Hi,
Have just bought a 10 month old Toyota Avensis 1.8VVTi GS. All is well with it apart from.. I've begun to notice that, under some conditions, it can vibrate a bit on acceleration. This never happens when not accelerating, regardless of road speed.
Tends to happen worst when accelerating at around 2000rpm in 2nd gear e.g. at roundabouts. Will happen in any gear at highish engine revs (e.g. 3500-6000) when accelerating hard.
It's still under warranty so no worries about getting it fixed. Took it to main dealer who balanced the wheels and checked the brakes - made no difference.
My theory - and I'm not a mechanic - is that one of the driveshafts is a bit sticky. The frequency of the vibration seems to increase with road speed (judders faster as you drive faster). The problem is pretty minor - my wife doesn't really notice it - but it's annoying me somewhat! The engine seems to run very sweetly so I don't suspect any sort of misfire.
Any ideas on the cause?
Thanks,
MarkL.
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Hi MarkL,
You have just described the exact problem that I am experiencing on my June 2001 Avensis Vermont 5-Door. Dealer reported that car was effectively perfect! (Surprise surprise!). I was wondering if you got any further with your car? Any help/advice would be much appreciated.
PJM
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Not caused by one of the front wheels "pattering" is it? ie under acceleration the weight comes off the front, and one of the wheels skips or patters against the road under power - front suspension problem?
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Hi,
Thanks for the last 2 messages. I took a guy from the main dealer out in the car yesterday. His view is that the camshaft position sensor may be sticking intermittently. This, in combination with the self-learning ECU then being 'surpsised' at controlling an engine with odd characteristics (as far as it's being told about them by this sensor), could explain things. But, they won't fix it until I can take it in on a day when the problem is worse. I have a fair chance of doing this and will try hard to take it back in the next few weeks.
Tyres: The problem is worse if I underinflate the front tyres. I did wonder if this could indicate a front suspension problem but, currently, have ruled that out. It can happen a bit in any gear but worst by far is 3rd with 4th/5th being better. It happens on any old road surface.
Engine: Happens at certain rev ranges (e.g. 3000 and above). Have heard similar from at least one other Avensis owner. Have also had a lift in an MR2 (1.8 VVTi engine again) which, as far as I could tell, was doing something similar.
If Toyota aren't aware of this problem, I'd be very surprised. But, as usual, companies rarely admit to such things.
To the guy experiencing the same problem, feel free to email me on markluckin@aol.com so we can exchange more info.
Thanks,
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PJM,
I checked the tyre pressures on the Avensis tonight and they were down at 28PSI. Have inflated back up to 32PSI and so will see how it goes over the next few days.
A bit more info: The vibration has got much, much better since my original mail of last year. The vibration seems to go through bands of the engine's rev range when it's under load - e.g. the higher gears. 3rd/4th are usually worst and, usually, you need to be on a hill to really notice it. It is intermittent with some weeks being worse than others. Is best felt through the steering wheel and/or front footwells.
Thanks,
MarkL.
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Sounds like partial misfire to me.
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Hi,
A rather late update on this one. Around a month ago, the new workshop manager at the Toyota main dealer diagnosed a faulty offside (I think) driveshaft and replaced that under warranty. This has improved things a lot and the vibration is now never anything like as bad.
The 1.8 VVTi engine still sometimes isn't as smooth under load as, say, a 1.8 Mondeo but then it's a very different engine so who knows what's normal.
Would have been good if the problem had been diagnosed when I originaly reported it around 18 months ago. Anyway, a good resolution and good Toyota service in the end.
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