Need guidance!

[alexandrupaul1211]

Hello ladies and gents , 

I need a bit of help and I know that here is the right place to get some. I'm thinking of buying a Toyota Avensis estate ( 2008-2012), and I don't know which engine should I chose. Also budget allows me a car with mileage between 120k-130k miles. Which engine is the one with less problems, more reliable ? Personally I would like to get 2.2 as I like a bit of torque but I'm waiting for advises. 

Thanks in advance,

Alexandru Pirvu

[jcps001]

Stay away from the 2.2. Avoid the 2.0 if you can, those diesel engines with that age and expected mileage, will almost surely present you problems.

Stay away from the diesels. Get the petrols. I would even encourage you to get a hybrid.

[alexandrupaul1211]

6 minutes ago, jcps001 said:

Stay away from the 2.2. Avoid the 2.0 if you can, those diesel engines with that age and expected mileage, will almost surely present you problems.

Stay away from the diesels. Get the petrols. I would even encourage you to get a hybrid.

Hi. Many thanks for your quick reply . I'm expecting issues to appear but will be minor or major issues  ? I would gladly go for a petrol engine but due to nature of my job( I'm doing 25k miles per year) I was thinking to get a diesel , but I'm guessing I will save money  at maintenance if its a petrol engine, right ? Many thanks 

[Bernard Foy]

As you do quite a lot of mileage, I suggest that you go for a diesel with a full service history And as previous posts have advised stay away from the 2.2 Ltr. If MPG is not an issue then again you have the petrol engine again with FSH.

[jcps001]

28 minutes ago, alexandrupaul1211 said:

Hi. Many thanks for your quick reply . I'm expecting issues to appear but will be minor or major issues  ? I would gladly go for a petrol engine but due to nature of my job( I'm doing 25k miles per year) I was thinking to get a diesel , but I'm guessing I will save money  at maintenance if its a petrol engine, right ? Many thanks 

There are plenty of threads on the forum about the 2.2 D4D. The 2.0 D4D is better, but the age and expected mileage those engines have by now, will almost surely give you problems... Cylinder head deformation, DPF, EGR, top-of-the-line injectors (piezoelectric) that may need replacing, turbos, etc...

It is a too greater risk for me.

If you really want a diesel, I suggest going down a notch to a lower segment and get an Auris or Corolla with a well maintained 1.4 D4D without DPF, start-stop, etc. It does not have the power you seek, but those things are reliable.

Cars with the age you're going for I strongly suggest getting a good Toyota petrol engine. If you are willing to expand your budget, get a good, well maintained Toyota hybrid.

[alexandrupaul1211]

Understood. Which are the most reliable petrol engine on a avensis ? Many thanks.

[jcps001]

2 hours ago, alexandrupaul1211 said:

Understood. Which are the most reliable petrol engine on a avensis ? Many thanks.

Please wait for the experts to answer that question. I am not familiar with petrol engines.

While you wait, search the forum.

[MrAurisT]

I bought a 2010 Avensis estate last November (with 48k miles), a 1.8 petrol, after driving Turbo Diesels for the last decade or so. The car has been excellent. A few odd niggles, but I have done about 8k miles so far and get pretty much the same mpg as my old 2.0TD's would give me. A bit less torquey than a diesel obviously, but much less complex and easier to work on (with things like clutches for example). I would not recommend the diesel variants after reading the threads on this site (my opinion). I spoke to a Toyota main dealer 40 years+ technician and he said the valvematic petrol engines are absolutely bulletproof with correct servicing. He could not speak more highly of them and recommended the 1.8cc petrol to me, which was one of the reasons for my decision to buy one. Excellent, can highly recommend.

[APS]

If you want a diesel you could go back one generation and get the 1CD-FTV - it's intercooled, use common rail, and has EGR. But there is no DPF and generally fewer things to go wrong. It does have belt driven cams though (rather than chain), which need replacing every 60k miles. But, I'd concur with others here, the petrols are less complex and the small saving in fuel you might make with a diesel are quickly cancelled out after a single malfunction. 

FYI - the problematic engines mentioned in previous posts are the successors: 1AD-FTV (2.0), 2AD-FTV (2.2), and 2AD-FHV (2.2)

[2009joe]

9 hours ago, jcps001 said:

Stay away from the 2.2. Avoid the 2.0 if you can, those diesel engines with that age and expected mileage, will almost surely present you problems.

Stay away from the diesels. Get the petrols. I would even encourage you to get a hybrid.

wel those petrol toyotas give bother 2 bud burn oil like crazy i hear .tbh the 2.0d4d diesel is great engine so it says online they drive forever tbh thats is why i got one a 1adftv 2.0 d4d engine car 

[Cyker]

Even with the problematic engines, if you get a later one you'd be okay as Toyota are quite good for fixing problems that appear; The AD series in particular were subject to a... not a recall, but a voluntary replacement campaign, which replaced the engines with fixed ones so if you get an older one which has had the replacement engine it'd probably be okay too.

The main issue is diesel being used as a scapegoat for everything, so it will be increasingly difficult to go near any major city centre with one.

[2009joe]

3 hours ago, APS said:

If you want a diesel you could go back one generation and get the 1CD-FTV - it's intercooled, use common rail, and has EGR. But there is no DPF and generally fewer things to go wrong. It does have belt driven cams though (rather than chain), which need replacing every 60k miles. But, I'd concur with others here, the petrols are less complex and the small saving in fuel you might make with a diesel are quickly cancelled out after a single malfunction. 

FYI - the problematic engines mentioned in previous posts are the successors: 1AD-FTV (2.0), 2AD-FTV (2.2), and 2AD-FHV (2.2)

no more bother with the 1adftv engines sonce after 2009 tbh but i hear the petrol engines go threw oil like crazy tbh  .id say il have bother with the dpf as to i dont cover much miles but tbh im not in a bother if comes it comes .thats is why alot of taxi men drive the toyota avensis 2.0d4d  .plus the one reason i bought it was for that also im not bothered much about looks if i was i would have bought a audi or a bmw 

 

https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/toyota/avensis/2009/

[2009joe]

9 hours ago, jcps001 said:

There are plenty of threads on the forum about the 2.2 D4D. The 2.0 D4D is better, but the age and expected mileage those engines have by now, will almost surely give you problems... Cylinder head deformation, DPF, EGR, top-of-the-line injectors (piezoelectric) that may need replacing, turbos, etc...

It is a too greater risk for me.

If you really want a diesel, I suggest going down a notch to a lower segment and get an Auris or Corolla with a well maintained 1.4 D4D without DPF, start-stop, etc. It does not have the power you seek, but those things are reliable.

Cars with the age you're going for I strongly suggest getting a good Toyota petrol engine. If you are willing to expand your budget, get a good, well maintained Toyota hybrid.

when you mention Auris or Corolla with a well maintained 1.4 D4D without DPF what year are those new ones the better without dpf as tbh i must get the wife a car and looking something like those that last loong and not give any bother  

thanks jcps001

[Cyker]

That's a tricky one; As a broad generalization, if it's Euro4 it's very unlikely to have a DPF. Euro5 is when things started getting DPFs - Early ones may have escaped it, but later ones would almost certainly have it. Anything Euro6+ definitely has a DPF, and probably Adblue too if it's a later one!

My brother had a 2005 2.0L diesel Corolla back in the day and that didn't have a DPF. (It was also hilarious... so much torque!! But the clutch was soooo heavy - No good for stop-start traffic as you'll end up with your left leg with twice the muscle-mass of your right leg!  )

 

[jcps001]

10 hours ago, 2009joe said:

when you mention Auris or Corolla with a well maintained 1.4 D4D without DPF what year are those new ones the better without dpf as tbh i must get the wife a car and looking something like those that last loong and not give any bother  

thanks jcps001

In 2019, I bought a 2007 Auris with a 1.4 D4D engine. No start-stop, no DPF, 5 speed transmission.

The only thing I changed was the EGR valve. Other than that, works like a clock. Just goes with basic maintenance.

But when I bought it, I checked it thoroughly, sent it to a mechanic that really knows what he was doing.

If you jump onto one of these, do the same. Just because it's a 1.4 D4D, it doesn't mean it's indestructible. Those engines also suffer from poor maintenance, and considering their age and mileage nowadays, it is always going to be a risk.

So far (almost 3 years), I am happy with mine.