ITbomb: We better not buy any car then

Or rather, which one should we buy.

IVM!

I have been using my camry 08 for three solid years now to travel and flog around town and all I have done is oil change and brake pads.Toyota still remains a good car.

well I can't ascertain op assumptions but Toyota still remains a car brand to beat in Nigeria. It's the best car in Nigeria.

The only problem I know about 2AZ engine is it hates over heating and this can always be avoided if you monitor your temperature gauge. My 2AZ big daddy will be 6 years in November and no problem with Engine.

About the RX300 I know it's the same Engine it uses with toyota siena. That seems to be a very good Engine if not no transporter would use it for business.

whoever that posted this, you are on ur own. As for me, it is either a toyota car or nothing

toyota still remains the car with the highest second-hand value in Nigeria!

oludolars: What to watchout for when buying Certain Models of Toyota cars.This is the reason why most of these models are resold fast and cheap.

4 Cylinder Camry 2002 - 2006(aka Big Daddy),
4 cylinder Highlander 2002- 2004 and other
cars with 2Az Engine.
Stripped head bolt is peculiar to these models
as from 70,000 miles.Entire coolant suddenly
leaks as a results of 3 head bolts pulling out of
Engine block.

4 cylinder Camry 2007 - 2010(Aka muscle and
Voltron),Corolla 2003 - 2006 and Toyota matrix
They burn oil greatly and oil level need to be
checked severally and topped if need be

1 Mz V6 Engine Toyota Cars: Highlander ,
Avalon ,Lexus Rx300,Lexus Es 300 etc
are very prone to Engine sludge if non
synthetic oils are used.Also their transmition
fail easily when the transmision oil and filter
is not changed on time.

Pls do a proper check when buying Nigerian
used of these cars.

What is the source of this information or you may be seen as deceiving people. I have used and seen others use the corolla 2003 without any of these issues.

lomomike:

I use a 2AZ-FE highlander 03, its currently above 100k miles and still going strong. OP DON'T always believe everything you read online.

Ode. Did he say every one of the highlanders is faulty? He said be careful.

Most people opposing the OP are just ignorant and would not open their minds to learn new things that would help them make better choices in the future.

Lets consider this...for you people who have placed all your trust and hope in Toyotas (mediocre performance which will become obvious when you start driving German and certain American cars), of all the millions of recalls that have occurred worldwide, can you tell us how many have been recalled in Nigeria? Even brand new? They ship shiiit to us and we dont even know, we keep going to Ladipo and dont know that they have shafted us. They recall cars all around, they replace the cars for their citizens and ship the collected cars down here and you rush it because its 40k miles. Very funny.

even wen u check carcomplaints.com u will see dat d issues wer experienced by a fraction of d users nt lik its all users.also dey let u know d manufacturing year dat is plagued by such issue.
for example, d engine issue affecting big daddy is only limited to 2003...a lil complain 4rm som 2002 users. while no reported complain from 2004 -2006.but OP decided 2 jst generalise.
sane wi5 d muscle line....transmission complain nd engine oil consumption was mor common wit d 2007 line.
u made it sound lik dis cars r a plague 2 avoid. Nigerians r nt foolish. .if d rate of problems wit dis model r as rampant as u painted it, naija people wuld av bn running 4rm d car since.
dia is a reason y Nigerians buy nd use Toyota. ...its reliable nd affordable. aw many brands cn boast of dos 2 qualities in equal measure?

TS2:

Ode. Did he say every one of the highlanders is faulty? He said be careful.

anofia, idi0t if you don't know what to say, shut the fvck up, learn grow wise and become knowledgeable!

Nigerians are terrible car owners ( my opinion), i can imagine the extent of abuse a corolla or a camry must have gone through before it pulls you over on the road, i had an 08 camry for about a year and i only changed oil. your car will treat you the way you treat it irrespective of its make or model.

East, West, North and South.

Toyota is the best...

Camry and Sienna.

Infact Highlander, Rx 300 and Sequoia to go..

If you drive all these Passat and golf or old Honda cars, you will know that Toyota has no rival in motor technology..

oludolars: What to watchout for when buying Certain Models of Toyota cars.This is the reason why most of these models are resold fast and cheap.

4 Cylinder Camry 2002 - 2006(aka Big Daddy),
4 cylinder Highlander 2002- 2004 and other
cars with 2Az Engine.
Stripped head bolt is peculiar to these models
as from 70,000 miles.Entire coolant suddenly
leaks as a results of 3 head bolts pulling out of
Engine block.

4 cylinder Camry 2007 - 2010(Aka muscle and
Voltron),Corolla 2003 - 2006 and Toyota matrix
They burn oil greatly and oil level need to be
checked severally and topped if need be

1 Mz V6 Engine Toyota Cars: Highlander ,
Avalon ,Lexus Rx300,Lexus Es 300 etc
are very prone to Engine sludge if non
synthetic oils are used.Also their transmition
fail easily when the transmision oil and filter
is not changed on time.

Pls do a proper check when buying Nigerian
used of these cars.

All these are indications of wear and tear. When cars begin to show that sign it is generally an indication of something. Usually, its poor maintenance. If you are buying toks, it is always useful to check its maintainance records. A quick look up at the VIN will give you some details as to that. If the car has being involved in an accident as do many cars for sale in Nigeria, you will have most if not all of this issues.


A car that burns oil shows that the engine is not in top shape either because it has been compromised in an accident or it has been entirely replaced and the workmanship was poor. Even TATA can build a car and not have burning oil issues. It is so basic. If your engine burns oil, it almost always means that you did not get a proper mechanic job done. Same thing applies to the Head Bolts whether its the bolts themselves or the holes where the bolts go into. If you dismount an engine and for some reason you happen to use a wrong bolt to mount it back, what could happen is that the bolt torque ration could be such that it does not match the condition. As such the tension is not sufficient or is excessive and there causes the bolts or the hole to fail. Water or solvent corrosion can also play a big role in this. It is normal for one bolt head to become stripped but here 3 fails at the same time is bad, because the 3 could not have failed at the same time. Its likely that at one time only one failed, at which point there would have been obvious signs. But the signs where ignored and the 2 more gave way, at which point the resultant effect necessitated the attention of a technician.
Whatever the case, a head bolt failure to such an extent indicates poor maintenance.

An engine sludge tells me that the car has not been going through basic servicing. You should change your oil after every 3500 to 4000 km. Some say you can go 6000 but I do mine like that. In a country where the only time we remember to tend our cars is when it coughs, its hardly surprising that Engine sludge's are showing up.

If you don't change your oils and necessary filters on time, it can hardly be a surprise if your transmission fails. As far as i'm concerned this is a non issue.

Toyota cars are known for reliability but there are some of these models that require special attention due to some factory defect like the ones stated above.

For 2Az Engines: The Headbolt Stripping is peculiar to Engines with Block Number PN 410 -09050.If your block number falls under this category you need to be very observant.

Early signs: The foam close to the manifold gets wet and the coolant level gradually reduces and needs to be topped .You suddenly encounter this embarrassing surprise which ends up in towing the vehicle.It can happen at any point in time.Most Cars sold out as tokunbo with this block number have had the bock re-threaded after Headbolt stripping.

Most mechanics assume that radiator leaks cause the sudden drain of the entire coolant which burns the headgasket and causes other damages.
The Engines can be re-threaded and a longer bolt used as replacement but as usual, most roadside mechanics suggest the purchase of tokunbo Engine at Ladipo market which costs between 250k - 350k which might end up doing the same.

For 1Mz Engines: Engine last long without sludge if fully synthetic engine oils are used and Toyota type IV transmission fluid and the transmission filter replaced regularly.

You are very right,I bought toyota matrix this january I top my oil every months.you are very very right.

Fact

What manner of TOPIC HEADLINE is this

I always advice people: - A car is as good as the owners maintenance culture. Stop maligning brands please.

princefunmi:

All these are indications of wear and tear. When cars begin to show that sign it is generally an indication of something. Usually, its poor maintenance. If you are buying toks, it is always useful to check its maintainance records. A quick look up at the VIN will give you some details as to that. If the car has being involved in an accident as do many cars for sale in Nigeria, you will have most if not all of this issues.


A car that burns oil shows that the engine is not in top shape either because it has been compromised in an accident or it has been entirely replaced and the workmanship was poor. Even TATA can build a car and not have burning oil issues. It is so basic. If your engine burns oil, it almost always means that you did not get a proper mechanic job done. Same thing applies to the Head Bolts whether its the bolts themselves or the holes where the bolts go into. If you dismount an engine and for some reason you happen to use a wrong bolt to mount it back, what could happen is that the bolt torque ration could be such that it does not match the condition. As such the tension is not sufficient or is excessive and there causes the bolts or the hole to fail. Water or solvent corrosion can also play a big role in this. It is normal for one bolt head to become stripped but here 3 fails at the same time is bad, because the 3 could not have failed at the same time. Its likely that at one time only one failed, at which point there would have been obvious signs. But the signs where ignored and the 2 more gave way, at which point the resultant effect necessitated the attention of a technician.
Whatever the case, a head bolt failure to such an extent indicates poor maintenance.

An engine sludge tells me that the car has not been going through basic servicing. You should change your oil after every 3500 to 4000 km. Some say you can go 6000 but I do mine like that. In a country where the only time we remember to tend our cars is when it coughs, its hardly surprising that Engine sludge's are showing up.

If you don't change your oils and necessary filters on time, it can hardly be a surprise if your transmission fails. As far as i'm concerned this is a non issue.

Funny enough, most accidented cars(not heavily accidented) have less mechanical problems than clean titles as they would have been less used, due to parking them down after the accident, than their clean title counterparts.

Ooshey..... Informative article

viperman:

Funny enough, most accidented cars(not heavily accidented) have less mechanical problems than clean titles as they would have been less used, due to parking them down after the accident, than their clean title counterparts.

True! But like you have differentiated, that depends on the nature of the accident.

I love german cars nt japanese.mercedes to b precise.

Nigerians be using 10 year old second hand cars of a yard stick for a good car .. Dude once your car has done five years after being manufactured or over 100k kilometres every other thing na Jara ...

lomomike:

I use a 2AZ-FE highlander 03, its currently above 100k miles and still going strong. OP DON'T always believe everything you read online.

Alize and weed

fzero:
Alize and weed

Meaning??

And Nigerians say Toyota cars are the best. Over hyped Toyota cars, boring cars to drive.

okparaugo: East, West, North and South.

Toyota is the best...

Camry and Sienna.

Infact Highlander, Rx 300 and Sequoia to go..

If you drive all these Passat and golf or old Honda cars, you will know that Toyota has no rival in motor technology..

SMH

lonelydora:

SMH

Mtschew

So which of the Toyota cars is better?

leuelliot:

Do not let ignorance cloud your judgment. because your car is "going strong" doesn't make the information false. these engines have defects that's the sad Fact

Some of you have not driven a Toyota. I really doubt. You said defects, aren't they fixable ?

How many Toyotas have we seen permanently unreparable like we see Nissan Murano and the likes ?

Even people without cars will flock this thread with comments..

These propaganda won't work. I have been using a Camry for 5 years now plus other Toyota products. The durability of Toyota is higher than that of any other car on the road.

fortunejum: So which of the Toyota cars is better?

Guy no mind them. Toyota is the best passenger and commercial vehicle in the world.

Check the number of hiace hummer buses on our highways, Camry's on the streets. Nigerians don't spend money on what doesn't benefit them.

I have used Toyota on both private and commercial level.

Toyota cars are known for reliability but there are some of these models that require special attention due to some factory defect like the ones stated above.

For 2Az Engines: The Headbolt Stripping is peculiar to Engines with Block Number PN 410 -09050.If your block number falls under this category you need to be very observant.

Early signs: The foam close to the manifold gets wet and the coolant level gradually reduces and needs to be topped .You suddenly encounter this embarrassing surprise which ends up in towing the vehicle.It can happen at any point in time.Most Cars sold out as tokunbo with this block number have had the bock re-threaded after Headbolt stripping.

Most mechanics assume that radiator leaks cause the sudden drain of the entire coolant which burns the headgasket and causes other damages.
The Engines can be re-threaded and a longer bolt used as replacement but as usual, most roadside mechanics suggest the purchase of tokunbo Engine at Ladipo market which costs between 250k - 350k which might end up doing the same.

For 1Mz Engines: Engine last long without sludge if fully synthetic engine oils are used and Toyota type IV transmission fluid and the transmission filter replaced regularly.