A new and important development has occurred that is very troubling and may ultimately affect many or almost all of the 1.6 million
vehicles affected by the LSC 90K (recall) which replaces a defective rubber oil line hose with a replacement hose that was supposed to be stronger. Despite the fact that the "campaign" documents essentially extend the "warranty" to March 2013, Arlington Toyota of Palatine Illinois (a Chicago suburb) has refused to cover oil line replacement and engine damage caused when the new rubber recall hose replacement rutptured and the engine essentially ran out of oil.
If you own a model year 2007 to 2009 3.5L V6 Camry manufactured prior to April, 2008, this applies to your vehicle !!
Facts as follows: The owner of a 2006
Rav4 (same engine with same recall as Camry) with a placed in service date of 07/25/06 and 48,500 miles has a well maintained
vehicle which the dealer does not dispute. In April 2010 at 31,719 miles, she had oil change and recall service performed at Arlington Toyota. According to her receipt, correct parts were replaced pursuant to LSC 90K. The car was taken into Arlington Toyota for service every 5K miles thereafter. Then, 16,652 miles after the vvt-i recall hose was replaced - on Christmas eve 2011 and just 2,000 miles since her last oil change visit, the replacement oil line ruptured causing the oil to rapidly drain out of the engine so she has it towed to Arlington Toyota.
Arlington Toyota chose to ignore the March 2013 date noted in the LSC 90K documents and tells her "you are only entitled to one oil line replacement .... " and hands her a $700 bill for new oil hose, ancillary damage, and
tow. Within 15 minutes of driving it off the lot, the engine starts making loud noises and it is towed back to Arlington Toyota. They tell her essentially "tough luck" and want $1,200 just to inspect the engine for damage .... which is probably going to run into the thousands of dollars. She calls Toyota headquarters and gets no relief.
The
car is sitting at the dealer now and owner is frustrated to say the least. I called the sevice director at Arlington Toyota and he was totally unresponsive.
I describe this situation in more detail at the top of the following website (which I created):
https://sites.google.com/site/toyotav6oillinescandal/
As you can see from that website and many other instances in several threads here in the
Rav4 World forums, Avalon, Camry and other forums and websites -dealers do routinly make post warranty repairs for ancillary engine damage related to failed oil lines ...... although some people really have to fight for it.
Look at how fast this oil line ruptured - just 16,652 miles and 20 months after the original installation. Even the old 2005 Avalon hoses did not go out this fast. What is particularly absurd here is that had the owner NOT taken the vehicle in at all for the recall in April 2010 and the origianl oil line failed, she clearly would have been covered by LSC 90K since that document clearly states the "recall" is good through April 2013 and there is no sense of urgency about bringing the
car in prior to that date. Since the new improved rubber oil line is suppose to be reinforced with Kevlar or some other such substance, I didn't figure we'd be hearing about any failed LSC 90K replacement rubber hoses until about 2015 !!!!!!
Question: Has anyone ever even heard of another case where the oil line recall repair failed (whether post-warranty or not) and if so, how was the issue resolved? Obviously in this case, either the dealer did not perform the origianl service ...... or incorrectly performed the service .... or Toyota had a bad batch of parts ........ all of which SHOULD have been investigated by the dealer as soon as the car was brought in after the oil line failure occurred. Please PM me or post here any responses. Also, any advice from anyone who sees this and works for a Toyota dealer or Toyota itself? There is another case on the Edmunds forum just like this where a 2008 Camry had the recall performed in September 2010 and the replacement oil line blew Thanksgiving 2011. The dealer paid for the repair but the poster does not accept private messages so it cannot be confirmed as to whether it was still within the 60,000 mile powertrain warranty which if it was within the warranty period would distinguish this case a bit.
Warning to anyone with 2GR-FE V6 engines manufactured prior to April 2008 where the recall has been performed: If the new hose is subject to failure, essentially 1.5 million or so people are driving vehicles that are potentially "ticking timebombs." If other dealers follow the policy of Arlington Toyota, once your powertrain warranty has expired by either the passage of time or by the mileage limit and it has been more than one year since the LSC 90K oil line replacement was done, then repairs that occur as a result - which can easily run into the thousands of dollars - will not be covered by Toyota.
What you can do if your affected vehicle is approaching or has past the applicable dates of warranty expiration: Go back to your dealer and
demand that the dealer either:
(1) replace the "band aid" rubber hose fix called for in the LSC 90K with the same all metal oil line that Toyota installed on all 2GR-FE
V6 engines manufactured beginning in 2008 even if you have to pay some reasonable charge. There are many threads in many Toyota forums on this (as well as the aforementioned website). Many people have already used the metal oil line replacement despite an assortment of lame excuses by dealers stating that the metal version would not fit their car OR the all metal line would void their warranty
or
(2) that the dealer put in writing that the LSC 90K replacement hose is guaranteed until at least March 2013 ... or longer.
Update as of February 8, 2012: Owner appealed to the President of Arlington Toyota with positive response. Toyota picked up the tab for all repairs which essentially amounted to a new engine. Parts replaced include new short block, cam assembly, gear assembly, & water pump. Arlington is also throwing in some brake work as a goodwill gesture.
I hope you don't get the run around. But if it's engined related then hopefully they'll cover it under powertrain instead of trying to shove you under the carpet. The bean counters wouldn't spend just a little more on a metal pipe mass produced? 
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