Rav4 Engine Warning Light Issues

[anchorman]

Thats the plug yes.

It normally works for petrols after 2001 and diesels? Well 2004 for sure but some later 2003s.

[baz1631]

We have a 2000/01 (X-reg) RAV4 NRG. Suddenly it is beginning to cost us LOTS of money :-(

Earlier this year the yellow engine warning light came on - manual said 'take to dealer'. He plugged in his diagnostic computer and within 15 mins was able to tell us that it was an error code **** which meant a faulty air/fuel emissions sensor. Simply for telling us what was wrong he charged us £45 + VAT! He suggested that it might be a 'blip', one possible cause apparently being water in the fuel (we had filled the tank about 10 miles previously), so he re-set the light and suggested that we drove it about for a while to see what happened. Sadly the light re-occurred, so we took the car back to have the sensor replaced - about £260-ish :-(

FIFTEEN miles later the light came on again. Another diagnostic - another fee - this time a DIFFERENT sensor. Apparently there are FOUR of them and it is not unknown (allegedly) for 2, 3 or even all 4 to fail in quick succession. So - we tried it again for a while, but the light came back on - so, another diagnostic and another £260-ish for another sensor.

Yes, you've guessed it - today the light came on again - about 2 miles after filling up with petrol. So, it's back to the dealer this week for more diagnostics - what's the betting it's the 3rd sensor now???? And will that mean the 4th one is not far behind?

My gripe is - surely there must be a better way of managing these warnings? If every error condition has a pre-defined code number, why not get the car computer to display the code and let the user look it up in a table in the car manual to decide for themselves how serious the situation is - eg if I'm doing 70MPH down the motorway in the middle of a 150-mile round trip, is it quite safe to wait until I get home or do I need to summon help now? How do I know if I've got the same problem again, or something completely different and potentially more serious?

Once the light comes on it stays on, even apparently if the problem goes away, it has to be reset by the dealer. Why not have a 'light reset' button for the driver? If I press that and the light doesn't come back on again within a few miles, then I can breath a sigh of relief. Instead, I have to go to the dealer and pay yet another fee. How many times do I do this - and he pockets the money - before it is decided that it really is a fault and not just a 'blip' cause by wet petrol etc????

[ While all this was going on, we had the car serviced recently and it needed new front discs, as they were worn below minimum thickness. At the same time they fitted new front pads, so altogether about £325-odd if I recall. The annoying bit - we only had new front pads last year anyway, since when they've only done about 6K miles <grrr>. ]

This car is beginning to seem like a "cash cow" for the dealer !

hi , regarding the front disc & front pads thing, Mr T must think you have a bottomless pit full of money,Next time, try eBay, or someone else......you're bound to find it cheaper somewhere else. Igot 2 front discs+four pads (complete set) for £56.00 ish. the job only took me 1.5 hrs with little or no kwnoledge and I saved a lot of cash that Mr T thought he was goin to get!shop around for parts. Mr T's the last place for a sensible price! Good luck next time!

[Nemo2000]

"Thats the plug yes. It normally works for petrols after 2001...."

So, given that this RAV was registered Oct 2000, is it likely then then buying one of the OBD readers mentioned elsewhere in this forum would be a waste of time/money?

[anchorman]

Well put it this way, you can get one for about £23;

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Diagnostic-Scanner-Fault-Code-Reader-EOBD-OBD2-II-U380-/120640850568?pt=UK_Diagnostic_Tools_Equipment&hash=item1c16c14a88

If it doesn't work on yours you will get most back on eBay or just keep it for future use. You can get the flash codes for nothing - these are 2 digit codes from the earlier models.

DTC read 0004.pdf

Look at section 2 here. The special tool is just a piece of wire you put between the terminals of pins 4 and 13. The engine light will flash out the code to you.

[Sensei]

You can get the flash codes for nothing - these are 2 digit codes from the earlier models.

DTC read 0004.pdf

Look at section 2 here. The special tool is just a piece of wire you put between the terminals of pins 4 and 13. The engine light will flash out the code to you.

After replacing the SCV-valves (diagnosed by local Toyota dealer) I just read the flash codes and interpreted it as 7-8. Looking at the codes on page 6, this should be "Fuel cut" or "Out put limit". Is this really all the info you get when diagnosing using the flashing MIL? Is this the way they do it at the dealers as well, or do they have a special code reader?

I have installed an aftermarket head unit and lost some computer functions like fuel consumption which the stock one had. When I started experiencing the symptoms of SCV-failure and the MIL lit up, I decided to buy the ScanGauge which should both provide me with the error codes and the additional functions I've lost. Well, that didn't work. My car was first registered on Nov. 13 2003 and is a pre-facelift D4D, so I guess it must be just a few weeks too old for the ScanGauge? I asked the dealer about the OBD port and they told me it was equipped with it. Are there any other gadgets that will help me with fault codes and/or the functions I'm missing? If shorting out the circuit was all you could do, they might as well put in an onn/off-switch instead of a 16 pin port?

[anchorman]

Yeah - at least it gives some info and you didn't have to pay to get it. Those codes may be stored from last time so as long as it is running OK now you can disregard them. It will put the light on if it stores another.