Avensis electronic parking brake

[Willss]

Continue to do my research before potentially buying a new Avensis tourer.  Have seen lots of reference to EPB failures.  Can see that it is best to keep out of water and that they can be expensive!

I have a few queries though:

Has the system been changed to reduce the likelihood of there being problems - most reports seem to be 2+ yrs ago?

Is it covered under warranty during the first 5 years?

If I extended the warranty with Toyota beyond the 5 yrs would that treat the issue in the same way?

 

Thanks for peoples experiences/advice.

Will

[FROSTYBALLS]

The extended warranty is a mechanical warranty, so if the problem was deemed to be a manufacturing fault, rather than wear and tear, I would suggest the repair would be covered. This would be the case with any manufacturer's extended warranty.

One thing to bear in mind is that extended warranties are not covered by the Block Exemption criteria as regards servicing. This means that the manufacturer can stipulate who services the vehicle during the period of the extended warranty for the extended warranty to remain valid. In Toyota's case, servicing during an extended warranty has to be done by the Toyota dealer network, and not any other garage.

[HartmannX]

It was only a child problem for the earlier productions of T27. Remember there are MANY cars out there and only few that have the EPB replaced. Often they forgot to mention how old and how many KM the car have done.

[Konrad C]

I have a '09 Avensis, one of the earliest T27 - it was built in late 2008, and the EPB works mostly fine. I have had the situation where it did not disengage and I switch off the car then turn it back on. it is a case of the systems freezing, but it is not solely an EPB fault. Same thing as I get TRC/ABS fault soon after start a couple of times. Switch off and restart resets everything. My diagnostic kit tells that communication was not full established during start up. 

Overall the EPB should be fine, so long as you don't go in to a deep puddle. The system supposed to be sealed.

I bought the car out of warranty and have not worried about it too much. The clutch on my car is high but not slipping in most driving situations. It slipped once when accelerating in second very hard at high rpm. A change is planned for the future not urgent.

The worst EPB I am aware of is the Vauxhall Insignia.  

[Hillbillie]

So does the EPB + VSC fail warning info slows the car down driving uphill?

 

[Heidfirst]

2 hours ago, Hillbillie said:

So does the EPB + VSC fail warning info slows the car down driving uphill?

 

welcome to the forum, Simon 

The car may go into limp mode when the EPB & VSC warnings are displayed & therefore it may also slow down.

[Willss]

Thank you all for your comments.  I appreciate those with issues are more likely to make a noise than happy customers!  It is a car I plan to keep for 10yrs so am trying to be as well informed as possible before purchase!  It seems on the 1.8petrol this and the safety sense system are the only 2 really regular issues (plus door hinge although I'd hope that had been sorted on current production cars).

[Konrad C]

2 hours ago, Willss said:

Thank you all for your comments.  I appreciate those with issues are more likely to make a noise than happy customers!  It is a car I plan to keep for 10yrs so am trying to be as well informed as possible before purchase!  It seems on the 1.8petrol this and the safety sense system are the only 2 really regular issues (plus door hinge although I'd hope that had been sorted on current production cars).

Hi Will. I think the servicing and reliability are very good in general. I personally think that the 2ZR Valvematic engine is very good and back to Toyota's reliability standard. Oil consumption is practical zero, and changing it is straightforward, with the under tray door. I have the oil filter tool. The door strap cracks are an issue and can be resolved in a number of ways. I had one personal issue, I hate space saver tyres and so got a full size spare. Overall a good car.   

[Hillbillie]

Couldn't remember where I found a possible fix

But disconnected the negative pole while the ignition was on ( not started) for three minutes.

Reconnected, ran around the block, 5miles. Seems to work!

[Hillbillie]

On 4/17/2017 at 3:03 AM, Heidfirst said:

welcome to the forum, Simon 

The car may go into limp mode when the EPB & VSC warnings are displayed & therefore it may also slow down.

Just to recap, the warnings came back on after another 5 miles, I've disconnected negative with ignition on, then positive 3 minutes later, reconnected in reverse order.

Will let you know what happens.

[Konrad C]

When I had the VSC/TRC and beep, it only has happened just after starting and moving a few yards. The car is doing self checking and something was not quick enough. It has only done this 3 or 4 times since I owned the car from September 2015. I have a diagnostic tool and it reports that something did not communicate and clear the code. So get the codes read.

My diagnostic is the Launch CRP129. Mine is old but I think there is new and better diagnostics out now. Another way to clear faults is to use the jumper/paper clip method on the OBD socket. Depending on the faults I think pins 4 - 13, 4 -12 and there is another, but I need to check that. With the jumper wire in 4 -13, the ABS/SRS and may be the VSC and TRC may flash. If the flashes are in a morse code style (not continuous), pumping the brake pedal quickly may clear the ABS codes. The VSC/TRC need different pins to reset, but I am not sure which. One thing I do know is that removing negative battery terminal does not clear some errors codes completely.  

Diesel tend to have EGR faults which trigger ABS/TRC/VSC lights.

 

[Hillbillie]

Fixed!

It was an egr fault after all!

Don't get it though, it was cleaned 9 months ago, the p.brake and vsc

fault came on after driving for 7 hours.

The guy at the garage said it happens when you do a lot of town driving, but I do 30 miles on a motorway 3 times a week.

 

So given the cost( what do you pay?) do I have to clean it every time I change the oil.

Can it be disabled, or do I have to live with it as is?

Any tips welcome ( like going to a local garage, not Toyota) after paying €560 last year, this is way over the top.

Rgds 

Simon

Edited April 30, 2017 by Hillbillie
Spelling

[fordulike]

20 minutes ago, Hillbillie said:

 

The guy at the garage said it happens when you do a lot of town driving, but I do 30 miles on a motorway 3 times a week.

It's the revs that bring the EGR valve into play. I think I read somewhere, above 2,000 rpm and it starts to activate. My old Almera DCi used to hover around 2,000 rpm at 70mph. So even a motorway run could clog that one up. Regular high rev runs used to keep the EGR faults at bay though.

[Hillbillie]

So I've got to either accelerate harder or expect a fine!

And burn/pay more.

Anyone's ideas welcome

Simon

[Hillbillie]

So could it be my t27 2012 , after cleaning EGR, and DPF, after 700 miles.

The EPB AND VSC triggers again that potentially the ECU is out-of-date?

Does anyone know how often this has been upgraded?

 

Thanks

Simon