136Bhp 2.2 D-4D T3 2006 - Engine+Vsc+Trc Off Lights All Came On Togeth

[konky]

A few days ago the (engine shaped) malfunction light, the VSC light and the TRC OFF lights all came on together. I looked in the owner's manual page 15 and assumed that they were covered by 2. service reminder indicator. I had the car serviced at a local and convenient Halfords service centre (as they beat the main dealer's price by over £50 for a full service) only to find that the warning lights were still on. Subsequent analysis by the mechanic indicated to him that the EGR valve was blocked and the quote for fitting a new one was £230 (valve and gaskets) £44 VAT and £74 labour a total of £350! This seemed a bit steep, so I looked into TOC forum posts. There are a variety of posts on similar problems, but with varying solutions. I do like the idea of removing and cleaning it before replacing it but I really am not a diy mechanic. See very useful post

http://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=106241&st=15

for doing this on an Auris engine. Twigster managed to get the part replaced under an extension of warranty by Toyota, recognizing that this kind of problem was unacceptable on a 4 and a half year old motor last year, but the five years for me would run out at midnight tonight! What an April fool I could be for not contacting the dealer sooner. I will try to contact Twigster later. See posting

http://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=106949

I have emailed the Toyota dealer after close of business this evening to get their response.

Has anyone else had these problems on any D-4D engine on any model of Toyota? What were the successful solutions obtained and at what price?

[konky]

To add to my posting, I would like to say that I have not experienced poor performance, black smoking nor unacceptable fuel consumption. The last longer run a 450 mile weekend round trip returned over 45mpg. I use 5-30w synthetic oil (not always used by my Toyota dealer who put 15-40W in at the first 2 oil changes) and have run it for over 3 years to the present date on V+ or excellium to try to keep it clean, so I am disappointed anything has sooted up!

[Lupidog]

Its not only low ash Oil you need to put in to help reduce fouling by soot.

The type and quality of fuel you use can makes the biggest difference. The oil only becomes "sooted" by the slight passing of combustion gasses into the engine block and into the oil. The poorer the fuel the more carbon is passed. It is the fuel quality that has a direct impact on the EGR valve. Correct combustion is also a good candidate and this is easily checked by having your exhaust gasses examined at any MOT station.

Everyone will have their own views on fuel prices and where and who to buy it from. Personally I always stick to the main garages and buy premium if it is available, I avoid Supermarkets like the plague. I am not saying that supermarket or non main garage fuel is of a lesser quality as I have never tried it. I can say I am on my 1st D-CAT and my last 2 cars were both D4D's, that I have never suffered and problems with the EGR valve or any carbon related problems.

[superchukka]

Hi, Just had mine fixed by toyota GB free of charge, egr valve failure could mean the end or at least serious damage to the engine too! My egnine rebuild was done too foc. Mines a 56 reg t180 and within 5 years full service and they had no probs. Egr has also had effect with mpg and might have damaged the injectors now so had my car in again today!

The lights seem to come on as you noted but this doesnt mean its the egr on your car. my Egr failed and NO lights appeared! Dont let them rip you off they could fix the egr but you might be left with other problems. Also check out the forums, you can clean the egr easily just few bolts 20 mins and a heap of cleaner and bingo your car is good as new. Hope this helps.

[joemcneill]

Hi All, As you can all see I'm a newbie so forgive my ignorance. I have a Feb 2007 Avensis t180 with 58 000 and has been fine for the year that I've owned it. Warranty ran out last month and just my luck that I've started having problems. On Sunday I've noticed that the car has had a serious lack of power when putting my foot down but once over 2500 - 3000 revs the turbo kicks in and the car takes off. On my way to work this morning I lost all power and the engine management light came on, then the VSC followed by the TRC light. I've been through the forum and from what I'm getting a lot of people are saying it is a blocked EGR valve and these lights mean the car is in "limp home mode". I've saw the post on how to clean the EGR valve. Is this what the problem is, the EGR valve? will this cost the sun moon and stars to have fixed? I've been asking a few other people who are handy with cars and they are telling me blocked CAT or DPF pipe is blocked or turbo. Not good news so just thought I'd ask for a bit of help here on TOC! Thanks!!!!

[Cyker]

Your symptoms do sound like the EGR is jammed open - Its sole purpose is to feed exhaust gas into the engine and at low revs and high load (e.g. accelerating from a standstill) this really saps power.

Cleaning it doesn't sound like that hard a job to DIY, just very dirty and possibly time consuming (Disclaimer: I've not done it before - I try to take my car on motorway runs now and then to blast out any soot and injector gunk to avoid this sort of thing!)

Replacing it would be expensive but just cleaning it shouldn't cost that much...?

[joemcneill]

Cyker thanks very much for the rapid reply!! I have the tools to get the EGR and to try to clean it, i'll give it a go and see if I can do it, if not ill bring the car to a local mechanic before I go to Toyota and spend mega bucks having it fixed! I'll let you know how I get on. Thanks again!

[joemcneill]

Hi Cyker, took EGR valve off and it was absolutley clogged with suit, it was like tar it was that thick. Cleared all the suit and connected it back up. Engine light, VSC and TRC lights still on. Reved the engine, took it for a drive and still the same problem. No power max i can get is about 30mph. Would the computer need to be reset to clear the "limp home mode" that the car has gone into or should the lights have went out had it been a problem with the EGR valve? Maybe time to leave it with Toyota?

[Mistermena]

Hi Cyker, took EGR valve off and it was absolutley clogged with suit, it was like tar it was that thick. Cleared all the suit and connected it back up. Engine light, VSC and TRC lights still on. Reved the engine, took it for a drive and still the same problem. No power max i can get is about 30mph. Would the computer need to be reset to clear the "limp home mode" that the car has gone into or should the lights have went out had it been a problem with the EGR valve? Maybe time to leave it with Toyota?

Try running a tank full of Shell V-Power derv and some BG244 in the fuel and I bet it sorts it out.

[Peterkin]

Hi Cyker, took EGR valve off and it was absolutley clogged with suit, it was like tar it was that thick. Cleared all the suit and connected it back up. Engine light, VSC and TRC lights still on. Reved the engine, took it for a drive and still the same problem. No power max i can get is about 30mph. Would the computer need to be reset to clear the "limp home mode" that the car has gone into or should the lights have went out had it been a problem with the EGR valve? Maybe time to leave it with Toyota?

Resetting the ECU is simple- just disconnect the Battery for an hour or so, then reconnect it. It's so easy it's got to be worth a try.

[joemcneill]

Going to try all your suggestions and see how I get on, will let you all know the result. Thanks for all the help!

[joemcneill]

Hi All, had a clogged DPR valve, got the ECU reset and the car is now well again. Driving like a bat out of hell and i'm a happy bunny. Many thanks for all your help. Great forum and good to see every one helping one another! Thanks again to all. I will surely be hanging around this forum!!

[stretcher]

I know i will get caned for this but has anybody got a pict of the EGR valve

or tell me what it looks like and where i can find it in the engine compartment.

[Groovy]

My 2007 diesel TR started to get smoky and slow to accelerate (at around 55,000 miles) before the three warning lights came on together.

I took it to my local Toyota dealer for a diagnostics test after reading the various experiences on the Forum. They confirmed that the EGR vale had become clogged and that it had actually damaged the engine and I would need a new engine! Apparently it is a known problem with this engine and Toyota UK agreed to fix it under warranty (even though the car was 4 years old). A new engine would take 3 weeks to arrive so the garage cleaned the valve out as a temporary measure. Amazingly the garage phoned back the following day to say the replacement had arrived and they got my car in that night and gave me an Aygo to keep me mobile for the few days the Verso was being fixed.

The dealership was absolutely fantastic and I was finally relieved to have paid their quite high servicing costs ever since I bought the car. Steven Eagell Toyota really excelled themselves and I can't thank them enough.

I am now running the engine in (first 1,000 miles), but already the mpg is back up to 51 and the car is much happier. All credit to the dealer and Toyota UK on this one - a good example of proper customer service.

Cheers, Graham

:)

[AM4N]

Hi guys,

Just reading through these comments I get the impression that a bit of regular motorway driving is enough to keep the EGR valve in good knick. I've got a 2007 D4D and admittedly have previously spent a bit too much in an urban setting (slow traffic, low revs etc). I'm guessing this isn't ideal for a 2.2L engine, though I am now working in a location that means a daily 15 min motorway session @ 2,000RPM in 6th. My question is:

If high revs help keep the EGR valve clean, would you recommend dropping a gear and travelling in a lower gear than idle every now & again? For example spending a few mins driving in 3rd gear rather than 5th and keeping the revs at 2,500RPM and above? This would generally be around 15-20 minutes after the engine has been started (so on a warm engine) or would it be best just doing this on a cold engine?

Or perhaps it actually has to be motorway? Though on the motorway I'm usually at 2,000RPM on 6th gear as the car has a lot more to give than the 70-80MPH demanded!