Rav4 Turbo Charger - £3000?

[TanyaRav4]

if its an overboost problem then the turbo itself is very unlikely at fault.

the turbos speed, and therefore pressure is controlled by a wastegate, a flap that when opened allows exhaust gas to bypass the turbine wheel thus reducing its speed. the wastegate flap is operated by an actuator, basically a diaphragm connected to a rod that opens the gate. a spring inside the actuator keeps the gate shut when more boost is needed. the actuator is in turn controlled buy the ecu by a VSV ( vacuum switching valve) this opens and closes to control the signal to the actuator. as you can see it could be any one of these components that is at fault. it is possible that the acuator has failed but these are available separately (not from Toyota though) or even a vacuum line has come off .

i certainly wouldn't be changing the whole turbo for it

just been corrected. i forgot the turbo on the D4D is of the variable vane type. it dosnt have a wastegate, it is the vanes position in relation to the turbine wheel that controls boost. that said it is still possible for the vane assembly to stick which would cause the over boost problem

The problem is that they did not even look into the engine, as I said before, they just read the fault code from the computer and suggested the solution. Is this a normal practice for an authorised Toyota garage?

[anchorman]

I think from the fault code they have given you a worst case scenario - the cost of replacing all the possible parts. The problem is that by giving them the car to mend they could see it as a go ahead to spend up to 3k.

How to proceed? You can either go back to them with the information you have here which indicates the cast of a genuine turbo is lower than they say (bearing in mind they may have quoted for all new gaskets and bits and pieces that will push the price up). Also you should call other Toyota dealers for a quote on putting a P1251 fault code right and also some good independents.

I'm afraid its time to stop debating and get on the phone for an hour or two. It could save you hundreds if not thousands of pounds.

Good luck.

[TanyaRav4]

I talked to them, and they refused to reduce price further. The final price is £1,750 for the turbocharger plus £915 for labour. I think that this is a rip off and I am going to take it to another garage (I am looking for it at the moment) and buy a new (£1.300) or refurbished (£600) turbocharger from turboactive or lindop brothers.

Thank you very much to everybody who responded to my post and if anybody knows a good diesel engine specialist in London, I would be grateful to hear from you.

[johnrizla]

Should be pretty evident if turbo gone and unlikely to give fault codes for us to read i hate to say this does sound all wrong.

I cant disclose book times but i will say it alot less than 8 hours to.

[TanyaRav4]

If anybody is still watching this topic:

I desided to get second opinion about the fault and came to the dealer to collect my car and to my surprise they did not charge me £50 which I agreed to pay in the first place (1/2 hour labour for fault diagnostics), and when I started the car - no fault appearing on a dashboard, and the car drives perfectly - up tp 50 mph (I did not try higher speed as I haven't been on a motorway yet). I am taking the car to another garage for inspection on 30th Jan.

[dawesy]

sounds like a temporary fault then (something sticking maybe). keep us updated. might be worth accelerating hard a couple of times as if its going to do it again that's when it will do it

[anchorman]

When some faults are detected the car goes into "limp home" or "safe" mode. It sounds like clearing the fault reverted the ECU to normal.

[TanyaRav4]

When some faults are detected the car goes into "limp home" or "safe" mode. It sounds like clearing the fault reverted the ECU to normal.

Does it mean the fault is still there but can not be identified?

[bothwell_buyer]

When some faults are detected the car goes into "limp home" or "safe" mode. It sounds like clearing the fault reverted the ECU to normal.

Does it mean the fault is still there but can not be identified?

It could be as mentioned that its an intermittent fault....I'd do as suggested and try pushing the turbo to see if it happens again. Hard acceleration. If it happens again, then you'll know there is something related to the turbo itself probably. If it disnae happen, then happy motoring!