Anyone cancelling their ordered D4D Prado?

[AlanH Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close AlanH]

D4D or not yet?

I'm still sitting on the fence about this problem in the D4D as I'm looking and like Prados but don't want to buy if there's a long term prob. as with the 3.0 Nissans.
Seems I'll have to stick with the Defender for a while yet and really the only reason I'm considering the change is I just fancy something different! Maybe with a bit more power for towing the camper.
The cook says stay with what we have as it's reliable but that's no help when I'm in the mood for a change.
Hope there's some good news on this soon so I can go and harrass a few salesman more than I am at the moment...... and strangley enough none of them have ever heard of this "rattle".
Make of that what you will but it's probably just salesman being a bit disingenuous.
Help.
AlanH.

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

I'm with AlanH at the moment, i.e. wait.

I'm in no rush to buy a product that is not proven. Money isn't all that easy to earn and even though I can buy a brand spanking new Prado D4D right now, I don't need to. That money can be used elsewhere.

The Prado D4D is supposed to have been "proven" since it was released in other markets much earlier than in Australia, but looks like it still has problems. I do not consider having to replace injectors to be a "minor" problem.

Lawrance

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

You could always go PETROL power!!!!!!!!!

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

Hi Hutch,

I've ruled out the V6 because the diesel offers one thing that the petrol motor doesn't, and that is summed up in one word - "range".

Sure the petrol has 180 litre tank as well but that same amount of fuel will mean that the diesel will get through the Simpson desert (and other outback places) without carrying bulky jerry cans.

Plus I feel that Australia is experiencing what Europe has gone through for decades, i.e. the price of petrol will keep escalating to the point where diesel vehicles are the norm.

In France, even years ago, little hatch backs the size of Barinas are very commonly powered by turbo diesel motors.

Petrol vehicles are a rarity.

I believe Australia will become like this too. So the future is firmly diesel. I'm gobsmacked that Holden and Ford are still producing dinosaurs like a big cube V8 for their performance sedans. How quickly these will become yester year vehicles.



Lawrance

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

I have never claimed there is not a problem but everything needs to be kept in perspective.

Unfortunately, I think there is a terrible amount of anecdotal evidence being presented on many of these forums by people with very little mechanical knowledge. I AM NOT SAYING THERE AREN'T PEOPLE WITHOUT PROBLEMS, but I would go as far to say many could not tell you how the injector system actually worked or normal engine noise. I have found the easiest way to catch them out is they become over aggressive when you question them about specifics and just claim it is broken. So far Mav is the only one to proved his problem on this forum which to the best of my knowledge toyota has since fixed after some hastle.

The greatest problem with the internet is the proliferation of small problems as huge potential issues.

After saying that, you must take my opinion with the same level of optimism and no I will not reveal who I gain my information other than it comes directly from a person that deals with large fleet purchasers.

"There is a problem with some D4D engines but this remains around the 5% mark which we still consider to be higher than normal". From my count I know of 2 vehicles out of 57 that have the problem, no where near a claim of 50% I have read online.

This warranty issues is far below many of the other competitors recalls or ongoing issues. As for the Nissans, check the service and spare parts costs. From memory the initial purchase price between a cruiser and patrol is recovered in the first year.

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

Hi Spurio,
Well stated, you have hit the nail on the head.

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

You are spot on here Spurio,
Since Mav's car got fixed, there is far less interest on the subject of the D4D rattle (the last post was on Sunday). Any car may have some problems. Just read posts on Kluger, Rav 4 especially a V6 model, LC 200 series (oil consumption), x-trails (engine mounts, blown head gaskets), etc. Even our very own Prado Pointers (120 series petrol) complain about a thing or two... :lol:
So what? Life is too short to worry about stuffed injectors or dirty fuel. Don't you all think that all the affected 3l TD Nissan owners took it lightly? Even if the injectors on my Prado are stuffed 3 years down the track, it's not the end of it (get them fixed then). I still be enjoying this car as much as I do now.
Cheers to all,

[AlanH Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close AlanH]

D4D Probs?

Those last couple of postings have given me more to think about as they're probably right, there's so many Prados on the road and they can't/aren't all having problems I'm sure.
I'll go and annoy more salesmen this weekend and maybe bring a little joy into ones life!
Alan.

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

From the Engine section of this forum, it would seem like the problem is more widespread than just a "handful" of vehicles.

This post suggests that it could be as high as 50% of D4D equipped Prados or Hiluxes or Hiace vans:

My first hand knowledge of the rattle is that it extends to all variants of vehicle that the engine is currently in.

Mine is a Dec 06 manufactured 2007 model Prado GXL.

Without telling the world what I do for a living, I can say that I work for the Govt and I am exposed daily to all three types of vehicles (D4D Prado GX, Hilux D4D twin cabs and the D4D Hiace vans.

It is about a 50 / 50 mix of rattlers to non rattlers, but they are all serviced by an outside source and as long as they run we dont care what type of noise they make.

Just a hint for everyone, dont purchase any cheap D4D Prado GX's that are white in colour from any auction place that sells govt vehicles as you could get a good lemon that has been passed on from us.

Still, I'm sure that there are 50% other D4D owners who do not have this problem simply because they are in the warmer climate zones.

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

I suspect there is something developing with my engine. Very hard for me to know though. Before this I'd only driven old rattlers which made a range of noises all the time. When mine was new it didn't have issues with a cold start. But it was summer at that time, so once again it's very difficult to really know what the normal operating noises should be.

2 mornings, when the temp was around 6 degrees, I really was alarmed at what was going on. The engine appeared to be running rough and I was getting vibrations like you'd get if a petrol misfired. Today was a balmy 13 degrees and I have to say I hardly noticed anything. There was a slightly harsher noise there for a few minutes but nothing like I had those two days. So as with all intermittent problems it's very hard for me to know If I've got the same thing as Mav occurring.

I think the next step for me is to get a Scanguage and check on my fuel consumption as Mav did say that his seemed to get worse with the problem. Toyota said to me that the fuel pumps can make a noise when cold. Not being a mechanic I can't refute the claim.

At this point, I still seem to have the same zip off the mark as always and fuel consumption, as far as I can tell, is staying similar.

So to be truthful, just having hit 10,000k's, the engine is still going strong. Time will tell if the rattle I had comes back.

It's a good point too that anything bad will flood the forum. Good points though, are considered normal running and people wont make a thread called "My D4D Has No Problems!". Errrrr so what??? So it's true you really can't judge the situation from one thread. But you shouldn't dismiss the problem either. We really can't say for sure, how widespread the problem is.

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

Since my injector replacement my D4D has been running like a dream again. It has now returned to bringing in brilliant fuel economy figures and my latest tank of BP diesel is returning 9.0l/100kms. I just had a snorkel fitted today and the drive back from Newcastle was returning fuel figures around 0.5/litre better than when I drove it there this morning so overall I am very happy with the way the engine is performing now.

On the question of whether there is a widespread problem with the D4D and injectors, I suspect that there is a higher than normal failure rate for whatever reason. Whether it is date range specific I don't know but from the European forums including England there appears to be a lot of focus on those forums to this issue.

I am not convinced it is fuel related as if it were then all of my injectors should have failed not just one.

Maybe it is just down to a bad batch of injectors and Toyota are replacing them as they fail, who knows?

I do know that Toyota has a procedure in place to deal with the issue, I also know the dealership that did mine has also done a number of others and they are very experienced at doing the injector replacement procedure.

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

Since my injector replacement my D4D has been running like a dream again. It has now returned to bringing in brilliant fuel economy figures and my latest tank of BP diesel is returning 9.0l/100kms.

Good News

I do know that Toyota has a procedure in place to deal with the issue, I also know the dealership that did mine has also done a number of others and they are very experienced at doing the injector replacement procedure.

I guess this is the point. So long as they acknowledge your concern and provide a fix. I definitely won't be canceling my order worrying about what might be. 8)

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

On a louder note, just for comparison, try starting a prado next to one of the new direct injection 3.0 nissans and they don't even need to be cold

OMG !!! I have heard mine equipment that operates quieter.

As for the 50% claim, I think toyota would really love to see the vehicles.

[Guest Close Guest]

As for the 50% claim, I think toyota would really love to see the vehicles.

More a possible 50% claim of one persons fleet. How big this fleet actually is, is an unknown quantity.

BUT it certainly is a tall order to make a statement that it could be 50%.

If we look into it this person runs a local fleet (maybe Telstra, Origin, ETSA, Mining etc) they would more than likely be claiming their 50/50 facts on the local fleet that they see in their home base. NOT australia wide I suspect?

Therefore I think the 50% possible fault on all vehicles as quite a tall order.

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

There's a long onging, evolving thread in another part of this forum, which goes into detail about this problem.

http://www.pradopoint.com/viewtopic.php?t=3107

I have been so hanging out to buying a D4D Prado but now I'm not so sure. I'll reassess the situation once I know what the official fix is.

I tend to buy a vehicle and keep it for a long time. It really doesn't make sense now for me now to consider a serioualy flawed product from Toyota. I think that the rattles in the morning will significantly diminish the long term reliability of the engine.

It's just a engine knock, nothing 'seriously flawed' about it :roll: