Hard Starting When Cold

[toyota diag tech 1]

im seeing alot of complaints about this issue on vehicles fitted with the early 1 ad & 2ad 2.0 & 2.2 d4d engines fitted to avensis, rav4 ,corolla verso ,auris (hard starting ,stall on start up ,rough idle on start up when ambient temp is lower than 10 degrees .if ur vehicles problem is constant and not temp related please ignore this post.

this problem occurs due to a fluctuation in common rail pressure when starting ,only below 10 degrees it can be caused by a sticking suction control valve or a injector leaking off when cranking

.this issue can be resolved by one off three fixes 1.software upgrade . (which increases the TARGET rail pressure ). 2 .A modified scv 3. 1 or more injectors

all common rail systems regardless of manufacturer are suceptable to wear and failure as they depend on the fuel they supply to lubricate them so any foreign matter ,water or petrol in the diesel will reduce the life of the system .unfortunatly the overall quality of the fuel in the uk & ireland has been proven to be quite poor in comparison to other countries due to many different factors.

when having your vehicle checked for a suspected fuel system related isssue the first step for that technician should be to check the fuel tank for contamination and take a fuel sample .

fuel system cleaners are are a great way to keep your system in good shape but they can only do so much .toyota have developed theyre own fuel system cleaner available at your local dealer for approx £10

i hope this is of some use to sombody

[pauljj]

nice one,thanks for taking the time,bye the way will the scv make the car stall on tickover,cheers,paul

[toyota diag tech 1]

Yes as im sure you know if the rail pressure drops below 20mpa at idle the engine will stutter or stall the if the control valve stays closed for longer then the ecm intends it to due to sticking the pressure in the rail will drop as the fuel the injectors have dispursed cant be replaced quick enough .this can also occur due to a blocked gauze in the tank (intermittant dirt shifts)or a injector / relief valve sticking open internittantly

[Phil_1985]

Toyota diag tech,

I have this issue on my 07 auris 53,000 miles. i used v power for a year and the problem disappeared after the first few tanks of it, only to reappear a year later now that I've switched back to normal Shell diesel... can it still be one of the above issues you've mentioned?

Thanks

[toyota diag tech 1]

Hi phil .it sounds to me like the fuel you changed to is of better quality and has better lubricating properties this will prevent momentary sticking of the scv and or injectors when starting cold thus solving your starting issue .the latest scv and injectors have had the sliding performance increased to prevent sticking when ran on poor quality fuel .i would recomend fitting the latest scv and software and stick to the better fuel

[Phil_1985]

thanks, i'll get it looked into at my next service which is due soon!

[Aidan Higgins]

Hi Guys,

My 2008 Avensis TR has recently started doing the same. I found a video on YouTube of a guy having the same problem. The car was recently serviced and passed NCT no problem. I brought the car to a Toyota dealer and new Battery and  fuel filter was fitted. The car will start on the 2nd go from cold, but on the 1st go the car cuts out just like in the video below. I brought it back a second time to the Toyota dealer and I was told that combustion gases are getting into the coolant system which is pointing towards the head gasket been the suspected faulty component. I was told because of the engine type and 08 Avensis that Toyota don't recommend fixing the head gasket and that the only real fix is to replace the engine which is very expensive. I don't want to just ignore the issue as I suspect matters will get worse over time. Same issue in the RAV4 from what I read online. Any other ides on how to address this problem? Thanks in advance. 

 

[+robster+]

there seem to be some common problems with these engines starting problems as mentioned above

 

can I add to the mix

 

starter motor

there is a known issue of starter motor insulation leakage causing excess current rise / voltage drop on start up causing engine management to failsafe in extreme cases and shutdown / non start

 

I believe there is a revised starter motor or you can get your starter refurbed for about £120 from a auto electrical shop that does exchange rotating electrics etc etc

[Aidan Higgins]

Hi Robster, thanks for your help, really appreciate it! I'm going to have the starter motor looked into this week to see if it resolves the issue. I really hope it does! I'll post back and let you guys know how I get on. Thanks again. 

[+robster+]

Memories are flooding back. Dont want to see you pulling starter motors out first

The starter issue i am talking about is for bad WARM starting conditions

Id check ignition switch first as these can be known to fail also.

[Exvec]

ll common rail systems regardless of manufacturer are suceptable to wear and failure as they depend on the fuel they supply to lubricate them so any foreign matter ,water or petrol in the diesel will reduce the life of the system .unfortunatly the overall quality of the fuel in the uk & ireland has been proven to be quite poor in comparison to other countries due to many different factors.

 

The very reason i use 2 stroke oil; mixed with the Diesel to do the job of Lubricating the injectors which modern  Diesel doesn't do as well as it used to do.

 

[Aidan Higgins]

 Hi Guys.

Could have contaminated fuel caused this problem? My wife got a fill of Diesel and the problem started the day after. I since got fuel from a different service station and the car started first time the last 2 mornings without any issue. Thanks again for all the help.

 

 

[Aidan Higgins]

Hi Guys,

For the last 3 weeks almost my Avensis has started first time each morning without any issues which is good news. The diesel that we got at the time (from a different service station) must have been bad and the route cause of the problem to begin with. I will keep an eye on it for the next few weeks too but it's looking good for now. Thanks for everyone's advice here. It's a great way to get help when needed. 

[Aidan Higgins]

On 19 April 2016 at 8:18 PM, Exvec said:

ll common rail systems regardless of manufacturer are suceptable to wear and failure as they depend on the fuel they supply to lubricate them so any foreign matter ,water or petrol in the diesel will reduce the life of the system .unfortunatly the overall quality of the fuel in the uk & ireland has been proven to be quite poor in comparison to other countries due to many different factors.

 

The very reason i use 2 stroke oil; mixed with the Diesel to do the job of Lubricating the injectors which modern  Diesel doesn't do as well as it used to do.

 

 

[Aidan Higgins]

Hi Guys,

 My 2.0 litre diesel Avensis has been starting fine since I reported the initial issue back in April. What I have noticed in the last week is the fan coming on while I'm driving the car even on main roads  which shouldn't be happening in my opinion.  I also noticed the temperature gauge on the dashboard going up above three quarters about 2 orange bars from the top and  then dropping back down to halfway.  It has never gone into the red but I've never seen the temperature go that high before.

 Any ideas what is causing this issue?  I am having the car serviced next week  and will have the mechanic look into it.  Thanks in advance for your help. 

[Heidfirst]

how is your coolant level?

[Exvec]

Sounds like the Thermostat is faulty.or the radiator switch.

 

[Aidan Higgins]

Hi Guys,

The coolant level is ok, I'll ask the mechanic on Tuesday to check the thermostat and radiator switch. I just hope it's something that can be easily repaired as I read a lot about head gasket issues on the 2.2 D4D engines. My car is 2008 2.0 diesel with 122K miles on the clock. I'll post again after I get the car checked out next week. Thanks for all the support again guys, I appreciate all the help! Fingers crossed I get sorted as this is our family car. 

[Aidan Higgins]

Hi Guys,

So the diagnosis is head gasket problem but I'm told head gaskets are not repairable and that the best fix is to replace the engine. Known fault in the D4D 2.0 and 2.2 Diesel engines..🙁 Is there no way to replace the head gasket? It's going to be very expensive to replace the engine. What is the best thing I can do now? I'm nervous about putting in a 2nd hand engine incase I end up with the same problem down the road. Does anyone know if I got the head gasket replaced how long more I would get out of the car? My car does very little mileage as I don't use it for work and my wife only uses it for very short drives in and out of town. Max mileage per year is about 10-12k miles. 

[FROSTYBALLS]

The Toyota solution was to replace the engine. There have been people repair the head gasket, but, as far as I'm aware, no-one has come back to say whether it has been a short or long term fix.

[Martyt3x]

On 20 August 2016 at 2:59 PM, Aidan Higgins said:

Hi Guys,

So the diagnosis is head gasket problem but I'm told head gaskets are not repairable and that the best fix is to replace the engine. Known fault in the D4D 2.0 and 2.2 Diesel engines..🙁 Is there no way to replace the head gasket? It's going to be very expensive to replace the engine. What is the best thing I can do now? I'm nervous about putting in a 2nd hand engine incase I end up with the same problem down the road. Does anyone know if I got the head gasket replaced how long more I would get out of the car? My car does very little mileage as I don't use it for work and my wife only uses it for very short drives in and out of town. Max mileage per year is about 10-12k miles. 

Hi, did anyone try the scv valve? I had the same cold start issue, first attempt it would stall second it would start or start but roughly, for the rest of the day it would start no problem until the next morning, I've just replaced the scv and it's fine now. 

[Mats Turret]

 

I checkd your engine repair manual and this SCV valve look pretty reasonable issue. If you have some tester you can command SCV valve, Launch etc

[Ron Larsen]

Hi read through all the possibilities regarding cold start cant pin point which one I have a 2008 Toyota Agenesis I have changed the glow plugs cleaned the AGR valve and it started OK in my garage but left outside in the cold -3 no start it will start on easy start just a small squirt in the air filter and it starts no problem             any idea 

many thanks Ron 

 

[yossarian247]

23 minutes ago, Ron Lubikn said:

Hi read through all the possibilities regarding cold start cant pin point which one I have a 2008 Toyota Agenesis I have changed the glow plugs cleaned the AGR valve and it started OK in my garage but left outside in the cold -3 no start it will start on easy start just a small squirt in the air filter and it starts no problem             any idea 

many thanks Ron 

 

Have you replaced the suction control valve?

[Ron Larsen]

No I will do that next