diesel rattle in D4D Prado

[peterh Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close peterh]

Re: diesel rattle in D4D Prado

Have had a problem with my 07 D4D with the injector rattle as well as increased fuel consumption (approx 15% higher than when new) and has now cut out 4 times since new, first time when near new (now done 78,000kms).
After numerous attempts by local dealer to find problem (they did ecu update which quietened engine for a short period but has cut out again since & rattles badly again) finally decided to take to another dealer today and found problem with injectors, Toyota have authorised fitment of 4 new injectors which will hopefully fix the problem & restore my faith in the Toyota product, will update post when verdict is known.

4 new (exchange) injectors fitted by Toyota & is running quiet again (my teenage daughter commented on how much quieter the engine now is) & fuel economy appears to be much improved also, many thanks to Motorama Browns Plains (Qld) & Toyota Australia.

[gxl_d4d Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close gxl_d4d]

Re: diesel rattle in D4D Prado

Peterh,

What fuel economey where you getting with the suspect injectors?

What are you getting now?

My injectors have become noisy over time but the economey is still 11.2L/100 around town and 9.5 to 10L/100 on the highway.

[Bushbasher Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Bushbasher]

Re: diesel rattle in D4D Prado

A young lady at work has a late 2007 D4D Hilux with 80,000km on the clock. She reckons it's been noisy for ages.

She put it in to the dealer today for a service and I told her to mention the injector problem. Dealer is going to do a "injector flush."

Will advise what the outcome is.

[Big Fella Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Big Fella]

Re: diesel rattle in D4D Prado

Well..........

Had the old girl serviced yesterday 60,000km ($474) at our dealer and asked about the engine noise. Last time they had it overnight and managed to get some data off to Toyota for their assessment. Mentioned the noise and data when dropped off, but when I picked it up they forgot to mention the results to me! Asked the kid behind the counter about it again and he went to see his "boss". He said and I quote "We have had a meeting about this with Toyota and they have said they are no longer investigating this issue as there is no damage being done to the motor by this. As there is no damage occuring, there is no issue." :evil: :evil: I asked about what would happen in another 60k and reared it's ugly head big time. You know out of warranty and all? Was told that it's on record so all's good!!!! Really..........

On a side note they did mention that have finally found that BOTH my engine mounts need replacing "as this will fix the issue of the vibration in the motor when stoppped at traffic light first thing in the mornings"

[MDS69 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close MDS69]

Re: diesel rattle in D4D Prado

Well..........

He said and I quote "We have had a meeting about this with Toyota and they have said they are no longer investigating this issue as there is no damage being done to the motor by this. As there is no damage occuring, there is no issue." :evil: :evil: I asked about what would happen in another 60k and reared it's ugly head big time. You know out of warranty and all? Was told that it's on record so all's good!!!! Really..........

What Toyota seem to fail to realise is that it is not just a noise and possible engine detonation issue but also fuel economy is seriously affected by the looks of some of the posts in this thread to the tune of approx 2-3 litres per hundred which is approx 400km less traveled per tank. I wouldn't be happy with that.

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

Re: diesel rattle in D4D Prado

Injectors replaced! Noise gone! Have to say I was glad I went to this dealer...who seemed to have an understanding of the issue.... clearly put in a request to Toyota that they listened to... and job done..
Presuming problem stays fixed I would say future Toyota purchases would be certainly run by these guys as service experience was good as well. I guess as the expected service standard from dealers is generally crap... when you receive the right advice and support in your claim for warranty ...it sticks out like the proverbials!

[TDD02 Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close TDD02]

Re: diesel rattle in D4D Prado

Can anybody point me to a Toyota dealer in the south east suberbs that will replace the injectors in my 07 Prado, I have been through all the usual hoops, reflashes and drive it another 1000ks but no change. Still a bucket of bolts on cold starts. The noise started right on 40000kls and is even as the weather has warmed up very noisy on startup.
I purchased the vehicle new from a country dealer and it has been serviced there but I now live in the Melbourne Southern suberbs.
Any direction would be appreciated as this is my first Toyota experience after the Patrol 3lt fiasco.

Thanks

TDD02

[TDD02 Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close TDD02]

Re: diesel rattle in D4D Prado

TDD02
Perhaps I am in the right place this time Mickl
Can anybody point me to a Toyota Dealer in the S/E surberbs of Melbourne that is up to speed on the cold start noise with my 07 Prado.

Thanks
TDD02

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

The D4D Death Shudder

I have delayed posting this to Pradopoint until all issues have been successfully resolved and outcomes proven.

On Saturday 26th September, I was towing my caravan and, just past Liverpool in Sydney, the car shuddered. I very quickly realised that there was something amiss with the D4D Prado which was emitting clouds of greyish smoke out of the exhaust. Not what I expected at just 68,761km! Especially as I hadn’t experienced the “Death Rattle” to any real extent.

I immediately rang Toyota’s Customer Service who were useless as they only operate Monday to Friday and during business hours at that. I left an emergency message that, eight weeks later has never been responded to.

The list of Toyota dealers showed that Peter Warren Toyota at Liverpool was the closest. Their Service Manager (Graham) was due to close the premises shortly but, very fortunately for me, he agreed to organise a towing vehicle and remain behind until we arrived with the Prado on a flat bed and the caravan in tow.

So here was my wife and I in a strange city with nowhere to go and no way of getting about. At least the dead Prado and our caravan were safe in a locked compound and not sitting beside the road!

Monday morning arrived and the news was not good. The turbo, intercooler and the rest of the induction system was coated in oil. The initial diagnosis was that the turbo oil seal may have failed. However, when the glow plugs were removed, No. 3 cylinder had no compression! There was a hole in the piston! A quick check of Pradopoint showed three photographs of a similar failure in Germany and mention of two in Grafton (NSW). One of the mechanics nonchalantly stated that a dripping injector had caused the fault.

My vehicle is one of the first D4D Prados in Australia. I purchased it in November 2006 and, thankfully, it was still covered by warranty – JUST! In a few weeks time, I may have had to cover the cost of repairs myself. With the cost of just 4 injectors and their connecting pipes at a quoted retail price of $9,000 (yes, NINE thousand!), the total repair bill eventually exceeded $20,000!

Toyota, to their credit, immediately agreed to replace the whole motor (short motor) as soon as they had compression tested the engine. They also agreed to replace all 4 injectors with the new type and perform an ECU reflash to complement the new injectors.

On Tuesday 13th October, after being marooned for 17 days, we finally picked up our repaired Prado. I paid $80.00 for a brand new timing belt just in case I felt confident enough to keep the vehicle for another 150,000km. Toyota paid the remainder of the bill under warranty. Interestingly, Toyota declined to make any notation in my service logbook of the work carried out. I was also advised that I would receive just 6 weeks warranty on parts and labour as that was when the original warranty would have expired.

Once all was well, I contacted Toyota with the following questions and received the following answers by email:

Q. What was the mechanism of the injector failure in the first place?
A. This type of failure is directly related to injector contamination which is a result of poor fuel quality.
Q. I believe that the replacement injectors have a different part number to the originals. In what way do they differ?
A. The injectors that have been installed now include an internal coating which helps to reduce contamination from Australia’s poor fuel quality.
Q. What has the ECU reflash done to ensure that this problem cannot re-occur?
A. The change in logic is related to altering the Pilot injection phase of the engine injector initial start process.
Q. Has the ECU reflash altered my horsepower or torque in any way?
A. The new logic will not alter horsepower or torque.

I have always primarily used Woolworths (Caltex) or Coles (Shell) diesel fuel to ensure clean fuel from a high turnover source.

I shudder to think what would have happened if the engine had catastrophically failed whilst I was recently in the middle of the Simpson Desert!

I know that some people on this forum have already made the comment that Toyota should not sell a vehicle that is not suitable for Australian conditions and that has to include our fuel.

So all those with late model D4D’s fitted with the internally coated injectors should have no concerns. Likewise those with the older 1KZ diesel or petrol engines should also be content.

When this disaster first happened, I was almost of the opinion that I should get rid of the car once it was repaired. I considered trading it on a new petrol Prado or a late model 100 Series diesel. I was considering anything to get away from an expensive time bomb.

From my point of view, my Prado is now running beautifully and has easily towed my caravan to Tasmania. I have travelled over 4,000km on the new motor and the car is running well with good fuel economy. The only noticeable difference is that the engine now sounds significantly more “rattly”, particularly when cold or just idling along at low revs. With a warm engine cruising at over 2,000 rpm, the engine is as quiet as it always was.

I have reconsidered getting rid of the car as every current diesel is a direct injection to meet Euro 4 standards and, in my opinion, every one is a potential time bomb, hopefully with long fuses.

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

Re: The D4D Death Shudder

Grey Nomad,
Great to hear you have had a successful outcome and that the 17 days 'marooned' in Liverpool were worth it. Good to hear that the dealership was so cooperative and rescued from the road.
I could not help but have a little giggle at the coincidental advertisement on your post was for a deisel motor reconditioner who guarantees his work. Pity Toyota would not guarantee their replacement work.
Have a ball in Tasmania.
Callo
PS I have answered your PM

[sacred cow Member Find all posts View Profile Close sacred cow]

Re: The D4D Death Shudder

Grey Nomad,

Thanks for sharing your terrible tale! Did you get any warning such as particularly noisy injectors prior to the melt down? I wonder if all of our older D4Ds are going to eventually fail. Your story doesn't give much hope as one has no control over the quality of the fuel sold.

regards
Glenn

[D4D Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close D4D]

Re: The D4D Death Shudder

Bugger, let's hope this isn't the start of a problem similar to the Patrol 3L kaboom

[joey Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close joey]

Re: The D4D Death Shudder

wow mate that was a serious bugger up...

glad you got it sorted and was under warranty.....

9000g for a repair bill is nasty....i guess if that happened to mine i would drop a V8 in ...would be cheaper i think.

joey

[MDS69 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close MDS69]

Re: The D4D Death Shudder

I was also advised that I would receive just 6 weeks warranty on parts and labour as that was when the original warranty would have expired.

Grey Nomad,
Sorry to hear about your experience but glad you got probably the best outcome and are mobile again.. The quote I have from your first post concernes me. Say if your car was out of warranty and Toyota were to replace a part for eg a radiator, wouldn't that be covered by 12 months parts and labor warranty. Why is the repairs you had done be any different.

Again glad to see you back on the road.

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

Re: The D4D Death Shudder

Interestingly, Toyota declined to make any notation in my service logbook of the work carried out. I was also advised that I would receive just 6 weeks warranty on parts and labour as that was when the original warranty would have expired.

Yeah - not too sure about the legality of this advice. I can understand the original vehicle warranty expiring, however, all replaced parts should have at least 12 months.