‘This is a 2021… with 50,000 miles’: Mechanic issues warning to drivers after 3 Toyotas come in with head gasket issues

An auto mechanic declares that he loves Toyotas, but still has a warning that pertains to multiple cars manufactured by the Japanese car company that recently came into his shop.

The PSA comes from creator Omarionolv (@omarionolv), an Inland Empire-based mechanic who makes TikToks about car repair and car maintenance. This particular selection drew more than 23,200 views as of Monday morning, following its uploading to the platform on Saturday.

In it, Omarion (as he refers to himself in another video, though the nametag on his uniform reads "Omar") relays, "That one's in here for a blown head gasket," pointing to one Toyota. "That one's here for a blown head gasket," he says, pointing to another. "This one would have gotten a blown head gasket eventually, because the water pump was leaking."

He adds, regarding the third car—actually a Lexus, the luxury brand for Toyota—"This is a 2021 IS 350s with 50,000 miles on it."

Cars.com noted that though the Lexus was a generally good car, it also wasn't a significant upgrade over past versions of the car, saying in part, "Out on the street, the new IS 350 really doesn’t feel that different from the last one. More than 300 horsepower might sound like a lot on paper, but 280 pounds-feet of torque isn’t all that impressive anymore, and it shows up in the IS 350’s rather underwhelming straight-line acceleration. Many of its competitors, such as the Acura TLX, Alfa Romeo Giulia, Genesis G70 and BMW 330, all employ turbocharged engines with torque that’s available low in the rev range, making for punchier acceleration than the IS 350 delivers. The IS certainly isn’t slow, but neither does it have the immediacy you’d expect when you floor the accelerator as you enter a highway on-ramp or pull out in front of traffic."

Omarion asked rhetorically, "Is Toyota junk? Yes and no. They do have a little problem and that problem is with the cooling system. But as long as you do routine maintenance and keep an eye on your coolant level, you should be just fine. I would still take Toyota over Ford."

Omarion clarified to the Daily Dot via TikTok message, "Toyotas are actually great cars some of the older models were known for blowing head gaskets. I was just showing that they also fail; I wasn’t slandering them. I literally just bought a brand new Toyota the same day I made the video."

@omarionolv #flatratetech #techtips #shitbox #toyota ♬ original sound - Omarionolv

Commenters were inclined to agree.

One said, "Toyota deifinitely known for blown head gasket. Very common. But overall, if that’s one of the few problems, we can live with it compared to other car."

Several warned that Toyota's coolant was too acidic, with one recommending, "The problem is acidic coolant (light pink) Toyota started using after 2006; i would replace coolant ASAP with cheap red ones (basic) from Walmart."

Another assessed, "Checking all your fluids and changing on time will always win."

The Daily Dot has reached out to Toyota via email.

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The post ‘This is a 2021… with 50,000 miles’: Mechanic issues warning to drivers after 3 Toyotas come in with head gasket issues appeared first on The Daily Dot.