Turbo Issue

April 14, 2013

Hi guys, I'm new to this and I could really use some educated advice regarding an annoying issue on my 03 Rav4 GX 2.0 D-4D.

I picked up the car for my wife, who fell in love with it on sight.

However the car is suffering from a strange problem regarding its power. It feels a bit flat while pulling away, but is woeful in 3rd and 4th so that it needs high revs to keep going uphill. In 5th it has no acceleration at all. But at around 3800-4000 rpm there is a surge as the turbo kicks in and the car pulls as it should, at least briefly before a gear change is required.

A friend at a local garage ran it over the diagnostics and found no codes, also the live data showed all the sensors appear to be working ok. He also tried putting a vacuum on the feed hose to the actuator and found that the actuator arm didn't move at all. He suggested that the actuator might be seized. After removing the actuator and checking it seems fine, responding to a vacuum as it should however after refitting the arm won't move under vacuum.

The turbo itself was a recon unit a year and 3500 miles ago.

As the turbo kicks in, albeit late, I am unsure whether it is faulty or if the fault lies elsewhere.

Any and all advice would be most welcome.

Thanks

April 14, 2013

Hi guys, I'm new to this and I could really use some educated advice regarding an annoying issue on my 03 Rav4 GX 2.0 D-4D.
I picked up the car for my wife, who fell in love with it on sight.
However the car is suffering from a strange problem regarding its power. It feels a bit flat while pulling away, but is woeful in 3rd and 4th so that it needs high revs to keep going uphill. In 5th it has no acceleration at all. But at around 3800-4000 rpm there is a surge as the turbo kicks in and the car pulls as it should, at least briefly before a gear change is required.
A friend at a local garage ran it over the diagnostics and found no codes, also the live data showed all the sensors appear to be working ok. He also tried putting a vacuum on the feed hose to the actuator and found that the actuator arm didn't move at all. He suggested that the actuator might be seized. After removing the actuator and checking it seems fine, responding to a vacuum as it should however after refitting the arm won't move under vacuum.
The turbo itself was a recon unit a year and 3500 miles ago.
As the turbo kicks in, albeit late, I am unsure whether it is faulty or if the fault lies elsewhere.
Any and all advice would be most welcome.
Thanks

Hi Clark - and welcome to TOC!

when you disconnect the actuator, can you move the variable vanes on the turbo? is sounds as if they might be sticking. Should move easily if they are in good order. Don't think I've have ever had the courage to rev mine to 3800 - 4000 rpm! Turbo should come in ( if memory serves me OK ) at about 1800 rpm.