2011 Highlander - Timing Chain Broke While Driving (1 Viewer)

[Chaldaean]

My Mother purchased a used 2011 Highland two years ago with 150,000 miles on it.

Yesterday, the timing chain broke while driving and the vehicle is at the shop. It's an interference engine with an estimated repair bill of $4,400.

Three questions:
(1) SIGNS WE MAY BE IGNORED: As far as I know, the timing chain is a lifetime part and is not included in the scheduled maintenance plan. Some mechanics advise to check the condition of the chain around 80,000-120,000 miles. If we were paying closer attention to the engine, what sort of signs would be expect to hear or see (upon inspection) prior to a failed timing belt? I'm basically wondering if there was something glaring that we missed.
(2) CAUSES: If this is a lifetime part, is there anything else in the system that we should be looking at that may have contributed to this failure?
(3) QUESTIONS FOR MECHANIC: The car is at a local shop that my Mother is familiar with - they have good reviews and have been in business for 20 years. I'm hoping the engine damage is minimal as I am footing the bill for this (my Mom is retired and can't absorb large bills like this). What questions should I be asking to ensure the job is done properly?

Thanks!

 

[Jetboy]

There's nothing you could have done to prevent it assuming you were keeping up on routine maintenance - namely oil changes on schedule with the correct oil weight. Before you do anything, I would verify that the engine did not have a very recent service where the oil change techs forgot to put oil in. It happens. In fact, it happens more often than timing chains fail at 100k on Toyotas. If you suspect that to be the case, one way to check is to pull the oil filter and see if it's empty. If the mechanic tries to cover it up by adding oil after the engine fails - the oil filter won't usually be full of oil. That's not to say that it happened that way. Just unusual to have a timing chain fail, so I'd consider other reasons if there was anything recent like an oil change that could be the cause.

If it were me - i would not rebuild that engine. unless you can easily verify that it has no major internal damage - buy a low mile used engine and swap them. No mechanic can rebuild an engine in a shop to the same level of precision as Toyota can in a factory. I'll take a 100k mile Toyota takeout that's been maintained over a fresh local rebuild every time.

Just my .02.

Good luck.

 

[bigredmachine]

timing chain failure is very rare, personally ive never see a total chain failure like that. the only sign that you may see is cam correlation codes from the chain stretching and not having enough movement in the tensioners to take up the slack. highly unlikely that you missed anything unless it was something that you activly ignored like excesive chain slap or other engine noise.

what caused it tough to say, without seeing it or knowing the history. probably just poor luck with that one.

i would not repair the engine, just get a used motor and call it a day. you can maybe save some money on parts be doing a rebuild but youll be spending the money on labor so itll probably be a wash. we preferred to use jarco for motors that we replaced, their more pricy but we never had any issues with the ones that we installed and they do offer a warrantee on what they sell.

if you go the used motor route i would put in fresh plugs, change the valve cover gaskets, replace the water pump and gasket and look to see that it has the updated oil cooler lines. toyota moved from soft rubber lines that would spring a leak to hard metal lines

 

[Chaldaean]

I would verify that the engine did not have a very recent service where the oil change techs forgot to put oil in.

The last oil change was in January about 3,000 miles ago.

One week before the timing chain broke, they did a coolant/brake fluid flush, replaced the spark plugs and the fuel injection gasket set.

If it were me - i would not rebuild that engine. unless you can easily verify that it has no major internal damage - buy a low mile used engine and swap them.

This is great advice - thank you.

i would not repair the engine, just get a used motor and call it a day. you can maybe save some money on parts be doing a rebuild but youll be spending the money on labor so itll probably be a wash. we preferred to use jarco for motors that we replaced, their more pricy but we never had any issues with the ones that we installed and they do offer a warrantee on what they sell.

Thanks for this advice. I looked into Jarco (Where to Buy – JARCO INC 770.479.4942 - https://jarcoinc.com/?page_id=157) and they deal exclusively with Toyota/Lexus independent dealers. Currently, the vehicle is at a local shop that my Mother is familiar with, but it is not affiliated with Toyota/Lexus. The vehicle can be moved, though. Thanks for the advice on the new parts to install along with a new engine. Much appreciated!

 

[bigredmachine]

Currently, the vehicle is at a local shop that my Mother is familiar with, but it is not affiliated with Toyota/Lexus. The vehicle can be moved, though.

might be worth it just to call for a quote at a dealership rather than spend for a tow. the motors do cost more than a junk yard motor but jarco checks them over, replaces all external gaskets, gives a new rear main to be installed at time of install and they probably still give you a few bags of m&m and a pocket screwdriver.

 

[Chaldaean]

Estimate from the Toyota dealer in Portsmouth, NH is around $8,000 for a new engine.

 

[bigredmachine]

price range looks about right, i think that their a little high on the hrs to install but that proabaly includes other work to the motor before it goes in like chaging spark plugs, swapping external parts and doing other prep work

 

[stonepa]

Curious - did a chain guide fail? Other than that I can’t think of a reasonable reason why a chain itself would fail at that mileage. They are pretty much bulletproof.

 

[Chaldaean]

Curious - did a chain guide fail? Other than that I can’t think of a reasonable reason why a chain itself would fail at that mileage. They are pretty much bulletproof.

Not sure yet - the mechanic has not dug into it yet (it's been sitting in their parking lot for weeks as we wait...).

We know that an engine swap is the best route. However, the reality is that we cannot afford a new engine (quotes from $8,000 to $11,000). So, to just get something for my Mom to drive, we are letting the shop assess and repair the original engine. We wish we didn't have to go this route. The shop called today and said they were ready to put it on the lift and start digging in, but they could not get the vehicle into neutral to roll it in. Anyone have an idea what the issue could be? Is transmission damage common with timing chain breakage?

 

[stonepa]

Transmission damage will not be caused by a timing chain failure.

 

[Chaldaean]

Now at week 6 of the Highlander being at the garage (they say it will done next week), we learn that it wasn't the main timing chain that broke. It was one of the two smaller chains. I assume this still means that the interference damage can still occur, but would be limited to one cam and three cylinders (6 valves out of 24).

 

[bigredmachine]

I assume this still means that the interference damage can still occur, but would be limited to one cam and three cylinders (6 valves out of 24)

yep, now you would just be looking at potentially 1 head, 3 pistons and up to 12 valves vs a new motor. i dont think that you would need new cams but they would both have to be assessed for damage as you would have most likely had 1 cyl open on the intake and one on the exhaust on that bank