1996 Toyota Rav4 1998cc Intermittent Failure To Start And Revs Surge I

[ElliottWilliam]

Hello,

I am a new member here and, as a recent Rav4 owner, was hoping to benefit from the collective wealth of knowledge from the Toyota Club to help me with some problems with my vehicle. I am based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

The vehicle in question is a 1996 model Toyota Rav4, 1998cc petrol engine. It is an old car in very good shape and condition for its age, with only ~90K miles on the clock. It was largely unused by the previous owner but I have already done several long distance trips (e.g. Newcastle<=>Norwich) amassing ~5K miles of my own since I bought it in May this year.

The vehicle had been running very smoothly but more recently the engine has been cutting out at standstill and failing to start. My experience is that once it's going it will keep going until you stop and switch off the engine, at which point it will not restart. On returning to the vehicle after an hour or so it usually starts up fine as if nothing has happened. Immediate stop-starts are a no-go, especially at petrol stations (which is a pickle to say the least).

The work I have had done on the vehicle was initially to replace the camshaft drive belt and water pump immediately after purchase. Then, following the first signs of start-up failure, I had the rotary arm and distributor replaced, which were worn (spark plugs and air-supply were checked with no apparent issue).

Intermittent start-up issues continued, however. On an unsuccessful attempt at ignition, it sounds like the engine is sparking and turning over but just won't catch. It cannot be easily encouraged by revving as there is often no response from the accelerator pedal (suggesting a fuel injection issue?). Easy-start spray just about gets it going again in these instances. Normally the first start up of the day is immediate and without issue, but once you stop and start again it will start playing up.

More recently, when the engine is running, it will not happily sit in idle but instead revs up and down between 1.5 - 2 whilst in neutral. Whilst in gear the the engine behaves normally and will rev below 1 at lower speeds, but will then surge back up to ~2 as soon as it is back in neutral.

I have had to be recovered twice in the past ten days (in both cases the engine was successfully encouraged to start up again) and it has been looked at in the garage between those times (when the work on the rotary arm and distributor was done) but nobody has been able to point the finger at what/where the issue is/lies.

I have come to understand from reading these forums that my best chance of help is to be as detailed as possible, which is why I am troubling you all with such a long account (for which I apologise). I am no good with mechanics myself and so what I would like more than anything is to be pointed in the right direction of somewhere/one which will have the right diagnostic capabilities to highlight where the problem is rooted and subsequently the best place to go to for a resolution. Where is my best bet in Newcastle-upon-Tyne?

Many thanks and kind regards to all,

Elliott

[FROSTYBALLS]

Hello Elliot - welcome to Toyota Owners Club.

Post moved to the Rav4 club