SR180 DPF fault with tuning box?

[tomosllyr]

I have a 2008 SR180 with 120k on the clock, full service history (significant portion from Toyota), which I've had for nearly two years with no issues. I've cleaned the EGR at every service interval and found it to be quite caked every time. For the majority of the two years I've driven 64 motorway miles a day to and from work. A month ago I've moved job so now doing 20 dual carriageway/town miles a day. 

Also about a month ago I've fitted a DTUK tuning box, which has been on setting 4 out of 7. I found the car to drive much better even with simple day-to-day driving (less lag pulling from junctions etc), and it boosted my mpg quite significantly so I'm quite keen to continue using it if possible.

On Saturday my engine management light came on and the car went into limp mode. I got fault P2002 (particular filter). I took the tuning box off, cleared the code and drove the car for 30mins doing 70mph in 3rd. Since then I've done about a hundred miles with no problems at all.

Today I've cleaned the EGR again; it was probably a bit worse than usual and it's around 12k since I last cleaned it.

I'm going to try remember doing 10-15mins a week on a dual carriageway in 3rd from now on and hopefully that will keep my problems at bay. But my question is is there any reason to suspect the tuning box has contributed to the fault appearing now? If I put it back on is the fault likely to return in a few weeks? Or has it just been a coincidence?

[Mike169]

H Tomos, to be honest I think these tuning boxes are rubbish. I know 2 people that paid good money for brand new boxes, one from a Toyota dealer but purchased in from Germany  and the other from a 3rd party like you have. The car was made to develop a certain amount of BHP and torque and that's where I feel you should leave it. I have heard horror stories of people pushing the throttle pedal hard to overtake something and the car goes into limp mode putting them n great danger. Yes these boxes improve the torque from the engine and may even improve MPG but they can make the car unreliable. Personally think they should be made illegal as they make the car suddenly loose a lot of power putting the driver and any occupants at risk. My thoughts are if you want a faster car then buy one with a bigger engine if not leave the standard set up well alone and not worry about it's reliability. Sorry to be so blunt but I have heard this question so many times. Mike.

[eygo]

try knocking the tuning box down 1 setting and see if the issue goes away or if its any better.

many years ago i had a tuning box in summer i had to move the jumpers to a lower setting

as the car would start to black smoke but in winter time i could put the jumper back up

this will probably be due to air being denser when its cold so it can accomodate the extra fuel

being injected and the opposite in the warmer months ,this could also be why the particulate filter

error code has come on.

[Parts-King]

How many connections does the DTUK box have to the engine? Does it just fasten to the fuel pressure sensor? 

 

[tomosllyr]

2 hours ago, Parts-King said:

How many connections does the DTUK box have to the engine? Does it just fasten to the fuel pressure sensor? 

 

It connects to the fuel rail

[Parts-King]

As I suspected. All those boxes do is to boost fuel pressure, they are a kind of "one size fits all" tuning box.

 

 

[Konrad C]

16 hours ago, Mike169 said:

H Tomos, to be honest I think these tuning boxes are rubbish. I know 2 people that paid good money for brand new boxes, one from a Toyota dealer but purchased in from Germany  and the other from a 3rd party like you have. The car was made to develop a certain amount of BHP and torque and that's where I feel you should leave it. I have heard horror stories of people pushing the throttle pedal hard to overtake something and the car goes into limp mode putting them n great danger. Yes these boxes improve the torque from the engine and may even improve MPG but they can make the car unreliable. Personally think they should be made illegal as they make the car suddenly loose a lot of power putting the driver and any occupants at risk. My thoughts are if you want a faster car then buy one with a bigger engine if not leave the standard set up well alone and not worry about it's reliability. Sorry to be so blunt but I have heard this question so many times. Mike.

Michael, I like your view to by the car with the correct power for your needs. The other issue - people installing some of these tuning boxes and not declaring to insurance, or removing them at servicing/MOT/crash/breakdown warranty, to make the car seem unmodified. 

I don't mind proper subtle and approved modification to make the car more 'driveable' and economical, but not every type of engine can be tuned and also meet emissions. That is the problem, the DPF and EGR systems have to work harder when done wrong.

Another point - the authorities are installing more average speed cameras and "traffic calming" and lowering the speed limits to discourage "spirited" driving, and gain revenue.

There is a poster who does "proper" ECU modifications in the Avensis forum. 

Me , I am happy with my standard car.      

[Mike169]

Hi Konrad, thank you for sharing my views about modifying cars. Toyota spend £ millions to develop and do 10,000's of miles testing to get the car as right and reliable they can make it. Just because some tuning firm says they can make your car faster, ok these boxes do make them faster or/and torquier but they don't advertise the fact there is a possibility  it will make your car go into limp mode as and when it wants to. My wife drives my Rav 4 and I want the car to be as reliable as possible so I am not prepared to mess about with it. I have seen on more than one occasion people selling these devices on here and often it is because they simply make the car unreliable. Yes there are people that swear by them and how good they are and are prepared to take the chance of it breaking down. Imagine the scenario  of a car with a box fitted being involved in a fatal crash and the driver and his wife and maybe children are tragically killed and because there is no one to get the box off quick the insurance assessor looks at the car and see's the box and says his insurance is invalid as he didn't declare it as you point out, I do not think a bit more power from an engine is worth the risk of a non insurance pay out. If you want a faster car buy one with a bigger engine are my thoughts. I bet not a single person that has fitted one of these boxes has given a thought to upgrading the brakes as I am sure Toyota get the power from the engine and the effectiveness of the brakes about right. The only modification I made to my car was to have a dash cam fitted, I told Toyota's own insurance company and told them about the dash cam, of course there is no increase in my premium and they are pleased about my camera as of course it solves any disputes should an accident ever occur. Mike.

[smudge-1991]

What fuel do you use.

Tuning boxes are always a hot topic on here. 

Tbh I reckon your DPF issue could also be with so many miles on its possibly been slowly building a while 

You could also do 70 in 4th for 20miles once a month and would achieve the same with clearing without having as much strain on the engine as you would in 3rd.

I ran a tuning box on my old 2.2 for quite a few years without issue. Also I did mainly motorway miles.

Vehicle remapping is much better as it adapts many many parameters to the engine and controls far more than a tuning box.

May I suggest changing your fuel to premium stuff from a branded station if you don't already. It does make a difference I've done a lot of testing on this myself, it's not a "marketing ploy to make more money" from companies.

Also I would see how you get in with your tuning box as it is as it could be hardly related. 

[eygo]

15 hours ago, Mike169 said:

 I bet not a single person that has fitted one of these boxes has given a thought to upgrading the brakes

i know more power generally means higher top end speed = better brakes

but when using a tuning box you are not increasing the top end speed of your car so why do you need a brake upgrade,

what you are altering is how quickly you can get to the higher speeds but then you dont need your brakes

can anyone explain why you would require better brakes to stop from 70mph if using a tuning box in comparison to a standard car braking from 70mph

as it would take the same amount of energy to come to a stop.

[TomdeGuerre]

It’s self-evident that it requires the same amount of braking effort to stop a given mass from a steady 70mph irrespective of fitting a tuning chip and how fast you got there. 

What’s at stake, once you have increased your power output, is the associated faster acceleration and increased forces in cornering etc which may bring you into situations where better braking will be required. 

Put it this way, if you have a standard car and you tune the engine to ‘GT’ level, you’d be well advised to also fit the brake and suspension improvements that the car manufacturer made to the ‘GT’ model at the factory.
 

[eygo]

i think it depends on where you want to use the car ,if its on a track then i can understand then upgrade of associated

suspension parts and brakes, but for normal everyday driving on public highways its probably more of look what i have

fitted to show off to their mates as oem parts are generally more than adaquate for normal driving styles.

 

 

[TomdeGuerre]

In my experience a lot of people get the urge to spend money on their cars when they've just bought them. I've known people who buy cars needing bodywork done (dents, scrapes and scratches etc) but if they don't get them done more or less right away then they never do them. I think it's a form of blindness you get.

I knew someone who bought a Golf GTi and read up on forums about upgrading the brakes so he had Brembo discs and upgraded pads fitted, cost him quite a few hundred quid. So he drove around like a lunatic for a while with the inevitable result he wore out his two front tyres. By this time the thrill of the "new" car had worn off and he was fed up spending mon on petrol so he went and bought a pair of cheap new tyres. That made no sense to me whatsoever.