Have a 2005 with 138,000 miles, owned from new. It was parked for four years while I was out of state but I've been driving it daily for a few months. Occasionally, the red triangle would flash and it would beep. Tried to read the codes but there weren't any. Perused this forum and discovered it was a sign of low oil. Had to add two quarts to get above the fill line. Thank you all for saving my engine. But why the cryptic signal? Shouldn't there be a low oil light on the dash and shouldn't it cause an engine code? All it said on the display was "problem" which was no help at all. For the record, it never burned oil before I parked it and I rarely had to add oil. Oil changed every 5000 miles.
As these engines get older, they will start burning oil. Have you had a habit of checking oil level to say "it never burned oil before"? After it sitting for 4 years, you didn't change the oil before driving it again?
low oil pressure notification would be nice, but toyota trusts that you'll keep an eye on it apparently. you're fortunate. for most people, a blown engine is the only indicator
Car sits for 4 years and you just cross your fingers and hope for the best? Like not even checking the dipstick? Wow! This website may of saved your engine this time, but with you car care ethic you should probably start shopping for a new car ASAP.
I wonder what's so scary about a dipstick? One time someone with 300K miles on a Prius asked me how to check the oil level... How that prius did that well for that many miles is beyond me.
i suspect most haven't been taught. manufacturers/dealers don't encourage it. maybe we need to go back to more practical life classes in high school
For the record, I changed the oil, tire, wipers, and 12v battery before I started driving it. I also cleaned it (there was a rabbit living under the hood) and had it painted.
With the car sitting for four years, the oil return holes in the pistons might have got gummed up. To test this, you could try doing a piston soak using Berrymans B12. Some have reported success trying this.
Yeah, when we went to our Toyota dealership's "new owners night", the service manager gave us a tour of the service department, and proclaimed "our goal is to ensure you never need to pop the hood"...
