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Vsc&4Wd Warning Lights+Loss Of Power


vicegrips
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hi guys. delighted to have recently got another rav. Such a big difference between my first 03 2.0 d4d and the 07 model. Had a problem today though. My wife phoned me this morning to say that vsc and4wd warning lights on and loss of power. Towed car home this evening and checked rav4 forum for help.Read lots of posts and checked the egr valve and found that the spindle was stuck in the open position. (Had already cleaned the egr valve about a month ago after reading posts but decided to check again anyway) Cleaned the valve which had only a light covering of soot this time compared to being totally clogged the first time it was cleaned. Made sure the spindle was free and refitted valve. Taken for test drive and everything perfect again. Brilliant! Symptons were vsc &4wd warning lights on +loss of power. Engine would start and idle but when pressing the accelerator the engine would rev unevenly, similar sound to that of hitting the rev limiter on a petrol engine except this was happening at approx 3000 revs and would not go above that. So 1st gear only to get moving and very smokey. Hope this helps anybody with similar problem. Egr valve is very easily removed to be cleaned and this job is already well described in the pinned section. Did wonder though why Vehicle stability control and 4 wheel drive warning lts would come on with an egr fault but strange things happen. A common fault with VW tdi engined cars is the glow plug warning light comes on if both brake light bulbs are faulty. Strange but true. Thanks to all for the helpful info and what a great site.

clive.

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hi guys. delighted to have recently got another rav. Such a big difference between my first 03 2.0 d4d and the 07 model. Had a problem today though. My wife phoned me this morning to say that vsc and4wd warning lights on and loss of power. Towed car home this evening and checked rav4 forum for help.Read lots of posts and checked the egr valve and found that the spindle was stuck in the open position. (Had already cleaned the egr valve about a month ago after reading posts but decided to check again anyway) Cleaned the valve which had only a light covering of soot this time compared to being totally clogged the first time it was cleaned. Made sure the spindle was free and refitted valve. Taken for test drive and everything perfect again. Brilliant! Symptons were vsc &4wd warning lights on +loss of power. Engine would start and idle but when pressing the accelerator the engine would rev unevenly, similar sound to that of hitting the rev limiter on a petrol engine except this was happening at approx 3000 revs and would not go above that. So 1st gear only to get moving and very smokey. Hope this helps anybody with similar problem. Egr valve is very easily removed to be cleaned and this job is already well described in the pinned section. Did wonder though why Vehicle stability control and 4 wheel drive warning lts would come on with an egr fault but strange things happen. A common fault with VW tdi engined cars is the glow plug warning light comes on if both brake light bulbs are faulty. Strange but true. Thanks to all for the helpful info and what a great site.

clive.

hi mate

i m not really sure but it is necessary to check with possible error codes stored --may be these ones create restriction when revved. I ve initially looked on the photos and thought you could damage/disconnect a wire/s but an EGR is free to be reached. Try with code reader first and revert. Chers/Igor

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You think that's strange? Here in the US, we only get the petrol engines. My lights came on the other day, which disabled the VSC, traction control, cruise control, etc. I was told to check my fuel cap and sure enough, it was loose, so I tightened it up properly. After 2 days the lights were still on so I reset the ECM by pulling the appropriate fuses for 1 minute. This turned off the lights and it's been fine ever since.

Why would Toyota allow their much vaunted "Star Safety System" to be totally disabled by something as minor as a loose fuel cap?? What if someone were in an accident that VSC could have prevented just because of this?

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You think that's strange? Here in the US, we only get the petrol engines. My lights came on the other day, which disabled the VSC, traction control, cruise control, etc. I was told to check my fuel cap and sure enough, it was loose, so I tightened it up properly. After 2 days the lights were still on so I reset the ECM by pulling the appropriate fuses for 1 minute. This turned off the lights and it's been fine ever since.

Why would Toyota allow their much vaunted "Star Safety System" to be totally disabled by something as minor as a loose fuel cap?? What if someone were in an accident that VSC could have prevented just because of this?

Perhaps it is a safety feature - loose fuel cap + accident + spilt fuel = :blowup::unsure:

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You may already be aware. The loose fuel cap is almost certainly to do with emissions control. Emissions from unburned fuel (evaporation) are as important as those from burned fuel. Obviously petrol evaporates far more readily than diesel.

I've not done petrol engine management (EMS) ECUs for quite a while, but when I did back in the early 90s, petrol EMS ECUs had "tank pressure" sensor inputs and purge valve drives (google evaporation control/purge valve - vapour in the tank is collected in a canister and burned). This system needs a "sealed" tank to work, so if the cap is not on properly it can't do it's emissions job properly. Therefore it's doing its other job and telling you there is something wrong.

Now to the other point of the VSC/4WD fault also being flagged. At first glance it does seem odd. There are however, what most would probably consider, some fairly complex information exchange and requests going on between the various systems.

Anyway, think about the VSC/TC system for a moment. When it detects a situation where it should intervene, in simplistic terms, it does this by asking for certain braking forces at each wheel and by requesting the engine management for specific torque.

If the engine management system has thrown a fault, there is no guarantee that it will response in the correct way to the VSC system's request. In other words, because there's a possibility EMS isn't doing it's job properly, the VSC can't be guaranteed to do it's job properly either. You therefore have to tell the driver, hence the additional warnings. Similar or same argument for the 4WD ECU.

OK, if you've gone into limp mode, it's unlikely you might get yourself into the situation where you need VSC, but the driver has to be informed of the possibility of no VSC. Put yourself in the shoes of the vehicle maker. If he doesn't give the warning of a potential problem, he may well find himself with a whole heap of litigation. Yes, a loose fuel cap is probably not going to make that much difference either, but the car maker is wisely covering his backside. He has to! Unfortunately, People do like to sue! :yes:

True, vehicle manufacturers don't always get it right. I know of ECUs having the finger of blame pointed at them for triggering false DTCs. Later it's been shown that the blamed ECU was responding in exactly the way it had been specified it should respond to various events and the problems lay in other ECUs.

This kind of stuff is reasonably topical. The whole auto electronic industry is being pushed by a relatively new (still draft, but nearly released) automotive safety standard - ISO26262. It's "interesting" :unsure: to say the least. It takes failure, fault detection and mitigation very seriously.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi all, have been reading recent posts re 5 year engine warranty. Rang MR T in Belfast last week to enquire about possibility of warranty covering recent vsc/egr fault. Mr T phoned today to arrange for car to be booked in for engine strip down and will replace necessary parts, pistons etc.. free of charge. HAPPY DAYS. Nice one Mr T

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Hi all, have been reading recent posts re 5 year engine warranty. Rang MR T in Belfast last week to enquire about possibility of warranty covering recent vsc/egr fault. Mr T phoned today to arrange for car to be booked in for engine strip down and will replace necessary parts, pistons etc.. free of charge. HAPPY DAYS. Nice one Mr T

Hi Mate

Yes it's something then

Good luck + type the result afterwards.

Igor

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I had me EGR valve cleaned by Toyota garage in a service I had before 1 month. Two weeks after my service I had similar warnings lights. At first I thought it was an EGR problem but they said to me that it was a Battery failure (I had changed it before 2 months). They put a new Battery and the only problem I have notice since then (two weeks now) is that the fuel consumption is increased to 9.3 l/100 km. They also said to me that if the car shows you the Messages: Check Engine System, Check 4x4 System, Check Vsc System at the same time then the problem is not very big.

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