2.4L 2AZ-FE Toyota engine head bolt issues?

[rogue1313]

Hello everyone. I just picked up a 2009 Vibe base model with the 2.4l engine, and had a reliability question.

I was poking around the web and found some disconcerting information regarding this particular engine ( 2.4L 2AZ-FE ) and that apparently there have been issues with head bolts stripping out of the block.....requiring either a new engine block or maybe an elaborate 3 day fix.

I guess the bolts can just strip over time, caused by basic metal fatigue?.....Toyota forums claim it's an issue that's widespread or happens enough that they believe it's a design flaw & that Toyota should issue a fix or recall or extend the powertrain warranty.

Because it's a Toyota engine, the information I found came up on Toyota forums.....and I haven't seen anything yet with regard to when these engines were built.. It doesn't sound like a catastrophic failure, just that the bolts strip and coolant starts to leak, and that basically either the block would have to be replaced to correct the issue OR there's a kit someone has come up with to install inserts.

I was just wondering if anyone has experienced this problem? If so, what year was your vehicle? Like I said, I just bought my 2009 (which was actually sold in June 2008) & it has 75k miles on it. From what I understand, the powertrain warranty is good up to 100k miles and fully transferrable.....which means I've got about 4 or 5 months left on it.

Now I'm not saying I'm having this problem (going to take a peek under the hood for any leaks or signs of it).....but I wanted to get some input from the community here as to whether or not anyone has experienced this issue. I did a search and didn't find anything, but if I missed it, I apologize for starting another thread.

Hopefully this hasn't been an issue.....or if it has, maybe by 2008/2009 it was sorted out? Any input would be great....thanks.

[cq358]

No known head bolt issue for the version (2) 2AZ-Fe yet.
There might be some oil burning issue For TC, Rav and Camry. Have not heard similar issue with vibe.
You could ask if any 2.4L owners with 80k miles + and see if they report any issue?

[rogue1313]

Hey, thanks for the input/suggestions.

I did some more reading on the Toyota boards and it seemed like the head bolt issues kinda topped out around the 2006 years (at least I didn't notice anyone posting about later years, like 2008 or 2009). And the reality is, lets say it happend to a few hundred cars, considering that Toyota makes/sell thousands and thousands of cars with those engines, the affected amount is probably only 1 or 2%

I don't know.....it's just reading about a potential problem that could cost thousands to repair and that you can't really do anything to prevent, right after you buy a car, is a bit disconcerting........So just wanted to check & see if any Vibe owners had reports of this same issue.

But he reality is what can you do? The car is mine (and I really love it so far)....so I guess just keep an eye out & hope that nothing happens. I'm really not that worried about it......Just curious to see if there had been any reports from the Vibe community.

Thanks again.....and if anyone else reads this & has some input, I'd love to hear it....thanks.