Corolla Verso T180 Hg Experience And Dpf Advice

[toffeemen1]

Firstly I apologise If I'm on the wrong forum category, wasn't sure if I fall in to Corolla or MPV! I've owned a Corolla Verso T180 (2006) for just under a year now and thought I'd share my experience with you and at the same time get some advice. My cars heating packed up back in July last year and as it was the summer didn't worry about it too much until I read on line to check my coolant levels, you most likely know whats coming, yes it was empty and an investigation down the line it was confirmed the head gasket had gone. Unlike alot of others, my cr performed the same, no real loss in MPG or over heating. Mr T repaired with a re-con engine free of charge which was nice, however they did remind me on numerous occasion that this is a FAVOUR!! They anoyed me to say the least.

My latest concern is, I read plenty on DPF's and issues the 2.2 engine has with them, my car does a lot of town driving and short journeys,

Will short journeys eventually ruin the engine?

What is the best way to keep potential damage to the DPF at bay?

I've read the 5 injector is supposed to keep this issue from happening but there is a lot of horror stories of DPF failure and pricey figure to resolve this issue.

All in all I believe the Corolla Verso T180 is a great car, versatile and quick as hell.

[cabcurtains]

Welcome along, you've missed the mark totally, there is actually a Verso forum :D ;)

Have a read of this http://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=132277

In a nutshell you need to drive it up and down a Motorway/Dual Carriageway at a constant speed to give the D-Cat a good chance to kick off a Re-Gen cycle.

Verso forum is really quiet, Avensis/Auris have a few more 180 driving regulars as do the RAV4's but they can be a bit clicky :meet: sometimes

[Mistermena]

Welcome to TOC mate...

These cars need to have a good "Italian" tune up from time to time! In other words, when the engine is at running temp give it a good long blast up the motorway! this helps to blow out the crap in the system and keep the car running well! using Shell V-Power will help as its a GTL (Gas to liquid) fuel rather than a normal dino one with lots more cleaning additives in it.

Some forum members are using 2 stroke engine oil in the fuel (Take a search for it) and others use BG244 to help clean the EGR valve and DPF...

[Uncle Buck]

Good advice there, just a pity neither of my nearest Shell garages stock Diesel V-power as there isn't enough demand for it ! :(

[toffeemen1]

Does it have to be Shell V power or can it be another branded expensive diesel? I always thought the dear stuff was just a rip off but after readig these forums it appears people swear by it! Also because of the amount of short journeys my wife does for the school runs how often are we talking for a blast up the motorway, once a week? month?

[Mistermena]

BP do a similar "Super fuel" to V-Power! is there one round by you? I'd say once a week to give it a blast! But this doesn't always mean a Motorway drive! just keep in the low gears and let the engine rev's go high! around the 3000-4000rpm (Max) and that will do a good job! or drive up some nice hills...

[toffeemen1]

Thanks for the advice guys, Mistermena since your a T180 driver is there any other tips or adice you can offer in keeping a healthy engine, also any problems you've come accross that I should keep my eye out for. Do you keep a standard air filter as I read on a forum that a performance filter such as K&N will help the engine breath more, what your opinion?

[Mistermena]

Thanks for the advice guys, Mistermena since your a T180 driver is there any other tips or adice you can offer in keeping a healthy engine, also any problems you've come accross that I should keep my eye out for. Do you keep a standard air filter as I read on a forum that a performance filter such as K&N will help the engine breath more, what your opinion?

I use Mobil 1 ESP (5w-30 C2 spec) in the engine and change the oil between 6-8k with genuine Toyota filters. The fuel filter gets changed every 20k again with a genuine (Denso) Toyota. I run a K&N air on all my cars and have done for years without any problems with the MAF. K&N alow the engine to breath better so giving improved mpg and they last upto 1 million miles when cleaned and oiled every 10k.

Gearbox oil has to be a straight 75w grade for these triple synco boxes or you'll get problems (When cold) getting into 1st gear as well as a crunch into 2nd, so with a lot of reserch I found a box oil that is perfect for the application called Silkolene (Fuch's) PRO SRG 75w ester racing oil! really has done a great job. That oil will be changed every 50-60k and an easy job. Best place I've found to get the oil is from Opie Oils.

I run a TUNIT box on my car and this has given me an extra 12mpg @70mph (6th gear) on the Motorway! and around the 3-4mpg extra round the houses! Using BG244 in the fuel really does work in my experiance (Not for some others I might add) so that goes in every 10-15k to help clean/maintain the fuel/EGR system. The EGR is cleaned every 10k! I have a spare (Plus pipe) that is already cleaned and ready to pop back on so less down time for the car. The dirty one is then cleaned ready to go back on the next time around.

I buy my filters for a song off eBay. They are all genuine Toyota (Denso) and brand new in the box. The fuel filter cost over £40 from Mr T! I bought mine for £0.99 plus £2.99 delivery. The ESP oil is expensive from places like Halfords, so again I buy 10ltr from Matt Lewis motor sports for £62 delivered off eBay.

I hope this helps

Taff

[toffeemen1]

Lots of great info thereand thats interesting that i havd trouble with 1st gear when the cars cold so maybe i need to change my oil as you recommended. Out of interest why do you use a tunit box? Does it add performance aswell as mpg? What make did you go for and where did you get it. I would quiet like a bit more power but from what ive read the ecu is unhackable! Shame!

[Mistermena]

Lots of great info thereand thats interesting that i havd trouble with 1st gear when the cars cold so maybe i need to change my oil as you recommended. Out of interest why do you use a tunit box? Does it add performance aswell as mpg? What make did you go for and where did you get it. I would quiet like a bit more power but from what ive read the ecu is unhackable! Shame!

I always change all the fluids/filters when I buy a car! cambelt (And water pump) as well if they have one, but the 2.2 AD engine has timing chains so no worries there! but there can be problems with the chains if the engine oil isn't replaced as this lubs them. I had a chain go on my Audi A6 3.2 4x4 and the the cost of that new engine was £12,772!.

The name of the tuning box is "TUNIT" and the reason why I went for this box over all the others were the reviews that I'd read in motoring mags. This box give me more mpg and alot more grunt! I'm not that bothered about more power really as 177bhp is very good! especially for an oil burner. My car is kicking out something like 200bhp on factory setting 6 (Of 9 settings) but these boxes are very expensive at £485 a go! So I bought mine (Off Ebay) for £150 with 2 years warranty remaining of the 3 thats in place. Dan at Tunit is a great guy and very helpful.

You are correct that the Denso ECU can NOT be cracked atm due to the heavy encription! so thats why we have to use a piggy-back box to control the fuel via the rail. I've never changed the Tunit box setting as this gives me what I want in my car! More mpg and the extra torque is just a bonus to me...

[toffeemen1]

The tunit box sounds great and what im looking for, i dont want to pay nearer £500 however so il be scouting eBay and online for bargains, do you know of any other well respected tuning companies? Im not willing to take any cheap risk though due to having a recon engine fitted recently! In your experience can these boxes do any damage?

[toffeemen1]

The tunit box sounds great and what im looking for, i dont want to pay nearer £500 however so il be scouting eBay and online for bargains, do you know of any other well respected tuning companies? Im not willing to take any cheap risk though due to having a recon engine fitted recently! In your experience can these boxes do any damage?

[Mistermena]

There is a forum member "Kingo" that sells a similar box on here through there Toyota dealership. I'm not sure what price they are tbh! its worth giving him a PM and see what he can do for you. Another member "CharlieFarlie" had one on his RAV and I think is selling his (Unless already sold) but I'm not sure if it will fit your car. I would have thought it would as his RAV is a T-180.

The cheap boxes that you can find on some auction sites are just a load of resistors that fool the ECU into thinking that the engine is cold and thus forces more fuel into the engine!... Not something I'd like to have on my car as it will do nothing but damage to the car.

I've never had a problem with both my tuning boxes!... No "Limp mode" or damage!...

[Fred Wightman]

Great advice here, can I use this gearbox oil in my 2008 Auris D4D 2.0 SR??