Lack of power problem 2.0 d4d

[Avalon]

The process I followed is below, I did it this way for simplicity/cost reasons.

Decent fuel, not because it performs better, because it's got a higher concentration of detergents, it's also the cheapest option initially. VPower and BP Ultimate are my weapons of choice, don't expect miracles and you probably need to run decent stuff for a few thousand miles to see the benefit.

 

EGR strip and clean: In my case it was very clean, check it's smooth to operate and make sure it seals well, a small scrubber on a wire will help. My EGR was much cleaner than I'd expect for a car with 100k on it, but I'm told it was  usually fed branded fuel.

 

Fuel cleaner (BG244 in my case, wasn't impressed with it if I'm honest - search for the thread), I'd probably try Forte or the AR6400? which claims to be suitable to remove carbon buildup on the turbo side of things.

 

Fuel filter: Change it, it's inexpensive and you'll be amazed/disgusted at the state of what comes out of it. With the cleaning effects of decent high detergent fuel and a dedicated cleaning treatment you'll get crap going through to the filter. When it comes to filters it's either Toyota OEM, Bosch or Blueprint for me, forget any no name/Eicher crap (ECP's own brand subcontracted out to whoever is cheapest). You'll only do it a handful of times during your ownership, this is not somewhere to save £2.

 

Control ring: Try moving the actuator arm, if it's stiff/not by then you probably have excessive carbon buildup on the control ring. You can do the Mr Muscle clean but it'll probably not make a massive difference long term due to where the control ring sits, if you strip the turbo and clean it properly it's 1-2 hours of labour if you pay a garage, it'll be clean and assuming nothing else is wrong then no reason it shouldn't be fine again for a long time (just lay off the supermarket/no-name fuel). If it's not then it's VSV etc. which has already been discussed previously.

 

All of the above is relatively inexpensive/simple, with the possible exception of dismantling the turbo.

[ffej]

so alex is your rav okay now ?

[Ant-Rav]

Thank you for that detailed info Avalon.  

[Avalon]

OK is a relative term ffej, lets just say it doesn't drop to limp mode or have issues spooling up the turbo as/when required anymore. It's got to come off the road for a few days as I need to have injectors cleaned/flow tested and rebuilt, they're within spec, but not balanced and pretty much every job in the service book is about to fall due.

[Henk-Shu]

Thanks for the tips Avalon and Jeff. My RAV is having a holiday as I'm working abroad at the moment but I will try all the above mentioned when I get back home at the end of this month. I will let you guys know the outcome but it will probably take a month or two. Good luck Ant-Rav with yours! I hope you get it fixed.

[RAV C Nesbitt]

Hi, new to the forum came across this thread.  I have Toyota RAV 4 DIESEL, 2005.  Same issues as you guys, you start form cold and it is sluggish and no oomph.  If you let it warm up to normal operating temp it springs to life or after half a mile or so (did this the other day) pull over stop the car, take key out of ignition and restart, it works again fine.  Sometimes the EMS light comes or mostly it does not.

I have run turbo cleaner through the tank a few times, made no difference, also took off the MAS and flushed with MAS fluid, made no difference.

Haynes manual: hardcopy and electronic, worth it for this type of issue?

Thank you.

RCN

[RAV4-D4D]

Hi

I'm not an expert but I've heard reference to open loop and closed loop; in the context of fuel injection and also cooling systems and in both cases the switch between the two is temperature related (in fact for all I know it's the same sensor controlling both).

Given that you say the car is fine when warm it would suggest to me that perhaps when the car is open loop (cold) it's not doing as it should; perhaps the temperature sensor is broken and the car is trying to operate closed loop when started cold; and perhaps once it warms up then it's in the correct mode.

In my amateur opinion it seems reasonable that a lack of oomph would be linked to fuel mix and I believe open loop/closed loop is linked to oxygen/fuel mix.

So I'd start by trying to test any thermostats in the car and see what they show. An OBD reader may also help as you'll be able to monitor the engine temp and see if it always clears at around the same temperature. I don't think it will show you any engine modes; you'd need a more professional scan tool.

Good luck!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[RAV C Nesbitt]

Thanks for responding.  Haynes manual though, yes or no?  Useful for me?

[Tommy Olsen]

Hello all, had the same problem on my 2005 Rav4 this summer, car got into limp mode and had to be stopped and re started. What solved my problem was change of the fuel (diesel) filter, car was good for ca 3 months, the it started again. Think i got a cheep **** filter and will try to change again when im back on land...