Help Please: Smoking T180

[sailor50]

My T180 several weeks ago suddenly engulfed the car behind with white smoke. On looking on the forum I thought it may have been doing a re gen.

I have had a compression test done: no problem, so the head gasket appears to be fine.

I put a tin of BG244 in the next tank of diesel, still a bit of smoke from time to time. This tank is the good stuff. It is still smoking from time to time.

My husband used it today and it decided to smoke like it was going out of fashion! You can smell the unburnt diesel, so it obviously is not burning all the fuel.

If anyone has any idea what could be causing this I would be very grateful for their input. I feel it is time to book it into the Toyota garage, but if it could be something simple that could be done at home that would be great. Could it be one of the many sensors, maybe?

My husband turned the engine off and when he started it again there was no smoke, I guess something reset itself!?

Cheers :-(

[anchorman]

I wonder if the 5th injector was sticking as you would know if it were one of the "proper" 4.

I think I would run it a bit longer and see if your BG244 and good diesel has cleared the fault.

[igormus]

My T180 several weeks ago suddenly engulfed the car behind with white smoke.

I have had a compression test done: no problem, so the head gasket appears to be fine.

I put a tin of BG244 in the next tank of diesel, still a bit of smoke from time to time.

You can smell the unburnt diesel, so it obviously is not burning all the fuel.

hello

the possible reasons could be the following:

- dirty fuel filter (when the pump tries to catch some fuel);

- lack of firm signal in SCV or it is less than 12V;

- late injection timing (once the piston goes down after TDC);

- issue with crankshaft position sensor;

- bad fuel quality;

- late signal to each injector from ECU

start to investigate

cheers/Igor

[sailor50]

Thank you both. I think I will pass that info onto husband and son, see if they can help. Otherwise it's into the garage soon. I have got a warranty with it, have to see if it's covered.

When my husband turned the engine off and started it again, there was no smoke. Do you think that might point to any of those options more than the others?

Cheers

[anchorman]

You should certainly change the fuel filter but then see how it goes. You can spend a small fortune if you are not careful.

[parich]

I seem to have developed a similar problem with my Avensis T180 .... stuggling to get 30 mpg on a long run .... with white smoke ... took it to a diesel specialist ... only thing he could find was a problem with the MAP sensor .... the sensor seemed to be working ok however, when disconnected from the manifold it reads 70kPa .... the guy reckoned that it should be reading about 100kPa (atmospheric pressure). Mr Toyota wants £297 + VAT for one of these sensors ... so I am a bit reluctant to say the least ... just in case it's not the problem.

[sailor50]

I was wondering whether to take it to a diesel specialist or Mr. T. My car is running beautifully, no loss of power, just all the damn smoke, it's embarrassing. My husband tells me I don't drive it hard enough, and I probably am a bit gentle with it, but flooring it seems to make it worse.

Am going to work in a few minutes might pinch hubby's car!

[anchorman]

If it's as bad as all that, you might have a turbo problem. If it does it most of the time take it to the specialist and watch the oil level closely.

[Big Kev]

If it's as bad as all that, you might have a turbo problem. If it does it most of the time take it to the specialist and watch the oil level closely.

......and is the expansion bottle needing topped up....? I know you said you had compression check done, but.......

[igormus]

when changed fuel filter -- be careful and evaluate if water is in diesel -- that might give you the same white exhaust.

if positive then inspect water sensor on the filter housing that might also be either disconnected or guilty.

cheers / Igor

[sailor50]

Thanks everybody, advice much appreciated. Now, where to start?! I think maybe the diesel specialist.

[sailor50]

Unfortunately I can't find a diesel specialist nearby, the one in Aldershot seems to have gone, So, I guess I'm going to have to see if my local Toyota garage can find out what the heck is going on.

[sailor50]

Apparently it could be the water temperature sensor, it's fairly common according to a mechanic friend of my son. If you have a code reader, plug it in, and check the water temperature and if it's reading a ridiculous temperature then it probably is.

That can't be very expensive and about a 10 minute job my son says. I've asked him to check that for me, later today hopefully. Will let you know. Other than that I've just found an independent Toyota specialist in Farnborough who say they charge a fraction of the cost of the main dealers. Got to be worth a go.

Judith

[anchorman]

Hello Sailor. Well not hello sailor as in "hello sailor". What I mean is hello but..............

............look I'm not !Removed!. Not that there is anythi...............Live and let live I say.

Good luck with your temp sender. Good job it isn't expensive as I can't just figure out how that will help.

[sailor50]

Me neither, just passing on the info, it might help someone. Waiting for Martin to arrive and plug in his code reader, mine's obviously too basic. If the temperature is not reading a stupid temperature, I won't be replacing it.

Oh, I'm not !Removed! either, although I know several people who are. As you say, live and let live. You could just call me Judith.

[anchorman]

Thats OK, you can call me Geraldine.

Regards

Don.

BTW, have you thought how much a turbo might cost? Just asking.

[Big Kev]

Just had a gay guy renew my driveway......he was homoepathic.

[sailor50]

Ha ha, think we're getting slightly off topic here. I have no idea how much a new turbo is, do you? Done about 50 miles in the car today, and no smoke! I have a warranty on the car but I have to pay to find out what is wrong first, no code so far. I can claim up to £1000 each and every time I need to.

In case you are wondering why I am posting at this time of night, I am at work! At a boarding school for naughty boys. Someone has to keep them in order, especially when they're asleep.

[anchorman]

How much would you charge to look after Big Kev?

I think you would get a recon turbo inside your budget. Its finding the fault first that is the problem.

You are watching the oil level aren't you? If it runs short of oil your £1000 won't even scratch the surface!

[sailor50]

It is using no oil whatsoever. I can smell diesel when it smokes. I have done a 42 mile round trip to work and back, kept it around 2,000 rpm and not a hint of smoke. It's going into the garage at 8 am tomorrow, hopefully it will be sorted quickly and not cost me a fortune, but it needs sorting. I will let you know what happens.

[sailor50]

It's the turbo!! Garage getting quotes, oddly enough so far Toyota are the cheapest. Unfortunately though there are none in the UK, so going to take 2-3 days to get here. Deep joy!!

Luckily we are off to our place in South Wales for a long weekend, so can do without it for a few days. We'll obviously have to use hubby's car. Our sons get the house to themselves for a while.

[anchorman]

Glad you didn't buy that temp switch!!!

Seriously, it will be nice to hear you've got it sorted.

[sailor50]

Thanks, will keep you informed.

I've only had the car since November, the turbo was probably on it's way out then, so I don't think it's gone as well as it should. Reading other forums, it should really shift. I look forward to driving my RAV as it deserves be driven!!

[mikis]

Hi Sailor,Hi everyone.

I had this problem long ago,all the power but some times white thick smoke.

Finally the alarm came on saying that i need to chenge the catallysator.

Changed it a year and a half ago,since then no smoke, o.k maybe just a little bit due to the fifth injector.

All the best

Mikis

[sailor50]

Hi Mikis, I've had a catalytic converter go on another car, It was very different. The recon turbo has been ordered and hopefully I will get my car back early next week. Not happy about the warranty though: apparently it's not covered because it's due to wear and tear. So, that means nothing is covered then, everything goes because of wear and tear surely. So, another insurance that's not worth the paper it's written on then! Thank goodness for my tax overpayment I got back last month then.