Just bought having issues

[allen173]

I have just bought my self a 2.0 vvti petrol rav4 with a few issues the major one is that when the engine gets up to temp the oil light flickers for a few seconds then stay on solidly, then the engine starts to tick periodicly and finaly when you get to an idle the engine cuts out any ideas what this could be?

[GBgraham]

Probably a one word answer

[flash22]

incorrect oil or a bad pressure release, is that a gen2 or 3 rav4

[allen173]

1 minute ago, flash22 said:

incorrect oil or a bad pressure release, is that a gen2 or 3 rav4

It's a gen 2, taking it to a friend's garage tonight and scanning it see if that sheds any light

[Grumpy stumpy]

Petrol Rav’s of that age are bullet proof , I had one for several years with only one o2 sensor to replace , don’t think it will be a major issue .

[allen173]

UPDATE: oil change has fixed it probably old or wrong oil, on the ocb reader said variable valve control as the error code cleared code and its worked for now

[Grumpy stumpy]

Good job 👍 bullet proof !

[flash22]

thin oil will drain down quickly, especially with an older engine the tolerances are a bit slack so require a thicker oil to take it up

 

[allen173]

UPDATE 2: no longer fixed.......gonna try and check the oil control valve as that Matches the issues I'm having the best the other options are:

• Incorrect valve timing
• Faulty variable valve timing controlled assembly
• Faulty engine control module (ECM)

Any other cheaper options to try are always welcome these are all the possibilities of the error code that popped up. The exact error code is "p1349 variable valve control"

[allen173]

All problems in detail:

The car runs smooth until it comes up to temp and after a minute or two the oil light starts to flash for 30 seconds then stays solid 

Once the oil light turns on the engine starts to tick at uneven intervals for random but frequent bursts 

As I have never drove an engine of this size I can't say how fast it should be but it feels rather slow for the engine

Rough idle when the oil light comes on solidly, will fluctuate between 1000rpm and 400rpm

Some times when idling from moving like at a red light the revs drop so low it car will cut out completely 

Bank 1 and bank 2 lambda sensor need replacing 

Fix attempt 1:

Oil change fixed it for about 2 hours then back to the same how ever it takes a considerable amount of time for the oil light to come on and improved the feel, noise and performance of the engine massively 

[Grumpy stumpy]

Lamba sensor was the only thing I had to do to mine in several years , around £80 for genuine denso one . Rough idling was the issue with engine management light on .

[TonyHSD]

Oil warning light comes only in two posible scenarios 

1. Low oil level or no oil 

2. Low oil pressure 

If the car has stored a code related to the vvti system control it might be from faulty vvti solenoid or vvti gear but because you have oil low pressure this is likely to be the culprit. A good knowledgeable mechanic needs to check thoroughly and starts from there. Best not to replace any part unless 100% sure it is faulty. 
Good luck