Rav4 d4d starting problem

[cgmstone]

Hi all

my 2008 rav4 d4d Would not start a few weeks ago grinding over fine but just would not start the diesel gauge was showing quarter full so I thou maybe it was a faulty gauge as I have recently bought the jeep so I put £20 diesel in and primed the prime pump and away it started 

Then yesterday it done the same but this time the diesel gauge was showing half full so again I put £20 diesel in and pumped the prime pump and it started so I drove it 500 yards to my dads house 15 minutes later it would not start again i knew it wasn't low on diesel because it was over 3/4 full so I pumped the prime pump and hey presto it started so I now am thinking it was never low on diesel it seems as if the diesel is running back 

Has anyone else had this problem and how was it sorted 

Thanks in advance 

Cgm

[RAV4-D4D]

Sounds like a fuel line pressure issue. Assuming there are no obvious leaks then I'd start by replacing the fuel filter, do you know when that was last done?

[cgmstone]

Hi rav4

The filter was changed when I bought the jeep in November along with the rest of the filters 

I was thinking of putting a non return valve on the line to see will this help 

Regards cgm

[RAV4-D4D]

I've no experience of non-return valves but I would hazard a guess that they are simple and cheap to install so worth a try if so.

If you're sure the filter is clean (is it worth checking as maybe it's gunked up already?!) I'd be leaning toward a fuel pump issue.

One thing you could try is turning the ignition on and off to light up the dash but without starting the engine, try doing that a few times and then try starting the car as I believe the pump primes/puts pressure into the system, maybe this will work so at least you don;'t have to manually prime the car.

I assume this fault has come on since buying the car, is it rare or does it happen most of the time? From your description it happened when you went to start the car after you'd been to your dad's for 15mins, do you find it happens more when the car is warm or when it's cold?

Did you buy the car from a garage or private sale - if it's the former you should have some consumer rights to have the fault investigated/resolved by them. 

[cgmstone]

I bought the car private so no come back that way 

It has done it 2-3 times I checked the filter and it is spotless and always use top quality diesel for all my cars and vans 

A non return valve is going to be placed at the filter to insure the diesel isn't seeping back from the filter 

The car starts then cuts out straight away during the times it wouldn't start if that makes sense then once I prime the pump it starts OK could it maybe be electrical I don't know 

Going to try non return valve 1st to see what happens as you say its a cheap try 

Cgm

[Ant-Rav]

A non return valve is fitted to our old jeep, a long time ago because i think it was doing much the same as yours as far as i can remember. I wonder would there be any dirt in the diesel tank. This caused another old rav we had to not start and to stop altogether and not start. She could be sucking dirt up from the tank, there was a we metal mesh used to filter any dirt in the tank which was blocked with muck. Cleaned out the tank and problem was solved.

[cgmstone]

I was just thinking about the mesh filter in the tank unit I had an avensis many moons ago an that was the problem it was running rough it needed cleaning 

I'll try the non return valve 1st then over the next while try the mesh filter 

My wife just had a baby girl 2 weeks ago and with 2 other sons here its just hard to get time at the minute 🍼🍼🤣

Cgm

[Guido Amschler]

On this very subject

My  2007  RAV4  ( 2.2 D 4WD clean power) started having crank problems from 2023 also in warm weather.

Initially it helped  pushing a few times the button of the quad hose fuel distributor that holds the Diesel filter below, in my car it sits left side of the braking fuel reservoir.  But it got worse and worse, somehow fuel pressure must get lost and I suspected the electrical Diesel pump  in the fuel reservoir, and that is  a lot of work for the experts. But I saw this unavoidably coming. However, last week on a rainy day  I detected some gasoline  shimmering on the ground below the Diesel filter area.  But I had checked all hoses they were dry and the Filter carefully fixed with new O-rings. A torch helped to identify that the cable that connects the water sensor screwed  on the bottom of the filter was dripping Diesel !  Ok , take it all out, unscrew the plastic water sensor cap, and then with a magnifying glass I saw it: the round white plastic screw body had slightly cracked off  the octagonal header and the pressurized Gasoline  had found its way bypassing the O-ring. A quick temporary fix was needed before getting a new sensor.  I  tried this: apply  plummer tape  (Teflon ) around the screw body  such that Gasoline is stopped  before reaching the crack. Guess what !  it fixed the start engine problem immediately, the car now starts  after 2 or 3 cranks  and  I dont  have to push the handpump button any more after leavig the car for a bit of time. Sure I will put  the new sensor whenever it arrives.

Hope this is useful and dont panick when some day your Diesel does not start, 1st do the manual pumping 2nd look for Diesel drops below the filter