Fuel Filter Problems In Diesel Toyotas

[andy white]

Just had my fuel filter replaced due to cold weather clogging. No power under acceleration with wax build up in filter. My local Toyota garage has told me that this is quite a common problem and is down to inadequate winter additives in the diesel. They also suggested taking my £100 repair bill to the supermarket that sold me the fuel in the hope that they may reimburse me. Has anybody else experienced this problem?

[Big Kev]

Just had my fuel filter replaced due to cold weather clogging. No power under acceleration with wax build up in filter. My local Toyota garage has told me that this is quite a common problem and is down to inadequate winter additives in the diesel. They also suggested taking my £100 repair bill to the supermarket that sold me the fuel in the hope that they may reimburse me. Has anybody else experienced this problem?

I thought the recent prolems were as a RESULT of the winter additives being added........was that not what was reported weeks ago in Hoovie's Borders area.....?

Konfused Kev

[CharlieFarlie]

I think with respect the supermarket folk will die laughing if you ask them to pay for repairs unless you can categorically prove the fuel they sold you was to blame ...

I cant see one tank being the culprit unless its was a contaminated lot of fuel that has affected other cars filled from the same delivery and proof would certainly be needed..

The Rav4 like any other vehicle benefits from regular fuel filter changes which you can do yourself for just a few quid.. In fact if your garage has charged you £100 for doing this simple job its them you should be having a pop at !!

There is a pinned thread somewhere that one of the more clever guys ( Davrav where are you) will link and you will see just how easy a job it is to do ............

[Davrav]

Here you go: http://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/topic/135846-guide-to-replacing-fuel-filter-on-rav-43/?hl=%2Bfuel+%2Bfilter

Thanks to Webblers for this one

[Hoovie]

My local dealer were having lots of these being changed DUE TO ADDITIVES (as Kev says) and they told me that there was a kind of unwritten policy (theirs? Toyotas? Dunno!) that if the mileage was under 20k they would do it FOC, otherwise would charge (don't know how much, didn't need to know)

They also said that a lot of affected cars had used Shell petrol, so not really a cheap fuel issue (hope not as I just put 50 litres of Sainsbury's stuff in the old girl :) )

[Merseyshark]

Aren't additives there to prevent the more waxy components of diesel oil solidifying at low temperatures ?

You can see the effect for yourself by putting cooking oil in the fridge, the waxy bits come out of solution and form a layer at the bottom of the container. Heat puts the solids back into solution.

When my dad was a young man (he's 90 this year) they would regularly put a gallon of petrol in a tank of diesel as the petrol maintained all the waxy solids in solution. This was certainly common practice amongst delivery/lorry drivers I knew up until the mid - late 1970s

I was of the opinion that all diesel sold in the UK was fully "winterised" though.

[CharlieFarlie]

Aren't additives there to prevent the more waxy components of diesel oil solidifying at low temperatures ?

You can see the effect for yourself by putting cooking oil in the fridge, the waxy bits come out of solution and form a layer at the bottom of the container. Heat puts the solids back into solution.

When my dad was a young man (he's 90 this year) they would regularly put a gallon of petrol in a tank of diesel as the petrol maintained all the waxy solids in solution. This was certainly common practice amongst delivery/lorry drivers I knew up until the mid - late 1970s

I was of the opinion that all diesel sold in the UK was fully "winterised" though.

My Dad ran his taxi business right up to and including the day he died at 86 years of age !!

Way back then he ran a fleet of Ford Granada Diesels with the old school 2.1 diesel engines.. And yes it was common during winter months ( !Removed! hell it was cold in them days) to put petrol into the diesel tanks to help prevent the diesel from freezing..

[wharfstaff]

I had to have my fuel filter changed and have used Shell cooking diesel exclusively since I owned the vehicle. However, I have been using BG227 additive, wonder if this had any bearing, but everything was OK last winter.

[voyager t180]

I had to have my fuel filter changed and have used Shell cooking diesel exclusively since I owned the vehicle. However, I have been using BG227 additive, wonder if this had any bearing, but everything was OK last winter.

I hope not, I've just added a can of BG224 to mine.

Dont think anybody knows for sure if it makes any difference,whatever their claims..it would probably be hard to prove either way?

But they say it cant do much harm either,so why not.

[anchorman]

There are lots of different additives in diesel or should be. I'm not sure all these filter problems are down to waxing though. They used to specify the CFFPP (cold fuel filter plugging point) but it seems to have gone now. Water is a big enemy and that comes either from condensation or from the location the fuel has ben stored. It can freeze in the filter and then cause waxing (the diesel changes state).

However, some of these filter problems came long before the frost.

[dervdave]

In cold weather if the filter warning light comes on first try resetting it by disconnecting the sensor and reconnecting it after switching on the ignition.

This worked on my Hilux after the light came on in some bad weather and has not returned.

This often solves the problem but if the warning doesn`t extinguish the filter will have to be changed.

[jg92]

Hi all , i have had problems with fuel starvation , not rev above 2k etc , problem was traced to a bug in the diesel which forms a jelly like substance clogs fuel lines , tanks and filters , caused by water /condensation in tanks commonly found in metal storage tanks or older cars . BG224 was used and found to be effective in disolving this jelly , and is always worth a try if having fuel starvationn problems on an older diesel .

J

[andy white]

When it happened to me there was no filter warning light. Changing the filter yourself is only easy if you are mechanically minded and what was described in the link sounded far from easy. Toyota have changed my filter now and all is OK and the filter is guaranteed for 12 months or 10k miles. My Toyota garage has had several of these to do in the last 2 weeks and they say it is a combination of the cold weather and garages not supplying diesel with the correct additives. They also said they were aware of a customer being refunded by the garage for the dodgy fuel so I will try and let you know how I get on.