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Crispin

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Thought I would post this in case someone else is having the same issue.

I've not been totally happy with the 150 since I bought it in November with 11 miles on the clock. I was told to give it a bit while it runs-in. Not totally convinced, I let it "run-in". 5000 miles later I was still not convinced. It seemed "heavy" and lazy. The whole time I was driving it nicely, no full throttle, no hammering the engine etc. I called and had a complain again and they said they would have a look at it. Nothing logged on the computer so "let's leave it till 10k service. We've seen them come to life after that.

Roll on another 2000 miles, terrible fuel consumption (average 23mpg town driving) and things get worse. It felt very flat, auto 'box became more undecided and lazy; not hunting but just not making the right decisions when it should have.
Finally
it went really bad. Doing about 60mph on the level A1 (cruise control taking care of things) and the gearbox decides it needs to be in 3rd and the engine decides it's had enough of this fast-driving lark. No warning lights, not EML. Anything below 40-50 is ok, albeit the usual sluggishness but above 50 and the gearbox gets its knickers in a knot and the engine dies.

Off to Mr-T I go. They plug it in, 10 fault codes logged, all to do with fuel low pressure and driving conditions. They have a bit of a dig and it turns out there is a bulletin on the 150s in the UK for, would you know, fueling issues.
The new D-4D engines (across the Toyota range) have a new type of fuel filter which gets clogged by the additives in the UK winter fuel. The solution to replace the filter housing with a heated housing to heat the fuel. There is also a heat exchanger being installed at the tank which heats the out-coming fuel with hot return fuel from the engine.

As a short term fix they gave me a new filter which comes pre-unblocked. The truck is a totally different vehicle to drive. Everything about it was better; acceleration, pootling and top end - pulled to 105 (indicated) and was still pulling strong before other cars on my private road caused me to slow down.

Too soon to tell but on the last tank I got 470 miles - normally struggle to get 410/420 so it might be better. It has also only ever drunk Shell or BP (not the premium stuff)

Should have the new pipework installed in the next couple of weeks.
 
I have a friend who bought a Skoda Yeti recently, similar issues and at first was told it was driver error, then to run it at about 2500 revs for "a while" as the filter will self clean. It turns out that there is yet another EU directive for all manufacturers to fit this additional filter for some emissions related reason. In his case his car drops into limp mode without any warning as a result.

Sounds like the technology has had to be rushed into production and its not quite right yet.
 
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I think their initial lackluster response to tnis problem even though there is a bulletin out obout this is quite
 
I think there is a cost issue to it all - they probably would have seen the bulletin at the service and done the work then. Issuing a full recall for something must be a nightmare and costly. Guess it is balancing customer grumpiness against cost.
My issue with it all is the "discounting the customer" attitude. I am sure there are a lot of people who moan about stuff when there is nothing but when someone says "it just does not feel right" then maybe a different attitude is needed.

I guess so long as it is put right and there is no harm (other than my stupid fuel consumption!) then all is well?
 
A friend of mine has had the same fuel filter problem with his "11" plate 150 series, lack of power instantly fixed with a fuel filter! He is selling it ( on offer at £23k) to go back to a Discovery would you believe!! However apart from the fuel filter problem it has been totally reliable. I drove it the other day and thought it was ok, if anything the auto box didn't seem to know which gear it wanted to be in at steady speeds and it was a bit wallowey and soft.

Andy
 
At steady speed I have no complaints about the auto 'box. At town driving it seems to work with custard and rubber bands.
Which LC did he have? When you say "wallowey" do you mean the gearbox of suspension? I think the suspension on the 150 is brilliant. Mine is LC without air-shocks but with the weird KDSS stuff which has virtually no roll. I chuck it around corners which made the 120 feel like it was about to cock a leg and this one just just sits pretty level.

Interesting about the power on the 11 plate - obviously a big issue with them :(
 
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CP - was this for all d-4D engines or only after a certain engine number? Be interested to see if the 120s are affected.

Glad it seems better though :)
 
CP - was this for all d-4D engines or only after a certain engine number? Be interested to see if the 120s are affected.

Glad it seems better though :)

It is on "all the new ones" which are in the 150, Avenis et al. Don't think it (this particular issue) goes back to the 120.
Having said that, remember my constant issues with loss of power, same thing me thinks. The power loss started again just before I sold it (one or two hickups) and now that I think back, that filter had about 9000 miles worth of diesel through it. Can't help but wonder....

Apparently the heated fuel causes the additives to pass through the filter instead of blocking it up.
 
My old 4runner had a heated fuel filter housing. There is a vacuum switch that is used to activate it. So when it starts getting blocked due to waxing or thickening fuel the resultant vacuum triggers sensor and the heater which is like a glow plug makes the fuel flow again.
 
interesting theory, my 120 'feels' slightly down on power now and again.
It's got a lindop box fitted, and i thought it might be an intermittent fault with the box/ bad connection, nothing serious though, just maybe 5/10% less power, but it could be my imagination.

I might start changing the fuel filter annually.
 
yup. Mr-T put new fuel pipes in, a fuel heat-exchanger next to the tank and a special fuel filter setup and it is all fine. It only happens when very cold so don't really know.
Ask your dealer if it has been done and if other bulletins have been sorted out.
 
Yup, the problem has not returned since but it's not been really cold since. It was apparently additives the add to the winter diesel which don't like being cold :)think:) and block the filter. As soon as you heat the diesel then the additives are ok.

Makes you wonder though, if the filter is that fine then how would it handle crap diesel? Wonder if the "UN version" get a larger pre-filter?
 
Its a big bug bear of mine is that new techs in dealerships cant fix a car unless a computer tells them whats wrong, there diagnosing skills are just throw parts at the car :( :( I helped a mate of mine in my spare time when he opened his own garage up, he was a BMW mechanic...and a good one too. He struggled when he had electrical faults or something that was not showing up on the diagnostic machine :( I have a burning desire to open my own shop up the only thing that stops me is my current job is great hours with plenty of time off and is well paid.....but its always looming over my head.
 
Yup, the idea of fixing cars is fading; simply replace what computers tells me to replace.

To a certain extent though, the mechanics at main dealers are tied as well. They have to go by the book on warranty stuff and do what the computer tells them or they don't get paid.

It's the inevitable march for cost savings and efficiency
 
As I see it, the problem is the removal of a common sense approach to a failure. If you start with a plug and play approach, it can often take you off down a wrong diagnosis, when the problem may be quite simple.
 
Hi, Just read the comments being made on power loss. For some reason my 2010 LC4 starting losing power in the colder mornings this week. It's not that it is freezing weather just a bit cooler than the previous few weeks.
Yes to me it felt like fuel starvation and if I had a car with a carb I'd be looking at fuel flow etc.. But with the diesel it felt very strange like it was holding back and just not wanting to pick up above 50mph.
ive had the j150 for 10 months and only has 26k on the clock but six months it's been parked up following an accident I had, so it was run well last summer.
I will try a new fuel filter and hopefully this will clear the problem.

has anyone thought about or tried to chip the fuel system to get mor power? I do find it very much under powered compared to the J120 I had for 10 years before going for a newer model.
 
Cojic - it's a recall item. Give Toyota a call, tell them it's happening and to check for the fuel filter heater issue. They should have done it as part of a service IIRC.
 
I have had just the same problem with a blocked filter. The dealer I bought the car from is Vantage Toyota, Tamworth but I had the repair done with a Toyota dealer local to me in Swansea but had to pay, now Vantage are trying to say that it is a dirty fuel problem and not a warranty issue. I'll be on the phone to Toyota tomorrow and will let you know how it pans out. Thanks for the info.
 
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