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What is your question?
Car has 135k miles; otherwise in very good condition. Gets regular oil changes. Any ideas of where to start? Thinking of taking it to Toyota dealership where we bought it. ???
1 Reply
Worn - hardened from age and heat - *valve steam seals* are allowing 'some' oil to enter the cylinders while car is parked for an extended amount of time .. Upon next engine start, the oil is burned off and smoke is emitted from exhaust .. Which usually clears up after a few minutes... Suggest keeping a check on the oil level to see how much is being consumed .. Until it gets to be a real problem - smoking all the time - fouling spark plug(s) - or consuming excessive amounts of oil - it's best just to leave things alone .. Valve steam seal replacement is an expensive repair! Using 'conventional oils' that are designed for higher mileage engines 'may' help rejuvenate seals.
Thanks for your response. It gets driven about every 2 days -- sometimes more often. At least once a month it gets driven 3 hours in one day / highway driving. About how much in Parts and Labor would it be for Valve Steam Seal replacement?
Frequency of driving has no relevance .. Extended park is simply being parked 'long enough' for the oil to seep into the combustion chambers (cylinders) again .. Best to call 'local' repair shops for price estimates and confirmation of my suspicion .. However those symptoms sure are indicative of valve seal oil seepage. As previously stated, until it gets to be a real problem, it won't hurt anything to leave it as is! I know this from 'many years' of automobile troubleshooting and repair .. Plus I owned a 2002 Camry and it was doing the same thing .. Car had over 230k miles on the clock until it was totaled in an accident... Nary a significant problem with the engine - OR - the whole vehicle as far as that goes .. Good, practical vehicles!