RAV4 Stuttering

[John Spilsbury]

My 2012 RAV4 automatic petrol engine begins stuttering especially after about 10 to 15 miles of driving. The problem begins when accelerating or going on up hill and gets worse as the journey goes on. Stopping the car for a while stops the problem for a while then it returns. The problem does not arise on short journeys. Any suggestions?   

 

[IanML]

How old are the spark plugs, and are they set to the correct gap?

If that's ok, perhaps the timing is being lost due to heat affecting the crank/cam (whichever applicable) position sensor.  Any fault codes stored?

[John Spilsbury]

Hi Ian, I will check the plugs, but think they are as fitted when the car was made. Where would I find the fault codes? Many thanks, John

 

[IanML]

You plug a laptop into the OBD port, using appropriate cable and software.  Toyota Techstream is the real McCoy - lots of offers on eBay.