diesel rattle in D4D Prado

[intens Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close intens]

same as you wild life 1: Gold, also thought i missed out, must be a generic pic or one off a hilux or something

[Nick Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Nick]

Can people who have a recent model and done over 10000km and have NOT had this problem please comment? Is this a common "fault" or is it pretty rare. With forums like this you get the impression that most cars are doing this. My dealer (waiting for new Grande) freely acknowledged that it has been a problem for some buyers but not as yet for Grande (don't know why that would be), also said some buyers had noticed it from new, not just from 10000kms. Toyota has apparently done extensive investigations and no cause found but certain it does not do any damage to the engine.

[mav Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close mav]

Can people who have a recent model and done over 10000km and have NOT had this problem please comment? Is this a common "fault" or is it pretty rare. With forums like this you get the impression that most cars are doing this. My dealer (waiting for new Grande) freely acknowledged that it has been a problem for some buyers but not as yet for Grande (don't know why that would be), also said some buyers had noticed it from new, not just from 10000kms. Toyota has apparently done extensive investigations and no cause found but certain it does not do any damage to the engine.

Don't believe what they are telling you is my advice. If there was no problem then I would not have to have all my injectors replaced at 30,000 km. Toyota tech doing the job reckons he has done quite a few Prados. Toyota Corporate has a process in place to deal with the problem but only some dealerships have the equipment and expertise to do the job.

The tech doing my car was adamant that he did not want me driving the car any further in the state it was in as he said it would damage the engine, which is why he swapped out the worst injector with another second hand one he had taken out of a Prado the week before. His view was that the second hand injector was working better than my worst one and it would allow me to keep driving the car unitl the new injectors arrived.

[Bomber-74 Member Find all posts View Profile Close Bomber-74]

Interestingly I have just driven to QLD and back from Adelaide and the rattle has stopped. I had a significant rattle prior to leaving, refueled in Dubbo(outside temp was 1 deg) and the rattle disappeared. Third tank was from the sunshine coast and a very slight rattle was evident but only on the coldest morning. Return home and refueled in Dubbo once again and the rattle disapeared. I only bought fuel from Caltex/Woolworths.

I am about to change outlets here in Adelaide to see if there is a difference and report the rattle to the dealer at 20k service.

I have also taken to using the idle up button and letting the Prado sit for around 2-3 minutes before driving off.

I don't know if this is helping reduce the rattle but looking at the people experiencing it, I don't think it will be long before it gets worst.

[Grey Nomad Member Find all posts View Profile Close Grey Nomad]

It is interesting that the D4D “death rattle” seems to be temperature dependant.
I purchased one of the very first into Australia back in November 2006 and it has been absolutely perfect so far (38,000km). Most of those kilometers were towing a caravan around Australia and I live in Brisbane where we don’t get ridiculously cold.

I think back to 1984 when I had a brand new 60 series with the 2H 4 litre diesel engine. I was coming back from a Toyota club meeting and it was quite cold. All of a sudden the engine sounded like it had put a rod through the block – serious banging! I immediately declutched and crawled home at idle. The next morning I rang Toyota and told them to come and get it with a tow truck. They advised me that they would prefer it if I drove it down and they would cover any subsequential engine damage. Imagine my joy / shock / surprise when it started and ran perfectly! I still took it to Toyota and they could find no fault. They surmised that it was air in the line that was stopping the (mechanical) injectors from opening correctly. After a quarter of a million kilometers, the problem never re-occurred.

Food for thought. Is our problem temperature related rather than fuel related? Then again, this engine has been around in Europe for many years. Go figure. Just my 2c worth.

[Up The Creek Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Up The Creek]

Can people who have a recent model and done over 10000km and have NOT had this problem please comment? Is this a common "fault" or is it pretty rare.

26,000km and still going strong, not a hint of a problem.

One dirty batch can change all that.


Unfortunately, a small percentage of "horror stories" get blown up to be an everyday occurence and the 100's of positive aspects of the car aren't "newsworthy". Its human nature.

[mardo Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close mardo]

Mines done ~10,700km. The problem started around 7,000km when Melbourne's winter months started. I treat the problem by adding a cetane booster which I've spoken about in the forum before and the problem goes away.

Because of my experience with the additive treatment being successful, I always thought it was just our crap diesel we have in Australia (I use Shell exclusively).

What I'm reading though, it may extend to inherent design fault of injectors and/or ECU software as well!

Mardo

[mjforder Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mjforder]

i heard that a "mothball" is made of Naptha - and can dissolve 100% in petrol or diesel. Interesting enough - 9 of them is enough to treat 90L and increases the cetane rating. SOme that have used them also claim a reduction in fuel usage.

Now im not suggesting buying bulk moth balls....

[Chippy Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Chippy]

SOme that have used them also claim a reduction in fuel usage.

.... and they no longer have moths in their exhaust pipe :lol: :lol: :lol:

Cheers
Chippy

[bilobill Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bilobill]

Hi Nick
Our Prado has 41000k on the clock. We had a rattle for one week on "summer" grade fuel early this winter, then filled up in Tamworth on 'Winter" grade diesel and the rattle dissapeared and has not been back since.

At the 40000k service we mentioned the injector problem and our service manager suggested that there is a theory that at constant high speed, the fuel is pumped through the system so fast that the float in the pump, is held down by the volume of diesel. This float should raise and set off the warning light when water is present.

Six months ago we added an additional fuel filter and glass bowl, with a warning beep if water becomes present, just for our peace of mind.

We are very happy with the performance of the pardo. around the 9k to the litre. Very quite, and comfortable and great pick up when needed.

[Roblin31 Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Roblin31]

D4D issues

Gees guys, I WAS looking at replacing my 2004 1KZTE with a new D4D Prado but not now. A friend of the family bought one of the first D4Ds and had problems like you are all describing. Toyota actually replaced his engine TWICE because of the issue and, from last accounts, then replaced the vehicle. It sounds like that Toyota dealer had no idea at the time what the issue was except for the loud knocking.

Regarding the noise cutting in at about 10 000kms, could it be a computer change in injection timing beyond a preset engine run-in period? Maybe the injection process is intentionally different during the first 10000 kms.

Anyway, I think I will continue to suffer with the lower powered 1KZTE knowing that, at least, my injection system appears to be robust.

I do, however, hope the issue is sorted by Toyota as the Prados are such a great vehicle.

Cheers
Rob

[IRON-PAWW Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close IRON-PAWW]

Well, another concerned D4D owner here. October 2007 Build. Gold coloured fuel filter housing. 8,000 k's. No evidence of the rattle yet thank god. Mornings in Perth have been unusually cold this year hovering around the 6 - 8 degrees mark quite often. Always take it very easy until the engine temp is up around the usual operating mark. 2 -3 minute warmup using the idle-up button. Only used BP Ultimate from the same station since new. Very busy station. I go there before bed at night at say 11:00pm so I don't need to muck around with lining up. Hopefully the throughput means no Diesel should go bad in their tanks. Thanks to the 180L tank setup I've gotten away with the one station thing so far but I don't want to be stuck around one station until the problem is solved.

My thoughts are that this should be a recall issue. This has nothing to do with user abuse. None of us are doing one thing wrong by filling up at major fuel suppliers. We are using fuels that Toyota themselves say is the correct fuel to use. The fact is that Toyota's system is failing under fair and reasonable use. Product recall situation if ever I've seen one.

[Nick Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Nick]

I think there would only be a recall if Toyota a) thought there was a fault and b)knew how to fix it. From what I have seen here, neither applies at this stage. Until Toyota acknowledges a fault and then finds a cure, my guess is owners will have to put up with it. At this stage, the "fault" seems to be annoying rather than dangerous etc. We are expecting our D4D in October and all we can do is wait and see. I'm sure it will be sorted out in the end.

[babs Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close babs]

D4D Death rattle

Hi everyone,

I have a 2006 GXL Prado D4D auto with the same early morning death rattle. It started a few weeks after the 10,000km service and was very severe. Once the engine was up to running temp ( 10 mins idle time ) or approx 5km driving at 20km around the block the engine went back to its normal quite self.

I have taken it back to toyota and been told that I must be running on BIO diesel and to try a different fuel. I argued this and the service manager took a fuel sample for testing and kept the truck overnight for a cold start test. They forgot to do the cold start test in the morning and when I asked about the fuel sample I was told the Diesel specialist had dropped a match in it to see if it contained BIO diesel. It is good to see that Toyota use a very technical approach to my $60,000 problem.

After a few more arguements thy decided to look at the Prado and strip the engine down. There was no visible damage and everything was re measured and reassembled. This took almost 9 weeks as parts were not available ( too many D4D's with the same problem ). The truck was delivered to my wife and suprise surprise, the death rattle was still there.

That was in Aug 2007, and it is now July 2008 and still I am waiting for the "FIX" that toyota has promised was coming at Chritsmas. Dont get me wrong, I love my truck and want to keep it until it dies ( this might happen sooner than expected ), but how can you be expected to trust a vehicle that obviously has a problem. If there was no problem Toyota wouldnt be spending their money pulling my truck apart.

[bernie Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bernie]

Clifton,

thanks heaps for the clues on sample containers. Your advice is much appreciated.

I for one am scared Sh**tLe$$ about the D4D and Diesel issue.

I picked up my Prado this week and it has a goldish coloured metal cased fuel filter. The fuel filter in the brochure that was posted yesterday on this site looks like it's black plastic?? I'm wondering if the black canister one is an updated filter and my car has not been fitted with this update???

Did the other Pradopointers that took delivery over the past few weeks get a black filter or a goldish metal one??



Wild.

Having done 20,000km, I've yet to experience the "rattle". Having owned a desiel 90 series , I find the D4D a relatively quiet motor.
My fuel filter was replaced in May 2008, it's a gold coloured one. I can't remember what color the original was.

My thoughts on this problem is that it can't be a fuel problem.
If it is a question of diesel quality i.e cetane rating and/or sulphur levels, then you would see most if not all late model diesels not just toyotas affected. You would see many irate and vocal BMW, Merc Audi etc owners, complaining. Remembering these european diesels are far more high tech and fuel intolerant , than our humble Toyotas.
On the theory of diesel contamination, this would be obvious to an experienced mechanic or as they liked to be referred to as, Toyota Technicians. ie blocked fuel filter and/or injectors.
so in the absence of an obvious case of fuel contamination, it must be an inherent D4D problem.

given the same 3.0lt D4D engine is in other Toyotas, not just Prados, Does any know if this same problem is occurring in Hiluxes, Hiaces etc?
If the answer is no then you could conclude that the problem must be the tuning of the Prado D4D, as Prado D4D is "tuned" differently to the same engine in Hiluxes etc.


Bernie