Hi All New User Here, 2006 Avensis 2.2 D4d 150

[AlysAvensis]

Hi everyone,

New to the forum this will be a long opening post.

I started out with a Toyota Yaris as a runabout, always thought Toyota's were reliable cars and managed to pick up a nice cheap 1.0 Blue VVTI

I loved this car was great on fuel never missed a beat but the rust that kills Yaris's was starting to come through.

I work in the motor trade (Aston Martin) and we had some trade cars ready to go to the auctions, in the corner I saw this:

I didn't know too much on Avensis's but I took it for a drive and loved it, has all the toys sat nav, cruise control, full leather, electric seats and importantly the later chain driven engine.

Was a former Toyota demonstrator vehicle and a one owner car, the car was on 99,000 when I bought it and I felt the car was too clean to go to auction and deserved to be loved by me, the rear seats look like they have never been sat in!

So I managed to get the car for £1,750 which I think is a bit of a bargain, has MOT until October 2015 but I inspected the car and it needed brakes all round (cost me £200 for parts), tracking aligned and two front tyres.

Here are a few more photo's of the car.

Also took the car on a 450 mile journey to Newquay where it was effortless on the motorways.

I have owned the car now for 3 months and in that time I have had no issues at all.

The car has been serviced and I have been getting around 45-48mpg in town and 55-60mpg on motorways.

It is a joy to drive.

I felt the car needed a little bit more 'umph' so I fit a tuning box from a local diesel tuning company, I have also blocked off the EGR valve and it hasn't brought up any EML and the engine feels a lot stronger, the two combined have made the car pull harder it smokes a lot less and I'm getting much better MPG's.

However and this is one reason I have signed up to the forum.

I read something that scared me on the head gasket issues on this particular model.

The car does not burn or leak oil, it starts and runs as it should engine sounds very healthy, the car is currently on 103,000 miles. I didn't get the service pack with this car as it was a trade we weren't required to request them but I'm aware it has a full Toyota service history.

A few questions, should I worry about the head gasket? There are no signs right now to suggest it is weak.

If I contact Toyota with my chassis number would they provide a history of my service history?

How likely is it that the head gasket issue has already been fixed?

I am impressed how clean the car is underneath brake lines are mint as are coil springs and it has a new exhaust system. Only issue I have is my injectors appear to be leaking is this normal?

Sorry for cramming in so much info I had planned on joining sooner, hope to contribute more thanks!

[Heidfirst]

"A few questions, should I worry about the head gasket? There are no signs right now to suggest it is weak.

If I contact Toyota with my chassis number would they provide a history of my service history?

How likely is it that the head gasket issue has already been fixed?"

Hi Alistair & welcome :)

Looks like a lovely car, TSpirit or T180?

First off, as far as we know (only Toyota have the exact figures & they aren't telling) in % terms relatively few of the 1AD/2AD engines develop this issue - probably well under 5%. However, if the gasket goes it's usually not just a case of replacing the gasket as there can be head/block damage from shuffle & Toyota says that these heads should not be skimmed. & then you have to fix the underlying cause ... Toyota have/had an additional goodwill warranty for this issue should it develop but it is subject to limits of 112k miles or 7 years (so yours is past that) - the official Toyota fix was a 3/4 exchange engine.

There is some speculation that the 180hp version is perhaps more prone to develop the issue than the lower powered 2.2 & 2.0 litre engines.

You actually ought to be able to check the service history yourself if you sign up for MyToyota but yes, a dealer should be able to give you a print-off

[AlysAvensis]

"A few questions, should I worry about the head gasket? There are no signs right now to suggest it is weak.

If I contact Toyota with my chassis number would they provide a history of my service history?

How likely is it that the head gasket issue has already been fixed?"

Hi Alistair & welcome :)

Looks like a lovely car, TSpirit or T180?

First off, as far as we know (only Toyota have the exact figures & they aren't telling) in % terms relatively few of the 1AD/2AD engines develop this issue - probably well under 5%. However, if the gasket goes it's usually not just a case of replacing the gasket as there can be head/block damage from shuffle & Toyota says that these heads should not be skimmed. & then you have to fix the underlying cause ... Toyota have/had an additional goodwill warranty for this issue should it develop but it is subject to limits of 112k miles or 7 years (so yours is past that) - the official Toyota fix was a 3/4 exchange engine.

There is some speculation that the 180hp version is perhaps more prone to develop the issue than the lower powered 2.2 & 2.0 litre engines.

You actually ought to be able to check the service history yourself if you sign up for MyToyota but yes, a dealer should be able to give you a print-off

Thanks Heidfirst.

Its a 150 T Spirit. I said it needed more umph before the tuning box it was more than quick enough but I wanted a bit more. Ive never drove a car of this age and mileage that feels so good. No rattles great on the road not affected by wind very comfortable.

I will contact them and find out.

Anyone know what the life span of the timing chain is?

[Raistlin]

Hi, Welcome to the club... Enjoy

[TomdeGuerre]

Alistair I hope you get on OK with your Avensis, it looks like a lovely car. The cynic in me always thinks when a car like this comes up, whether company or privately owned, if it was as good as it looks then there would be plenty of buyers for it especially at the price. Ever see the Dog Whisperer on TV? That episode Chihuahuas From Hell with the wee one called El Diablo. The vets had marked his folder AWC Approach With Caution because they were likely to get bitten. I always take a mental AWC note.

Given the cooling system snafus you get with these did you ever look into using a water-less engine coolant eg Evans. The car's well outside warranty anyway and it might be worth looking into specially if you're squeezing it a bit more with a chip.

re your query about timing chain life span, they're supposed to last for the lifetime of the engine if properly lubricated, plenty of previous posts eg see http://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/topic/97833-does-avensis-need-the-timing-chain-replaced-as-a-routine/

[muurman]

Hi , Very nice car.

looks like new.

What tuning box you bought?

[AlysAvensis]

Alistair I hope you get on OK with your Avensis, it looks like a lovely car. The cynic in me always thinks when a car like this comes up, whether company or privately owned, if it was as good as it looks then there would be plenty of buyers for it especially at the price. Ever see the Dog Whisperer on TV? That episode Chihuahuas From Hell with the wee one called El Diablo. The vets had marked his folder AWC Approach With Caution because they were likely to get bitten. I always take a mental AWC note.

Given the cooling system snafus you get with these did you ever look into using a water-less engine coolant eg Evans. The car's well outside warranty anyway and it might be worth looking into specially if you're squeezing it a bit more with a chip.

re your query about timing chain life span, they're supposed to last for the lifetime of the engine if properly lubricated, plenty of previous posts eg see http://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/topic/97833-does-avensis-need-the-timing-chain-replaced-as-a-routine/

Thanks for the kind words and advice,

I was like this too but I thought for the spec and the price it was worth taking the risk.

I will be changing to waterless coolant soon as it's something I have just done to my mx-5 and made a huge improvement.

That's great about the timing chain, with my Yaris I was recommended to change the oil every 5,000 miles since it was on 101k and over 100k it is better for regularly intervals, I will be doing the same with my Avensis.

Hi , Very nice car.

looks like new.

What tuning box you bought?

Thanks Muurman,

It's from a local business to me called Bluespark Automotive, the box was £80 and has 5 programmable settings and works pretty well.

http://www.bluesparkautomotive.com

[muurman]

You bought the pro ?

This is the one with also boost pressure control.

[AlysAvensis]

You bought the pro ?

This is the one with also boost pressure control.

No I went for the normal, the company were totally honest with me and said I would only gain around 5-10bhp from the normal to the Pro and it was an extra £120 ontop of the £80 I bought. I'm going to put it on the rollers soon to see what it's at but it feels good.

[muurman]

you say 80,- i go to the website and see 149,- for the normal one.

Why i ask: my boss had a powerbox on the bmw 330d just on the fuel rail sensor and that gave only 6hp also another on this forum says just doing a powerbox on the rail sensor brings only around 6-7hp .

[muurman]

i bought : http://www.speed-buster.nl/chiptuning/toyota/verso/chiptuning-box-toyota-verso-2-2-d-cat-130kw-177pk-dpf