Toyota/Lexus A25A-FKS Teardown… It’s COMPLETELY SEIZED! Will this become a Common Problem?

On Toyota forums the electric A25A water pump has been failing all over the place at between 50,000-130,000 miles. Ditto the electric thermostat and coolant by-pass valve. Bottom line: the electrified cooling system of the A25A is its Achilles heel. The rest of the motor has lasted up to 502,000 miles with 4,000 mile engine oil changes. Owners need to occasionally scan the temperature gauge and be ready to call a tow truck BEFORE the gauge gets up into the RED zone.

the use of an orange fram oil filter says a lot about the type of person maintaining this engine

FYI CORRECTION....Great video. I have this engine in my 2020 Camry LE. On page 531 of my Owner's Manual it reads...If your vehicle overheats..."Engine Coolant Temp High...Stop in a Safe Place...See Owners Manual"...is shown on the multi-information display. It makes sense that Toyota will alert the driver if the engine overheats. Afterall...this ain't no YUGO! The MPG on the freeway is unbelievable...between 38 - 40 MPG.I get my Mobil 1 0w-16 at Walmart ($25.00 5 qts.) and use Toyota oil filters. Great car and great engine!

A25A-fks tear-downs are hard to come by, great video and thanks for bringing us along!

"Now I should be able to rotate the crank" proceeds to smash the pistons

Interesting that the successor to the A25A, the turbocharged T24A-FTS, uses a conventional belt driven mechanical water pump.

Nice job on the video. I am so impressed with Toyota's engine designs. It's no wonder they are so reliable.

The electric water pump internal parts are made of plastics.

Is this the same engin in the 2018 camry hybrid? Any chance you have a video putting it back together?

@22.40 , this statement is FALSE . the ONLY reason Toyota uses 0w16 in these engines is to satisfy EPA and CAFE laws here in North America . The same A25A engine in other countries run many other oil viscosities with the same bearings . from 0w16 all the way to 10w30 without any issue . Compare main and rod bearing clearances to other Toyota engines from 20 yrs ago and you will see basically no difference in specs . I cant stand this trend in spreading misinformation about Toyotas use of low viscosity oils .

My 2022 Venza has a A25A-FXS hybrid version . Glad to see a tear down of this engine . Mine has no serp belt for alt or ac , as they are electric driven . And no place for a starter either.

Noticed that main bearing oil clearance by engine service manual are not equal.
For example,
1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th - 0,014 mm standard value.
3rd - 0,020 mm standard value.
What could be a reason for that? What's wrong with 3rd one?

I noticed a huge tooth gear on crankshaft which supposed to be a driver for balancing unit.
My question is, is crankshaft, connecting rods and pistons, this group in whole so much made unbalanced, so it forced Toyota engineers to implement pretty heavy tooth gear and balancing unit? In order to get rid of engine vibration.
Vibration vs Weigth (fuel consumption).
What do you think about?

I mean yeah, if owner was driving with failed water pump after getting check engine light - this is certain outcome. That been said I think this is a first water pump I ever saw on A25A-FKS to ever fail. I think owner should buy a lottery ticket, he might win fortune.

Why can't the engine shut itself down when it severely overheats or better still, when the ECU detects that the pump is no longer drawing current?

What are the major differences between the A25A and the 2AR?

Still can''t get how variable discharge oil pump is controlled here. Yes, there's a short chain connecting crankshaft and oil pump, but it is just a driver.
Well, there's something like a chamber in block, where they put pressure sensor.
The pressure value comes to ECU. However, which way the ECU says to oil pump "more , less"? In other words, how does ECU affect the oil pump capacity?

Coolant contamination is a problem on my 200K 2018 Camry. The oil comes out blackish red. It’s that 0W-16 viscosity that helps it not seize. But it’s a massive problem in colder weather cause so much dry starting occurs :(

Hi there, there's a need in some theory. 🙂
you told us that proper oil for A25A-FKS is exact 0w-16 grade (and even 0w-8, e.g. Corolla 2024), because this engine itself was designed for low viscosity oils. To be exact these engines line, I mean "dynamic force".
Could you point out on those particular engine units which will suffer if owner use, say, 5w-30 oil. And please explain. Why?
Also could you share oil clearance for mentioned above engine?
-main bearings standard value and acceptable value;
-connection rod bearings standard value and acceptable value;

Thanks in advance!

All we can do is guess/speculate what caused this mishap. I would have like to have seen the oil that was drained initially at the dealership. Ive read forums where those in the know speak of the EGR cooler you removed somehow allowing water/condensation into the oil on both dynamic force A25a and M20 engines. How much water is unknown but ive read threads where the engine oil appears frothy with water which would not help lubricate the engine bearings, pistons ect. Not a fan of electric water pump either with its historically short lifespan. My 08 Civic Si purchased new has its origional water pump at 16 years of age. Ive been researching this engine for some time now as i do all my own repairs and considered (past tense) purchasing one. PCV valve location is a PITA for example and not easily accessable as with most engines. EGR is overly complex. Water pump failure seems plausible in this case. Surprised how dirty intake valves were knowing this engine has port injectors as well as direct. Chain guides appear all plastic versus honda's metal and plastic design. Plastic bits all about combined with heat and time will fail eventually. Not my cup if tea.