Any car mechanics out there?

[backwoodsman]

Got a slightly weird problem with the motor - wondering if anyone got any ideas what the cause might be.

Car is a Toyota Avensis, two litre diesel. It starts easily first thing and runs smoothly. But if l give it a decent run, then stop & turn it off briefly, then its a real b*gger to restart. It turns over, fires up then dies. Can take 4/5/6 attempts to restart. Stopped for fuel halfway back from the RSG meet and it took 11 attempts to get it started again. Worst occurence yet and was worried the battery was not going to cope. Only happens if the engine it hot. No issue with starting from cold.

Anyone got any thoughts?

 

[sawtooth]

You may need a new starter motor.

Just google "toyota avensis wont start when hot"

Google is your friend.

 

[Fish]

Does it have a management centre, I had a similar problem and it was my crankshaft alignment sensor.

 

[MegaSteve]

Had similar problem before with a Peugeot and it proved to be an air leak in the fuel system...

 

[Blue in Munich]

As it starts fine from cold & turns over & catches when hot I'd say that probably eliminates a starter motor issue. It sounds like it will be related to a sensor of some description, but without knowing exactly which ones it has I'd struggle to give you any more help, sorry.

 

[backwoodsman]

I've pretty much ruled out the starter motor - it cranks easily enough whether hot or cold. It turns over, fires up, but dies straight away. The sensor thing sounds plausible - but I'm afraid the days are long gone since i understood what was in a car engine. (Oh for the days of when it was only a starter motor, a distributor cap, a set of spark plugs and sod all else...)

 

[sawtooth]

Maybe get a second opinion from a dealer?

Starter motor known issue and Toyota redesigned it due to a flaw.

http://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=127778

Even if yours was replaced already, unless it was with the new type or different make then who knows it will be just the same as before.

Maybe exact age and model would help narrow the search then go onto toyota forums. Bound to be a known issue even if not starter related.

 

[backwoodsman]

Maybe get a second opinion from a dealer?

Starter motor known issue and Toyota redesigned it due to a flaw.

http://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=127778

Even if yours was replaced already, unless it was with the new type or different make then who knows it will be just the same as before.

Maybe exact age and model would help narrow the search then go onto toyota forums. Bound to be a known issue even if not starter related.

Had it in to a dealer for something else - but asked them to look into the problem. They said they couldn't find anything (althought I'm not sure they looked very hard). But the suggestion of Toyota forum is a good shout ...

 

[clubchamp98]

Got a slightly weird problem with the motor - wondering if anyone got any ideas what the cause might be.

Car is a Toyota Avensis, two litre diesel. It starts easily first thing and runs smoothly. But if l give it a decent run, then stop & turn it off briefly, then its a real b*gger to restart. It turns over, fires up then dies. Can take 4/5/6 attempts to restart. Stopped for fuel halfway back from the RSG meet and it took 11 attempts to get it started again. Worst occurence yet and was worried the battery was not going to cope. Only happens if the engine it hot. No issue with starting from cold.

Anyone got any thoughts?

Had similar prob on my Ford
On a good run it was drawing fuel from tank but tank was creating a vacuum as the breather hole on the fuel cap was blocked.
So the vacuum in the tank draws the fuel back out of injectors and pipe lines when you stop .
So when you try to start up its like you have no fuel.
find out if your fuel cap has a breather hole and clear it .
It happens more if you fill tank right to top.??
This is what happens to me not saying it's your fault but worth a look

ps next time it happens remove filler cap to let some air in tank and you should hear a whoosh as vacuum is opened.

 

[williamalex1]

Same happened with my old Cortina after i fitted the wrong type of locking petrol cap , it actually sucked/collapsed the petrol tank right in.

 

[clubchamp98]

Same happened with my old Cortina after i fitted the wrong type of locking petrol cap , it actually sucked/collapsed the petrol tank right in.

Yes the older models used to have a tube from the tank to vent it .
when they started using locking caps they put the vent in the cap.

 

[backwoodsman]

Had similar prob on my Ford
On a good run it was drawing fuel from tank but tank was creating a vacuum as the breather hole on the fuel cap was blocked.
So the vacuum in the tank draws the fuel back out of injectors and pipe lines when you stop .
So when you try to start up its like you have no fuel.
find out if your fuel cap has a breather hole and clear it .
It happens more if you fill tank right to top.??
This is what happens to me not saying it's your fault but worth a look

ps next time it happens remove filler cap to let some air in tank and you should hear a whoosh as vacuum is opened.

Same happened with my old Cortina after i fitted the wrong type of locking petrol cap , it actually sucked/collapsed the petrol tank right in.

Thanks for the suggestion - but it can't be that. The most recent occurence was at a filling station after I'd refuelled - the vacuum would have broken when l took the cap off to fill up.

 

[Fish]

Thanks for the suggestion - but it can't be that. The most recent occurence was at a filling station after I'd refuelled - the vacuum would have broken when l took the cap off to fill up.

As previously asked, does it have a management centre system, and if so, ask your friends if they have a reader and plug it in and see if it's a sensor, the symptoms sound exactly the same as when I had to replace my crankshaft alignment sensor!

 

[williamalex1]

Thanks for the suggestion - but it can't be that. The most recent occurence was at a filling station after I'd refuelled - the vacuum would have broken when l took the cap off to fill up.

Just a thought, but the fuel would have already been sucked back into the tank leaving the system empty. It would take a while for the system to pump full, just by turning the engine. .

 

[clubchamp98]

Just a thought, but the fuel would have already been sucked back into the tank leaving the system empty. It would take a while for the system to pump full, just by turning the engine. .

OPSaid engine would start but then cut off .
any fuel left in the injectors would allow the car to start but if the vacuum had pulled it back a bit it would stall until fuel pump caught up.
just check as I think you should just eliminate it from your list of possibles.

 

[backwoodsman]

Just a thought, but the fuel would have already been sucked back into the tank leaving the system empty. It would take a while for the system to pump full, just by turning the engine. .

OPSaid engine would start but then cut off .
any fuel left in the injectors would allow the car to start but if the vacuum had pulled it back a bit it would stall until fuel pump caught up.
just check as I think you should just eliminate it from your list of possibles.

Hadn't thought of it this way ( you can tell I'm not a technical sort). Will definitely check.

 

[williamalex1]

Hadn't thought of it this way ( you can tell I'm not a technical sort). Will definitely check.

Check if its the correct fuel cap, maybe it should be a vented cap. You could try leaving it off for a while, but don't fill the tank right to the top.
Let us know how you get on :thup:

 

[srixon 1]

Check if its the correct fuel cap, maybe it should be a vented cap. You could try leaving it off for a while, but don't fill the tank right to the top.
Let us know how you get on :thup:

Lots of motorcycles crashing behind him probably if he drives without the fuel cap on.

 

[williamalex1]

Lots of motorcycles crashing behind him probably if he drives without the fuel cap on.

I did say don't fill the tank

 

[backwoodsman]

Following the various advice, what I can try is

a) check the filler cap for cleanliness & blockage etc and
b) next time, leave engine running, then take off or release the filler cap, before switching off the engine. That presumably should break a vacuum before anything is drawn back? (Then see if it starts OK?)

(Only problem is I'll need to wait to weekend - car only goes on long enough run at weekends)