Engine Management Light Cleared When Removing Fuses For The Multi Fuel

[dmh76]

Hi all

Not sure if anyone here have experienced this with their car, but every couple of months (sometimes more frequent sometimes less frequent) the engine management light comes up on dashboard. Took car to Mr T and they said the VVTi was on it's way out but say they can fix it temporarely (they helpfully did not tell me how to do this), anyway they fixed it, 3 months later it came on again, i went down there again and they did the same thing, said would charge me £20 (10 min job), i said ok, they forgot to charge me in the end (lucky).

I can feel a distinct lack of throttle when trying to accelerate in lower revs when the light is on.

It came on again, but this time i thought i'd try and figure it myself, so read the manual,and removed the fuses relating to the multi fuel injection on the main fuse box under hood. THIS CLEARED THE LIGHT..)

I have also noticed my mpg around town ( a fair few hills etc) is quiet high @ 23 mpg, (normal?)..on motorway's about 55mpg//.

My question is what could be wrong with the car? Toyota engineers say it's the VVTi on it's way out and it would cost over £300 to install new one. But if it's the vvti, why can i clear the light by removing fuses relating to the multi fuel injection ? Did Toyota get it wrong or are they just trying to get money out of me..what can i do to find out what problem is, ? Go to a garage and ask them to check the ECU via computer ?

Any help would be grateful

Regards

dmherlin

[Sam29]

Hi all

Not sure if anyone here have experienced this with their car, but every couple of months (sometimes more frequent sometimes less frequent) the engine management light comes up on dashboard. Took car to Mr T and they said the VVTi was on it's way out but say they can fix it temporarely (they helpfully did not tell me how to do this), anyway they fixed it, 3 months later it came on again, i went down there again and they did the same thing, said would charge me £20 (10 min job), i said ok, they forgot to charge me in the end (lucky).

I can feel a distinct lack of throttle when trying to accelerate in lower revs when the light is on.

It came on again, but this time i thought i'd try and figure it myself, so read the manual,and removed the fuses relating to the multi fuel injection on the main fuse box under hood. THIS CLEARED THE LIGHT..)

I have also noticed my mpg around town ( a fair few hills etc) is quiet high @ 23 mpg, (normal?)..on motorway's about 55mpg//.

My question is what could be wrong with the car? Toyota engineers say it's the VVTi on it's way out and it would cost over £300 to install new one. But if it's the vvti, why can i clear the light by removing fuses relating to the multi fuel injection ? Did Toyota get it wrong or are they just trying to get money out of me..what can i do to find out what problem is, ? Go to a garage and ask them to check the ECU via computer ?

Any help would be grateful

Regards

dmherlin

Get the diagnoses, or the code at least.

Cheers.

[dmh76]

I bought a fault code reader and code says:

P0420 $10 GENERIC

CATALYST SYSTEM EFFIANCY BELOW THRESHOLD BANK 1

Read that it might be the sensors or the actual catalyst , how much would it cose to replace and would it be worth it if i can keep clearing the codes. FYI the car has had this fault through 2 MOT's and never failed the emissions test. (however when those MOT's where done the managment light was not on)

[dmh76]

If it has passed MOT tests, could it not just be the lambdas reading wrong? ie faulty or dirty / loose lambdas ?

[dmh76]

Update: There was another code as well which i did not see last time round.

P1349 Manufacturer control (pd - other). Apperentally VVT bank malfunction code.

Could be any of these issues:

-Valve timing off

-OCU (Oil Control Valve)

-VVT controller

So maybe not lambdas nor the cat, possibly a dirty throttle body or more serious the vvt controller..

Anyone any ideas would be very appriciated.

Again car drives ok, but sometimes lurches forward after throttle applied (loss of power when accelerator is applied sometimes) , and also mpg is very high around town (urbann - 23 mpg)

[dmh76]

This seems to be a monologue at the moment lol - but am going to clean the throttle body this weekend and then clear the codes and see if they come up again..

[t-spiritpete]

This seems to be a monologue at the moment lol - but am going to clean the throttle body this weekend and then clear the codes and see if they come up again..

Hi mate, looking at your problem and the fact that the garage did a temp fix of the VVTI then it could well be due to lack of hydraulic pressure to operate the VVTI controller this can be cause through sludge due to dirty oil which may have happened before you purchased the car, they may have just cleaned it. If you don't fully understand how the VVTI system works then take a look at this via the link http://tijil.org/Scion_Docs/05_tC_Shop_Manuals/Repair%20Info/New%20Car%20Features/EG-45%202AZ-FE%20ENGINE%20CONTROL%20SYSTEM9.pdf

Regards Pete.

[dmh76]

Thanks for that mate, explained things nicely, so what would the mechanics need to do to permanently sort the issue out and how much should it cost ? , also do you think cleaning the throttle body will help or is it a waste of time , thanks again .

[t-spiritpete]

Thanks for that mate, explained things nicely, so what would the mechanics need to do to permanently sort the issue out and how much should it cost ? , also do you think cleaning the throttle body will help or is it a waste of time , thanks again .

No mate not a waste of time at all as the throttle body is sending data back anyway for the system to work correctly, so all that will do is help, especially if it is gunged up. You may as well do it as it won't cost you anything, also think about the removing the VVTI controller and cleaning that if you feel confident because as you see from the link I gave you any lack of pressure or gunge stopping the piston/spool from moving freely will cause problems. The garage would probably just fit a new controller and pulley, end of! If you do go down that route make sure that they guarantee you a 100% fixed price to sort it not tell you later Oh! we might have to try something else like the crank sensor!! Personally I would try the the throttle body then take it from there, DO NOT remove both throttle body and VVTI controller at the same time, do one thing at a time, start the car and take it for a test drive (after clearing the fault light) otherwise you won't know which one was causing the fault (providing you have cured it) LOL.

Best of luck at the weekend mate, Pete.

[dmh76]

Thanks Pete, much appriciated feedback, will let you know how i get on, may try the vvti thing as well but only if i feel confident that i can do it.. thanks again

[dmh76]

Pete, an update, have cleaned the throttle body, there was a fair amount of dark residue inside which i cleaned out , i read the obd again and the fault which read "P1349 Manufacturer control (pd - other). Apperentally VVT bank malfunction code" had gone away, not sure why it dissappeared just because i cleaned the throttle body ? But the other fault code was still present.

I cleared it , and will use the car as normal now and see if and how lonf it takes for the error to appear again.

One thing i noticed was that the engine block had fair amount of grime around the creases just under where the oil cap is, and noticed that there was 1 bolt missing from the engine block, i think someone must have fixed something in the engine before we bought the car (or tried to fix),,maybe that has something to do with it, anyway, will keep you posted on this..

[dmh76]

Right another update, the light is now back with both of the previously mentioned errors. Not sure what to do now, think there is a guy who is good a toyotas in sidcup "Tech One" , hope he can help me...

[dmh76]

I think someone else have the same problem and the answer to clear code 1349 they agve was this:

"In most cases this trouble code can be eliminated by replacing the camshaft gear that has the VVT-i controller. "

[RX-Men-8]

Hi,

On my 2004 Avensis Verso with the 1AZ-FE engine the MIL + VSC and TRC OFF came on (amber lights) during a long motorway journey. I drove a constant 100kph, because I was transporting a huge ladder on the roof carriers, normally I'd be in a more 140-ish hurry. The car drove normally, and I suspected an emissions/CAT/O2 Sensor problem.

I still have an ELM 323 ODBC II reader from the days I was supercharging my Lexus IS200, so I hooked it up.

No surprise, the fault code was P0420 (Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold Bank 1), alas the manifold cat or the O2 sensor near it.

From the many forum Posts I read that I may have to do nothing, so I erased the fault code for now, to see if it comes back.

I don't know if my car has had this recall, odometer is at 221,000 km so it's possible the cat is on its way out.

Recalls http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/toyota/avensis-verso-2001

TSB EG 5010 May 2005: If MIL warning light remains on and Fault Codes PO420 or P0430 can be read off ECU via OBDII port then car needs an ECU software upgrade and a new catalytic converter with a modified cat matrix coating.

[JOSE75]

Hi dmherlin,Have the same problems, you have to as I did, desconet the batterie for few minuts about 5, then

recconet the cable, dont start your car, live all night, works for me.

cheers.

chancho

[dmh76]

Hi Jose, I know i can clear the codes, i did it for about 2 years by taking the fuses out for 5 min from the engine block comapartement, i really want to know what is actually causing the problem. I have booked the car in @ Toyota specialist, Tech One in sidcup now, for mid march, will see what they say.

Thanks RX Men 8, the link was a good one, and i am sure some of the problems i am having may be linked, but i do have some problems with driving performance ie, sometimes in 2nd gear if a put the foot down the revs will fly up to 4000, but nothing happens it will "catch" up after about 1-2 seconds and jump forward. this only happens when the faults above are present, as soon as i clear them with the obd scanner, it drives like normal, as an example for weird fuel consumption, i was driving about 50mph in 5th gear, there was no hill or nothing so very gentle on the engine, it was doing 40mpg, i would expect close ot 80 at this, as that is what i normally get on a flat road at that speed and gear. When i accelerated up to about 67mph and then was steady at the same gear, the car was reporting back 70mpg,? This is due to the faults above. I know as when i clear them, i get about 80mpg on flat road in 5th gear doing 50mph. I am hoping that this is known issue to the Toyota specialist and it's not going to be too expensive, as i like the car a lot and it does not give me any other issues at all..

[dmh76]

Hi Jose, thanks, if that ir only clearing the codes then i have been doing that for the last 2 years when this fault has popped up. I really want to know exactly what is causing this, i have narrowed it down to the vvt system, ocv (oil control valve) possibly cam shaft, again it could be electrical fault with ecu also, but the mechanic should be able to tell me if it's ecu or mechanical, if it's ecu it may fix itself if i do what you suggested. But i am going to see what specialist say first.

Thanks all