Sr180 Started Smoking, Help Diagnosing

[Tom196]

Hi everybody, been lurking this forum for about 6 months and finally had to make an account.

I bought my SR180 about 4 months ago, its currently done 64k miles, ive done 4k. Apart from a new Battery, new wheel bearing and leaking radiator its been perfect

Last week I noticed smoke behind me in the same place every day. I live in a city so at rush hour it takes about 5-10 mins to get to the dual carriageway which is the first time I get above 30mph. This is when the smoke starts. Its only for about 1/4 -1/2 mile then it stops. If I drive the opposite way straight onto open roads the smoke starts straight away. Coming home after work there is no smoke. Also revving the engine while still doesn't produce smoke.

I am by no means a mechanic but im guessing that somewhere in the engine, oil is seeping overnight then in the morning im burning it off. Why does it not smoke while driving slowly regardless of the rpm?

Has anybody got an idea? Thanks in advance

[smudge-1991]

It could be an injector problem but seems unlikely for low miles .... Oil normally burns blueish is it almost sooty black does it do it out of gear or only under the strain of moving the bulk as you get up to speed .... Most diesels puff a little but also depends on oil quality and what oil is in to a degree also as it does help to reduce smoking .... It should be a low saps stuff also have you cleaned out the egr valve .... The strain of moving the bulk as you get faster gets harder to do

[smudge-1991]

It could be a few things tbh

[relivinmyyouth]

Omg i have the exact same problem, i have nothing in the morning as i travel thru my local town to work but when i get on the motorway home it starts in around the same place then dissapears after a few miles or so but i cant really tell the colour because of the rear window tints, it does look white/grey to me tho, any ideas?

[smudge-1991]

White greyish is normally water so if that's the case for you it could be a trip to garage to check the head .... Look on the oil fill cap and the dipstick dmfpr any gunk creamy looking stuff .... If your car doesn't move often it could be a bit of condensation in the head ... It happens on cars that normally don't do many miles and the strain on the engine while getting to speed on a not quite warm engine could be why it's more so in the when haven't long set off

[Tom196]

It could be an injector problem but seems unlikely for low miles .... Oil normally burns blueish is it almost sooty black does it do it out of gear or only under the strain of moving the bulk as you get up to speed .... Most diesels puff a little but also depends on oil quality and what oil is in to a degree also as it does help to reduce smoking .... It should be a low saps stuff also have you cleaned out the egr valve .... The strain of moving the bulk as you get faster gets harder to do

Its definitely not black sooty smoke, more white/blue. I cleaned the egr valve 1k ago, wasn't too much build up in it but I don't know when it was last done.

[aaron_auris_sr180]

does it do it before the engine temp gauge gets to normal operating temp? (middle of gauge)

[Phil_1985]

i get this too - i've put it down to the D-CAT regenerating - apparently Toyota designed the system to be able to regenerate at low speeds (probably due to the fifth injector)

[smudge-1991]

Most people notice the d-cat on the motorway cos it gets to a set tempreture a few have mentioned that on here but generally a way into the journey rather than the early on part ... But each system reads it abit different I suppose ... Cos no two cars are Tue same

[smudge-1991]

Do you have a heavy foot when getting to speed or use 4th or 5th to get to speed etc .... The d cat is a very good mention a few have noticed this especially on the motorway as it likes to get to a set temp to regenerate and then smokes but a few have said that it has been during the journey rather than near (ish) to setting off

[aaron_auris_sr180]

my DPF was constantly trying to re-gen due to a tiny hole in the casing which caused a pressure differential therefore making the ECU think it was blocked. but it would only smoke (regen) once the engine was at normal running temperature no matter what speed you was doing.

[Tom196]

does it do it before the engine temp gauge gets to normal operating temp? (middle of gauge)

Yes, the gauge is probably just off the bottom

Do you have a heavy foot when getting to speed or use 4th or 5th to get to speed etc .... The d cat is a very good mention a few have noticed this especially on the motorway as it likes to get to a set temp to regenerate and then smokes but a few have said that it has been during the journey rather than near (ish) to setting off

It does it if i accelerate hard or gently.

The main reason im concerned is because ive had the car for almost 5k miles now and its only just started smoking last week. Its not a small amount of smoke, or just "normal diesel smoke"

[smudge-1991]

Sounds to me like a fueling problem

I would try an oil change get the right oil for the car .... Get some fuel additive ... Wynns or something similar .... Run it as normal and see if it still smokes badly ... Then you know there is a definite problem or not

[Tom196]

Sounds to me like a fueling problem

I would try an oil change get the right oil for the car .... Get some fuel additive ... Wynns or something similar .... Run it as normal and see if it still smokes badly ... Then you know there is a definite problem or not

So today there was no smoke at all, after 10 days of there being smoke. I will definitely do an oil change though. Thanks for the advice.

[Phil_1985]

I'm sure there is a tsb regarding white smoke which involves an ecu reprogramme. It is related to the dcat. If the oil and coolant levels are fine i can't see how an oil change would help the matter.

[relivinmyyouth]

Hey Tom, i dont suppose your sr is black and u live in roth/sheff?

[aaron_auris_sr180]

as above. doesnt seem like a dpf problem to me. try the simple things first. fuel treatment etc. double shot of millers diesel sport perhaps?

[smudge-1991]

The levels can be fine but it's meant to be a low saps oil in them engines because of the dpf and egr getting heavily sooted up .... If someone has just thrown any old oil in ( met some pretty ignorant people in that respect ) it can cause a diesel to smoke more also old oil in cars creates smoke but you don't notice it as you drive it day in day out and don't noticed then small amount of more smoke that is coming out the back as it gets older fuel oil would be my first choice for the black smoke and as I said about blueish white grey type smoke that's sounds like a head problem possibly or condensation sat somewhere in the system which is then warming up and evaporating out the exhaust turbo seal could possibly be leaking but if it was it would do it from start up

[relivinmyyouth]

I start mine from cold and i dont get anything but this morning i gave it a bit more throttle and it smoked a little but on my way home the smoke was minimal compared to previous.

Going to do an oil change this weekend and weather permitting the EGR valve.

P.S. Checked my oil filler cap and dipstick this morning and both clear of mayo, checked my tail pipe when i got home and it was just black soot, no oil residue or anything untoward.

[Tom196]

Hey Tom, i dont suppose your sr is black and u live in roth/sheff?

Mine is ixion blue, and mostly around sheff in the tinsley/sheff parkway area.

as above. doesnt seem like a dpf problem to me. try the simple things first. fuel treatment etc. double shot of millers diesel sport perhaps?

Ill try this too, I have to do about 100 miles round trip this weekend so should give it a chance to get working.

[john_y]

You could try to have the car Terra cleaned if all else fails!

[Devon Aygo]

There are two bulletins from Toyota that may relate to the issue you are having:

Earliest is EG-0004T-0110-EN

DESCRIPTION OF PHENOMENON
Some customers may explain about white smoke from the exhaust.

PRODUCTION CHANGE
The ECU software has been improved.

and there is a later bulletin EG-0111T-0910-EN

DESCRIPTION OF PHENOMENON
Some customers may complain that during driving intermittently white smoke is coming from the exhaust or that the MIL comes on and DTC P2237 (oxygen (A/F) sensor pumping current circuit / open) is stored in the memory of the engine ECU.

PRODUCTION CHANGE
The A/F sensor has been improved and the engine ECU software has been updated.

[Tom196]

There are two bulletins from Toyota that may relate to the issue you are having:

Earliest is EG-0004T-0110-EN

DESCRIPTION OF PHENOMENON

Some customers may explain about white smoke from the exhaust.

PRODUCTION CHANGE

The ECU software has been improved.

and there is a later bulletin EG-0111T-0910-EN

DESCRIPTION OF PHENOMENON

Some customers may complain that during driving intermittently white smoke is coming from the exhaust or that the MIL comes on and DTC P2237 (oxygen (A/F) sensor pumping current circuit / open) is stored in the memory of the engine ECU.

PRODUCTION CHANGE

The A/F sensor has been improved and the engine ECU software has been updated.

Thanks for posting this, can Toyota dealerships check if this is what's affecting my car? If so do you know how much this is likely to cost?

[Devon Aygo]

The first job is only a software update for which Toyota give dealers 0.6 hrs ( 36minutes ) so approx £60 depending on your dealers labour rate.

I would start with the above first as the other job involves replacing the AF sensor ( ask Partsking for a current price ) as well as updating the software, time wise Toyota give 0.6 hours