NHTSA Complaint #10861960 — 2010 TOYOTA SIENNA

ABOUT 20 MINUTES AWAY FROM HOME WE HEARD SOME "GROWLING" AND "TICKING" NOISE FROM THE ENGINE. NO INSTRUMENT WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON. AS WE PULLED INTO OUR STEEP DRIVEWAY, THE OIL PRESSURE LIGHT STARTED TO BLINK. WE SHUT THE ENGINE. UPON INSPECTION, THE OIL DIPSTICK APPEARED DRY. I ADDED ABOUT 4 QTS OF OIL, AND STARTED THE ENGINE. IT SOUNDED NORMAL, AND NO WARNING LIGHT WAS DISPLAYED. I BROUGHT THE CAR TO A LEVEL AREA AND CHECKED OIL AGAIN. I ADDED ANOTHER QUART - OIL WAS BETWEEN THE MARKS ON THE DIPSTICK. I NOTICED LIGHT DRIPPING FROM THE FRONT AREA OF THE ENGINE, NEAR THE OIL COOLER. I THEN DROVE THE CAR TO THE AUTO REPAIR SHOP (ABOUT 4 MILES AWAY). ENGINE SOUNDED OK, NO WARNING LIGHTS. NEXT DAY I WAS TOLD THAT THE OIL LINE TO THE OIL COOLER IS LEAKING, AND THERE'S DAMAGE TO THE ENGINE DUE TO RUNNING WITH NO OIL. I ASSUME THAT THE ENGINE OPERATED WITH NO OIL WHEN WE HEARD NOISES - BUT HOW COULD THE OIL LEAK OUT AND RUN THE ENGINE DRY FOR 15 MINUTES *BEFORE* THE LIGHT CAME ON? HOW COMMON IS THE PROBLEM OF THE OIL-COOLER HOSE FAILING? DOES THIS MODEL SHARE THE SAME ENGINE AS THE LEXUS RX350? IF SO - IS THE PROBLEM RELATED (I READ THAT MANY RX350 OWNERS COMPLAINED ABOUT THIS) ?