New member needs urgent help with auto

[oldgreybeard]

Hi

Have owned 2004 auto petrol for just over a year. This is wifes car and only does small mileage over the year but invaluable as second/back up car as we live rural area without public transport.

Couple weeks ago wife came home in bad state saying her accelerator pedal stuck down and would not return with car zooming away - not happy bunny.

Me thinks aah? what shoes have you got on ? and did mat get stuck on pedal.

Two days later I drove car and the when I used moderate kickdown to go up a hill the pedal slammed to the floor changing down 2 gears not one and became stuck. Heavy braking got car under control and pedal then returned.

Later on drive the gearbox seemed to drop down a gear when not really needed.

Very unsafe, stopped driving and took to my local trusted indy garage. After some time investigating it has been decided gearbox no fault-no solenoid issues, no recalls outstanding,and no faults flagged up

Throttle body removed and cleaned out. ECU removed and sent to ecu testing for refurb as this seemed to be route after much research.

ECU returned unable to fix as odd production batch that could not be accessed/unlocked.

Now facing following options: New ECU fitted and programmed £1385

New pedal assembly option £780

New throttle body with sensor £1250

Having spent £1500 since purchase bring car up to scratch ie oil leaks new brakes refurb driveshaft etc etc I do not know what to do.

Any part replaced may or may not solve the issue and nobody can be more precise

Any help advice is very much appreciated

thanks

stu

 

[IanML]

I'd be tempted to investigate parts from a breaker.

[oldgreybeard]

Hi

Thanks for quick response

have been told by two garages that second hand parts might not be compatable subject to part numbers and would need to be programmed to the car

[Devon Aygo]

As a 2004 Model i suspect you have the later face-lift version which has a fly by wire throttle with no physical connection to the transmission and as such there is no way for a cable or linkage to stick, as you say the throttle pedal stuck down the only real culprit can be the pedal itself and on your Rav the pedal is a self contained, un-serviceable plug and play unit, part number 78010-42020 not the cheapest part but not £780 either.

[oldgreybeard]

24 minutes ago, Devon Aygo said:

As a 2004 Model i suspect you have the later face-lift version which has a fly by wire throttle with no physical connection to the transmission and as such there is no way for a cable or linkage to stick, as you say the throttle pedal stuck down the only real culprit can be the pedal itself and on your Rav the pedal is a self contained, un-serviceable plug and play unit, part number 78010-42020 not the cheapest part but not £780 either.

Would you think the pedal should be first thing to try? any idea of sensible price if it does need to be set to the cars system

thanks

[IanML]

Do an eBay search for "Toyota 78010-42020".  This one should be ok as you can see the number on the box.

This one  looks like the electrical part only, which would,  if it is the defective element,  save quite a bit, but I would remove the existing unit and satisfy myself that the pedal and spring bit is ok, before choosing that offer.  While inspecting it, you may spot the cause of the problem, and be able to fix it without spending anything!  My first check would be the security of the bolt and nut on the pivot (the bit with the spring wound around it) - it may be loose, thus allowing the upper end of the pedal arm to jam against the white roller on the electrical part.

Devon Aygo said  the unit is plug and play, so don't worry about setting up.

[oldgreybeard]

54 minutes ago, IanML said:

Do an EBay search for "Toyota 78010-42020".  This one should be ok as you can see the number on the box.

This one  looks like the electrical part only, which would,  if it is the defective element,  save quite a bit, but I would remove the existing unit and satisfy myself that the pedal and spring bit is ok, before choosing that offer.  While inspecting it, you may spot the cause of the problem, and be able to fix it without spending anything!  My first check would be the security of the bolt and nut on the pivot (the bit with the spring wound around it) - it may be loose, thus allowing the upper end of the pedal arm to jam against the white roller on the electrical part.

Devon Aygo said  the unit is plug and play, so don't worry about setting up.

Thanks for your reply, health issues stop me doing any work on the car myself so I have to relay messages to my garage for them to look at. This obviously keeps increasing the bill!

Do not want to pay for one of the three possible parts only to find picked the wrong way, surely there must be a way of testing if part works electrically?

Tried a local Toyota dealer and got poor response of " never heard of that problem, sorry"

thanks

[IanML]

I don't think this is likely to be an electrical issue - the more I think about it, the more it seems to me to be mechanical.

I suggest you find a small independent garage, which is more likely to employ customer-facing people who roll their sleeves up and want to get things fixed, rather than throw expensive parts at a problem and hope something sticks.  If we are right about this being a pedal issue (99% sure), it requires no special Toyota expertise, just a bit of common sense.  It  looks to me that the pedal comes out by undoing two screws or nuts and unplugging one electrical connector - see the photo on the first eBay item.  If it wasn't snowing and blowing a hooligan, I'd get my head under the dash and have a look at mine.

 

[oldgreybeard]

Thanks Ian

Kind of you to offer.

I agree that what you say about mechanical problem makes sense.

I will get back in touch with my mechanic and pass on your thoughts. Will update when I have some news

thanks again

stu

[Grumpy stumpy]

May be worth given Ian a ring at Roy’s motor company in Norwich they have been Toyota specialists for over 50 years and have so much experience, he may be able to help you over the phone, probably had same fault at some point. Make sure you speak to Ian and not Roy.  Worth a call .