'99 2.0 Td Avensis (2C-Te) Advises, Flaws, Etc...

[Modano]

Hi Everyone,

I'm about to buy a trusted friend's Toyota Avensis, 1st Gen, before FL, 1999, equipped with the 2.0 TD 2C-TE Engine.

Very few resources have been found so far, but I'm positively hoping you'll answer some of my questions/concerns.

The car has, to my opinion, one big advantage : my friend got it from a Toyota Chief Mechanic (close friend of him) who did the following in the past year, year and a half : clutch, timing belt, brake pads and discs, starter, springs; It has 186 000 kms.

My goal is to have a reliable and relatively confortable car to go to work every day (50 miles a fay). I know this car hasn't the greatest appeal, and is known to be one of the first "decaying" Toyota in terms of legendary reliability. But it seems to have decent handling, interior is pretty silent, confortable. I'm coming on my daily work from a Fiat Tipo that has 20 years, and definitively, there is a huge gap.

Anyway, my concerns (worst common problems found around the web are) :

- On D4D, gearboxes failures (5th speed that disengages), but apparently not on TD as they are not fitted with the same gearbox ?

- Cylinder head failure (heard that once)

- Minor problems : rear wiper not stopping, braking disks that get deformed, no big deal

And, on the specific model I'm looking for, I have a whining sound coming from the P/S assy. I don't know if it comes from the belt, the P/S pump or the "tender" below. What I know is that it ONLY happens while weather is wet, that the whining noise is loud, and only gets away after several miles driven. My colleague told me it is a design flaw, and nothing could really be done...even changing the belt would just temporary fix the issue.

Any testimony on this point ?

And, generally, do you have some experience on this model, things to care of ?

Many thanks for your help :)

[Konrad C]

I think you have covered most things about the car.

The indicator switch can wear, I cleaned reshaped the contacts, and applied electrical contact grease to fix that.

The power steering belt may need adjusting or changing.

Crankshaft pulley/vibration damper - rubber holding the inner and outer parts can separate causing the outer ring to slip. You will hear a rattle and the belt may suffer damage or come off.

Lower ball joints, wheel bearings wear due to age and road conditions.

Steering column needs greasing.

Clutch pedal squeak.

Usual wear and tear items. Plastic side trim can warp and become brittle. Windscreen scuttle rubber breaks up.

Overall if the car is in very good condition and has regular servicing, you should have no problems.

[Modano]

Thank you,

you are describing me daily annoyances, and that's very valuable, as these are pretty rare in forums when you mainly see really important problems.

Well, I must acknowledge that there will be wears and aging, and at 15 years old I'll still face them, even in a Toyota.

You're worrying me abbout the crankshaft pulley . Firstly because I'm a diesel newbie so recognizing a rattle noise in a diesel engine will be very difficult to me, as, for me, the whole diesel engine rattles :) Does your problem concern only gasoline engines ?

And regarding the PS, you think this is related to the belt, so it may be possible to have a quiet engine on we weather ?

Many Thanks.

[Konrad C]

Thank you,

you are describing me daily annoyances, and that's very valuable, as these are pretty rare in forums when you mainly see really important problems.

Well, I must acknowledge that there will be wears and aging, and at 15 years old I'll still face them, even in a Toyota.

You're worrying me abbout the crankshaft pulley . Firstly because I'm a diesel newbie so recognizing a rattle noise in a diesel engine will be very difficult to me, as, for me, the whole diesel engine rattles :) Does your problem concern only gasoline engines ?

And regarding the PS, you think this is related to the belt, so it may be possible to have a quiet engine on we weather ?

Many Thanks.

Matt,

Don't worry about the crankshaft pulley too much. To test if it has separated, try and rock the outer part. If it doesn't budge, all is okay.

You can replace cheaply from eBay.

As mentioned before, I would adjust the power steering belt (power steering/ air-con belt) or change if needed. Spraying the belt to quiet the screech may help.

Happy motoring.

[Modano]

Thanks.

This car has been fully examinated by a chief mechanic, friend of current owner, at Toyota.

So I would guess that the crankshaft pulley has been checked.

Regarding the belt, I will drop some Antislip Loctite spray, just to check if that clears the noise and points the issue towards the belt itself.

In my mind are 3 other issues on this specific car :

- Oil filter gasket seem to be a little dry , this mechanic said, and would be a good idea to change. Don't know how easy it is. At the french MOT, there was a very small amount of fresh oil. Probably comes from here. Oil level nearly never moves.

- The steering wheel doesn't block when key is removed (maybe a neiman issue), nothing critical I guess, maybe some WD40 into the key hole would help ?..

- The Air flow position selector cannot go to the rightmost position (full windscreen) but can go to the "point" just before. And in this position it seems to fully go on the windscreen nonetheless.

Do you have any similar experiences on these issues ?

Once again, many thanks :)

PS : I must appear as a crazy person to be so attentive to small details to a 15 year old car at a reasonnable price..

[cmia]

a few things..

1 - D4D 5th gear synco becomes notchey and crunches due to people driving the car in the wrong gear.

2 - The old 2C-TE engine and the 1cd-ftv is are both very robust designs. Dont really suffer from engine faliure but i would also like to say that the in the taxi fleet sveral engines dropped valves at higher mileges. (were talking 450k)

3 - wear and tear is good and the car does hold up really well.

4 - if your steering wheel does not lock or click it is an issue with locking forks in the steering colum.

5- if the belt on the steering pully is on too loose or too tight it will squeal.

6- the crank pully rubbers do deteriate but properly checked should not be an issue

7- more common faults are steering rack bushes / pinions

8- door seals wearing out

9- hinges having play when not greased or oiled

10- abs sensor issues

11- rusty bolts snapping in the engine / body work!

[blackcts]

have to say thats probably the most reliable car of that era!!! Cracking workhorse!

[Modano]

Thanks for your answers.

cmia, thanks for your inputs.

I have some more questions :

- Do the greasing of the steering , which was advised by Toyota on a recall IIRC, need to be done periodically ?

- Oil drain ? How many kms ? 10000 ?

- Timing Belt mileage ? 100 000 kms ? 5 years ?

[Modano]

I bought the car yesterday. I'll make a presentation :)

Thanks for your advices.

So far, no idle problem, no clutch squeak, steering is pretty direct and very light at low speed (given the weight, that's pretty cool), engine is pretty "grandpa" driving style at low revs, but runs more than nicely at higher gears/revs, only real annoyance : belt squeak while wet.

The toyota mechanic told it is a rather new belt, and advised me to lightly file the belt on the outer side. Seems like it "grows" while wet and constraints somewhere. I'll rather try a Loctite antislip first.