Please Please Look In I'm At My Wits End

[HERE AND THERE]

hello and thanks for looking in! i am having a nightmare with my T180,

there is 55k on the clock and has always been serviced when required (by dealer)

the problem is after about a 200 mile none stop drive motorway and town driving my T180 lost power :-(

the car wouldn't rev out to more than 2k revs the management light came on along with the vrc and the trc (think this is what the intials where)

after i stopped and started the car a few times, the car power wise came back to normal but all three lights

stayed on, i contacted my dealer and he said to bring it in to them and at a cost of £55 plus VAT they will tell me my problem

ok now after a few hours i had to go out in the car and lights stayed on for about 5 mins and then went off!!

the car is driving 100% and back to her very best!!

So my question is?? what do i do i haven't got a lot of spare money at the moment and don't

want to be wasting money if not required by bringing the car to the dealer,

please give me your opinion

[toyotaavensis]

hi,

trc = traction control, and i think it should be vsc which = vehicle skid control, this along with the engine managment light means there may be a problem with the ecu = electic control unit, the brain of the computer, unfortunatly the only way to find out the cause of the problem is to have a diagnostic check done.

hope this helps.

mark.

[HERE AND THERE]

hi,

trc = traction control, and i think it should be vsc which = vehicle skid control, this along with the engine managment light means there may be a problem with the ecu = electic control unit, the brain of the computer, unfortunatly the only way to find out the cause of the problem is to have a diagnostic check done.

hope this helps.

mark.

thanks for your quick reply Mark, but would you still recommend i get the diagnostic carried out

even though all the lights are now out and the car is going well again, i understand it's personnal

choice what i do but this is why i am asking to see what others would do, my head is leaning towards

wait to see if this happens again but my heart is saying be out the 55 plus quid to be on the safe side,

i'm just affraid of the garge telling me some work that needs carried out that i may not need done

[cfc1]

As has been said, the only way to diagnose the problem is to get it on the computer for a diagnostic check, this can either be done a a Toyota Dealer or any other garage with the correct equipment, there will be a few options in your area but it's down to you where you take the car. Alternatively you could buy yourself a code reader and read the error code yourself... I have one like this.. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/U381-UNIVERSAL-Live-Data-Scanner-Auto-Code-Reader-OBD2-/110554739218?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_Diagnostic_Tools_Equipment&hash=item19bd937212 (just be sure to get a Toyota compatable one) Buying your own code reader could save you a few quid in the future, so well worth thinking about.

Once you have the codes (if you get a garage to do it ask them what the code(s) are) come back to us and we can take things from there.

The fact that you couldn't rev past 2k means your car went into limp mode, this is done to prevent further damage, now your lights have gone off and your car feels back to normal doesn't mean the problem has gone away for good, whatever caused it may or may not resurface. It could just be a dirty/faulty sensor etc etc, there are too many possibilities to go through, so get the code read and let us know what they are.

Might be a good Idea to reset the ECU (disconnect the Battery for 5 minutes or so) the car will run slightly sluggish for the first few miles untill it re-learns it's fueling, after that it will be fine... then you wait to see if the warning lights come back.

[hertsnminds]

As your car is 5,000 miles away from requiring it's next service you could just wait it out. But it depends how many miles a year you are travelling and if the service intervals have coincided with milage or time (every 12 months OR 10,000 miles). Part of any service will be to check the diagnostics and address any issues you raise when you book the car in. If the lights come on again before the service is due I would definitely take the car in to get it looked at. If the lights stay off for a while you may be able to time this with the 60,000 mile service and save some money.

[strafe]

Hi,

I have a T180 and like you had the power loss and dash warning lights, unlike you, mine would not reset and the Toyota dealer said the DPF required changing as it was beyond the point of regeneration, the car had done just 40000miles, they initially wanted £1400, I phoned customer services and managed to get the price down to an equally ridiculous £900, I had the work done and it has been fine since.

However as you are more sensible than I, you have rightly came on here to get some other ideas, a few I found(after the event!!)relate to the DP switch mounted on the bulkhead slightly to the left of centre as you look at the engine bay, the pipes coming to this from the DPF can choke up and give a false indication of trouble with the DPF, if in doubt give them a blow out. Also well worth removing and cleaning the EGR valve (exhaust gas recirculation), this is an easy job and may well have contributed to your woes, there is an excellent post on here, think it may be in the Auris section.

Try all these before doing as I did, also rumoured that the replacement DPF has larger pipework to try and cut down on soot blocking them up, I have no way on confirming this. My car is mainly used around town and for short journeys, which is not ideal for this vehicle, it now gets a good run out most weekends however. Hope some of this is of use.

Cheers.

[moonstone mart]

As your car is 5,000 miles away from requiring it's next service you could just wait it out. But it depends how many miles a year you are travelling and if the service intervals have coincided with milage or time (every 12 months OR 10,000 miles). Part of any service will be to check the diagnostics and address any issues you raise when you book the car in. If the lights come on again before the service is due I would definitely take the car in to get it looked at. If the lights stay off for a while you may be able to time this with the 60,000 mile service and save some money.

Using the IT2 tester and diagnosing codes ISNT part of any TOYOTA service sorry to say. This work (unless under warranty still) is usually chargeable.

Mart.

[hertsnminds]

Using the IT2 tester and diagnosing codes ISNT part of any TOYOTA service sorry to say

So a Toyota dealer service will never check your car has the latest software updates and will only connect a tester if there is a dashboard light indicating a fault? Seems like a very poor servicing schedule and Toyota dealers missing out in providing service that is over and above an oil change and visual check of various components.

I am sure the software revision and fault check is part of the Citroen service schedule, maybe Toyota are not the car in front.

[moonstone mart]

Using the IT2 tester and diagnosing codes ISNT part of any TOYOTA service sorry to say

So a Toyota dealer service will never check your car has the latest software updates and will only connect a tester if there is a dashboard light indicating a fault? Seems like a very poor servicing schedule and Toyota dealers missing out in providing service that is over and above an oil change and visual check of various components.

I am sure the software revision and fault check is part of the Citroen service schedule, maybe Toyota are not the car in front.

As i said... if its still in warranty and any warning light is on then the tester will be used to read the fault codes (if any).

Also if there is a problem with the car or there are technical bulletins notifying us there are software updates then this will also be done.

But why would/should they carry out diagnostics checks/test on cars that are only in for routine services or out of warranty?

Diagnostics is charged at 0.5 hours labour so if you wanted to pay for it on top of your service cost then thats up to you :)

Mart.

[hertsnminds]

But why would/should they carry out diagnostics checks/test on cars that are only in for routine services

Because the main way to check for a fault in a sensor or computer based system is to look at the fault log. You can look at a brake pad and know if it is worn, you cannot look at an ECU and know if it has had any faults reported to it without connecting the tester. In modern cars with all of their sensors and ECU's I would have thought that an error log and software version check was as basic as an oil filter change. But it is good to know that these things are not checked as standard.

[moonstone mart]

But why would/should they carry out diagnostics checks/test on cars that are only in for routine services

Because the main way to check for a fault in a sensor or computer based system is to look at the fault log. You can look at a brake pad and know if it is worn, you cannot look at an ECU and know if it has had any faults reported to it without connecting the tester. In modern cars with all of their sensors and ECU's I would have thought that an error log and software version check was as basic as an oil filter change. But it is good to know that these things are not checked as standard.

The numerous warning lights are there to notify you when an error or fault code have been logged.