understands that the manufacturer wasn’t *trying* to build a defective car.

If people can see both sides, they’re much more likely to be happy. That is my ultimate goal – to have a bunch of happy people driving Toyota Tundras. I apologize for coming off as anything other than a person who wants the best for everyone.

As for bringing in the BBB, I don’t see it as a positive step. Unless the situation has reached a point where the dealer, consumer, and manufacturer can’t communicate, bringing in a 3rd party is almost always counter-productive. Again, I say this from experience. Perhaps it’s a perfectly reasonable step to take in this situation…but I would only suggest it as a last resort.

Last but not least, my goal here is to try and help Tundra owners. After writing my comments last night at the end of a long, exhausting day (which isn’t an excuse), I realized that I didn’t do a very good job. Instead of trying to be helpful, I was confrontational. For that, my apologies.

As for new vehicles the 07 Prius that has over 35,000 miles on it has yet to have something fixed. As for trucks my 98 Silverado had only three things fixed on it. At 800 miles replaced A/C fan motor which rattled. The next thing replaced at 90,000 miles was an alternator. At 98,000 the A/C compressor burnt up. You can’t complain about that. I would still own that truck if I wasn’t hit from behind and pushed into a city bus which totalled the truck. Since 92 I owned 8 new vehicles 3 GM 3 Fords and now 2 Toyota’s. The Fords had the most issues to be fixed with an average of 20+ visits per vehicle in 3 years of ownership. GM I found tries to get out of doing as much warranty work as they can. This isn’t just the 06 but my 92 Sonoma they did the same.

Jerry I agree with you and Sam for that extended warranty. When you finally do the 3rd attempt in getting it fixed and it fails then as you can see with what happen with me it took time but finally the BBB did do something. Where it fell short was after the final attempt they only give you a couple of weeks if something goes wrong before they close the case. They close the cases way too early the way I see it. Yes I hope Sam gets it in writing. I would hate for someone to go through what I did for both trucks I had. Where does your confidence go when you have the GM, Service Manager, Service Adviser, Laison, and Salesman all come to you and state we have no idea how to fix your truck. That was done by the Ford dealership I was at. THere and what happen several weeks later is why I switched from Ford and went to Chevy. Of all the luck I got the expensive GM truck that needed duct tape.

Now that everyone knows Mickey’s entire history again, I would use the lemon law CSM! Reason being I don’t want to see what else it looming in the future. We use to call the “Monday trucks”. Built on Monday hinting just returned to work, don’t want to be there and your mind is not in what your doing.

Jason if anything anonymous just killed the union. Is this the way union members are suppose to work there anonymous? On Mondays union workers work partially instead putting what they are getting paid for? Just because it’s Monday they don’t have to care what type of job they do? You crack me up anonymous. Yes Jason notice he has a “Cybil” personality. He uses his 3 personalities he has Me, Myself and I. That constitues the “WE”. It goes to show there anonymous not all people are like you (Thank God). CSM is staying upbeat about what has happen to him. Like I said before anonymous you have no clue about the word “Empathy”. You know the rule there anonymous don’t let the door hit you in the rear.

Mickey – Agreed. Hard to believe a staunch advocate of domestic trucks can argue superior quality when they also talk about the whole “Monday” truck scenario. Which is it – are the workers conscientious and committed to quality, or are they spiteful people who do the bare minimum? Clearly the answer is both, but it’s hard to get excited about a UAW vehicle when the reality is that “Monday” trucks exist.

Richard – Thanks!

They pulled the pan to remove VVTI on Bank 1 to clean off reistall valve and test VVTI. I have no ideas what this means. Perhaps Jason will comment. If I understood the service writer correctly, they now have a TSB out.

Good luck to those still having problems.

The tsb for code p0022 is now to replace the intake camshaft. This is the plan for my truck. They say that although the check engine light has been off for sometime now, that several restarts of the engine will cancel the code itself. I thought everything was okay since the light has been off. The dealership says that the greatest difference will come in emissions. They say I need to have this repair to ensure that I won’t have any state inspection issues later down the road. (Apparently others have decided not to take the fix because they perceive that all is okay now that the light is off…what do you think?) In addition, they said that since I have the lifetime engine warranty covering all internally lubricated parts, that I should rest assured that this will not compromise the integrity of my engine (and if it did, then I’m covered anyways).

I’m awaiting the dealership to notify me of the arrival of the parts. They anticipate no more than a two-day repair. I have already established I don’t want a small sedan-like loaner. The dealership seems to be complying on all requests so far.

I am also negotiating some parts (like running boards and fog lights, etc.). I’m hoping I can get a few things at wholesale prices to ameliorate my strife. I already have the free oil change, the lifetime powertrain warranty, and lifetime engine warranty covering all internally lubricated parts…so I guess I’ll also ask for the car wash too…anything else?

Last thing…now I’m waiting to see if my accelerator is affected by this new recall.

Next thing up….the A.R.E. Z-series truck cap with Yakima rack will be installed in a few days…

Oh…one more thing…for those of you that have the full cloth front seat with fold down center console (not the two buckets with center console), do you feel that the left thigh bolster is less built up and less supportive than the right side?

Jerry…the lifetime warranty on the engine and drivetrain covers all lubricated internal parts. This warranty comes standard with the typical warranty that comes with a new purchase. It is not a warranty I had to buy or that they are giving me because of my troubles. I do not believe that all dealerships participate in this offer to their customers. I do know that if I ever have a problem that the warranty is recognized by all Toyota dealerships.

As far as the light…since my light came on more than once, my situation may be different from yours. My dealership says they have personally only dealt with two vehicles total having this problem…mine and one other. The dealership told me that the other owner was ready to forget about it and was satisfied that all was well since the light hadn’t come on in a while. The service department felt this was a poor decision on the owner’s part. The light can reset itself after several ignitions and the problem may only have “appeared” to have disappeared. Again, I was told that the fix would mainly affect emissions. However, as we discussed the movements and actions behind a properly operating camshaft, it seems that both acceleration and gas mileage are affected as well…when the cam is retarded, the opening of the valves, the spray of the fuel, and the combustion of the air and fuel mix are not harmoniously occurring at 100%. I believe that I read that an over-retarded camshaft can be good for more torque when purposely geared and timed for that…however I think it is bad for mpg and quicker acceleration.

Anyways, I think I’m going to put my trust in them to do the right thing. I hope that some experts out there can either validate this decision or present evidence otherwise.

In addition, I wish Toyota could get itself off the news for all of these bad things. All of these allegations that they knew about sticky accelerator pedals and injurues and deaths associated with them, makes me feel like I’m truly witnessing a turning point of a once-great car manufacturer. Let’s see some improvements! Some real bad luck…