2002 MR2 Roadster with 90,000K miles

[Anonymous]

Hi,

What your thoughts on a car with 90,000 miles on the clock with regards to engine life span?  The car has full service history, but i'm worried about engine failure.  What's the average mileage the engines go at?  I guess it's had the pre cats removed but not 100% sure.

Any help much appreciated!

[cclarke99]

The engine is only the same as is fitted to 1000000's of Toyota cars all over the world, so with the same life expectancy as any other modern engine. At 90K you must be past the half way point, but again you could reasonably expect to get another 30K miles from it. Do all the usual checks for burning oil and look at any MOT emissions data from recent tests. A lot depends on how you intend to use it - if you're only buying as a weekend car doing less than 5000 miles per year, you could get 5-6 years from it. On the other hand if you're commuting 100 miles a day, it could be dead within a year. The MR2 is such a fun car that unless you're very unlucky you won't regret buying it!

[Anonymous]

Hi,

Thanks for that response and the car will be mainly for weekend driving so no daily commute.  (-;

[iPap]

Mine had 105,000 on and ran fine for a further 6,000 mile with the use of oil getting worse. I decided to rebuild it ( over half way through now) at a rough cost so far at about 2k but it will be worth it!

[Stephster]

Bought my 2001 model in April with 136,600 on the clock, most of it motorway though, and serviced according to schedule. Engine runs just fine and I have done another 2k since. Haven't need to put any oil in yet either. Hope I am not tempting fate here.....

[Dac]

I can't see any reason why a properly serviced and defect-free Toyota engine will not last 250K+. I know of 1400cc Rover K-series engines lasting 200k because they were kept in good order. I would have no hesitation in buying a 150k MR2 engine if it was properly serviced as it would be better than a 50k badly serviced unit.

[catkins]

*phew* Dac you've reassured me!  Mine is at 97K now and I'v only had it a year... I was starting to panic that it would be dead in another year as I use it for daily drive and commute (only 10-20 miles max a day though).  Mine has FSH although I have left it a little long getting a service this time..  Its due its 100K so its a full one and I am aware that I will need to be checking the length of the chain sooner rather than later.

[roger]

There's never any definitive answer to these sort of questions.

Everything gives up in the end (except maybe that 1930's light bulb they keep bringing up), but with a car engine there are outside factors that may affect it. If those can be reduced, then obviously your chances get better.