Toyota Avensis 2011 2.0 D4d Estate - Car Maintenane, DPF Filter & Low MPG

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Thu 21 May 2015 18:10
Toyota Avensis 2011 2.0 D4d Estate - Car Maintenane, DPF Filter & Low MPG - bobby409

hi there,

My Toyota Avensis 2011 2.0 D4d Estate leaves blue smoke when moving off in 1st & 2nd gear and when the car is not moving, the invisible smoke smell is very chemical smelling and intolerable, it creates like burning sensation in lungs, I have only had this car for 4 months & my combined mpg has gone from 45MPG down to 35mpg. I have noticed the engine has become very slightly noisy as well, little rattling noise like diesel Skoda octavia. The car has 80,000 miles on clock and still has 5 year Manufacturer warranty. Whats worrying is that full service was done at 69,000 miles, so why are there these issues with the car?

Can someone guide me if its time to replace the dpf? The blue white smoke, horrible smoke smell and constantly low MPG.. do all these add up to some fault or am i just paranoid??

Also any suggestion like trying engine flushing treatments or do another full service and replace all filters & Engine oil

please advise thank you

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 21 May 2015 22:24
Toyota Avensis 2011 2.0 D4d Estate - Car Maintenane, DPF Filter & Low MPG - galileo

If it is still covered by Toyota warranty, why not take it to your Toyota dealer and have them check and fix it?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 22 May 2015 12:35
Toyota Avensis 2011 2.0 D4d Estate - Car Maintenane, DPF Filter & Low MPG - bobby409

actually i am taking it to the local Toyota dealer this Monday but i am worried he might pull a cheap trick on me saying "You are a taxi driver so you are not entitled to the warranty repairs".

I made a mistake mentioning the last Toyota service, it was actually done at 70,599 and current mileage is 80,379. I phoned many official Toyota dealers yesterday asking if I was covered by warranty? the moment i mentioned i was a taxi driver they started running around like headless chicken, asking other people and to my surprised some said your warranty was only upto 70,000 miles... even though the website clearly says it is 100,000 miles or 5 Years whichever comes first.

I am new to cars I am not sure whether I should get Full service done and then go to the dealer or leave it until I have been to the dealer, but if i leave it till monday i will have surpassed the 10,000 miles of service interval by a few hundred miles over the weekend doing taxi work... you see i need money too

Any advice or solution is appreciated, thanks

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 22 May 2015 23:17
Toyota Avensis 2011 2.0 D4d Estate - Car Maintenane, DPF Filter & Low MPG - oldtoffee

I'd have it serviced as you're within any margin of delay and then I'd mention the problems as it goes in for service and ask them to deal with it under warranty. If they refuse you have grounds to take it further as nothing on a web search says the warranty is limited to commercial hire and Toyota have a reputation for better than decent customer service and warranty honour. if they don't play ball sell it and buy a Hyundai or Kia. Someone on the forum has an i40 as a taxi and has had good warranty service.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 22 May 2015 23:34
Toyota Avensis 2011 2.0 D4d Estate - Car Maintenane, DPF Filter & Low MPG - galileo

I'd have it serviced as you're within any margin of delay and then I'd mention the problems as it goes in for service and ask them to deal with it under warranty. If they refuse you have grounds to take it further as nothing on a web search says the warranty is limited to commercial hire and Toyota have a reputation for better than decent customer service and warranty honour. if they don't play ball sell it and buy a Hyundai or Kia. Someone on the forum has an i40 as a taxi and has had good warranty service.

Hyundai Warranty specifically states for taxis, couriers and rental cars the otherwise unlimited mileage is limited to 100,000 miles or 5 years.

So I'd guess Toyota will regard their cover limited to 100,000 for taxis.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 23 May 2015 01:59
Toyota Avensis 2011 2.0 D4d Estate - Car Maintenane, DPF Filter & Low MPG - Robin the Technician
Sorry to disagree but Toyota's customer service is dire!! I had an issue with a head gasket just out of warranty and even though it was a known issue they refused to contribute. It was their loss as both my son an i sold our cars and bought Kia's. best thing we ever did. Suggest you do the same

Hope this helps

Robin the Technician - i fix, therefore i am
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 25 May 2015 01:17
Toyota Avensis 2011 2.0 D4d Estate - Car Maintenane, DPF Filter & Low MPG - bobby409

Thanks Oldtoffee, your advice is the best so far, thats what i decided as well, not to turn up for fault finding appointment, but to just book appointment for the fixed price Toyota Full Service Package @ £350.00 and leave the car with them. Then I will see how the report turns out, what red (Urgent work needed) and whats amber (caution).

I have noticed it more & more that the car struggles a bit to move off in 1st and 2nd gear for the 1st 150000 revs and then suddenly catches power and moves faster with a jerk and 5th & 6th gears are just too underpowered.

BTW i phone up another Toyota dealer Mechanic, he said you can go over the 10,000 service interval mark by 2,000 and still it won't be an issue, so i worked like crazy and car mileage is now 80,800. Also he said by the sound of symptoms it seems the head gadsket is leaking or corroded... (something like that). This is my work horse I don't plan to sell it, i love it v. much but if Official Toyota dealer under-deliver then what can i do?? I guess you are right, Hyundai or Kia will be next. I will give an update on what happened after Full Service

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 25 May 2015 13:38
Toyota Avensis 2011 2.0 D4d Estate - Car Maintenane, DPF Filter & Low MPG - Railroad.
You may want to check the small print on the warranty too. It could be that it only applies to the original owner and is not transferable. If you're a taxi driver you probably do mainly short stop/start journeys. In that case the DPF will block up quite quickly and regenerations may not happen as they should. A new DPF could be required.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Looking for a garage you can trust? Honest John's Good Garage Guide has thousands of reader recommended garages, plus how-to guides and tips on servicing.

The Good Garage Guide

Our honest used car pricing is a little bit different to all the others. You can get to our values through make or model - you don’t have to follow a prescribed route. Plus, it’s live, which means we can react to changes in the market quicker than any printed price guide.

Honest Used Car Prices