Toyota has announced a limited service campaign (LSC) to fix oil hoses on certain vehicles equipped with VVT-i engines. It’s important to note that this isn’t a safety recall, as it shouldn’t have any dangerous consequences if not fixed, but rather a step taken by Toyota to increase customer satisfaction.

The cars affected by this LSC are the 2007-2009 Toyota Avalon and 2007-2009 RAV4 V6. This is the third in a series of LSCs designed to replace the VVT-i oil hoses, as with age, these hoses may degrade, causing oil to leak. This will result in abnormal engine noises and the illumination of the oil pressure light. 128,000 Avalons and 89,000 RAV4s are affected by this latest LSC. The previous two concerned 342,200 Toyota Avalons (model year 2005-2006), Camrys (2007 – early 2010) and RAV4 V6s (2006), and then 374,000 Lexus ES350s (model year 2007-2008) and RX350s (2007-2009).

Owners of affected vehicles will receive a notification by first class mail. Dealers will replace the oil hose with a redesigned one at no charge. The process should take no more than an hour. Owners will have until March 31st, 2013 to come into their local dealership and get the fix installed.

Press Release

Limited Service Campaign for VVT-i Oil Line

On February 22, Toyota announced phase three of a Limited Service Campaign (LSC) on certain 2007 – 2009 model year Avalon and RAV4 vehicles with a 2GR-FE (V6) engine, the rubber portion of the oil supply hose for the VVT-i actuator may degrade over time. This condition may cause oil to leak from the VVT-i oil hose producing abnormal engine noise and the oil pressure light to illuminate.

This is not a safety recall and submitting a Defect Information Report to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is not required.  Toyota has taken this step in the interest of customer satisfaction, informing owners that Toyota and Lexus dealers will modify their vehicle to help them avoid experiencing the condition.

For phase three, there are approximately 128,800 Avalon (2007 – 2009 model year) and 89,000 RAV4 V6 (2007 – 2009 model year) vehicles involved in the United States.
Last year, Toyota also announced phases one and two of this LSC on approximately 342,200 Toyota Avalon (model year 2005 – 2006), Camry (2007 – early 2010) and RAV4 V6 (2006 model year), and 374,000 Lexus ES 350 (model year 2007-2008) and RX 350 (model year 2007-2009) vehicles.

Owners of the involved vehicles will receive a LSC notification by first class mail.

Toyota dealers will replace the VVT-i Oil Hose with a newly designed one at NO CHARGE to the customer. The repair will take approximately one hour. However, depending upon the dealer’s work schedule, it may be necessary to make the vehicle available for a longer period of time.

This Limited Service Campaign will be offered until March 31, 2013.

If an owner has any immediate concerns they are requested to contact their local Toyota dealer for diagnosis, and if applicable, repair.

Source: Toyota