My Rav 4 suddenly stopped after I had been driving it for 10 minutes approx. and then it was virtually impossible to start. When it does eventually start and I put it into drive (it's an auto), the car just stops and won't start again. Nobody knows whats wrong and there are no faults shown on a Toyota diagnostic machine. I am really desperate as I am a GP, can anyone help?
Does it seem to have normal amount of power up until it dies...or does it start to get sluggish??
Sort of sounds like a problem I had with a failing fuel pump (pin hole in the diaphragm). It was a 84 corolla and it would just start to lose total power and then stall. You could get it started again but it was hard to start moving after that. At other times it would run and not seem like anything was wrong...not sure if this helps or not...just sounds vaguely familiar.
Randy
This kind of thing can be pure hell. At the shop they will tell you that it could be that - what you wanna do? We can't guarantee anything. We depend on you the professional customer to know what the problem and solutions is/are. Keep coming back at $500-700 a pop. We will fix and replace anything we like to work on and we do long test drives to remote pizza shops. Yes we got stuck last drive (exactly as you said you do) but it was unclear what it was.
We like to replace all mechanical and electrical parts near the engine. We DO NOT like to drop the fuel tanks and flush, clean, replace pumps and filters in it. Nor do we like to remove old fuel filters and check or flush fuel lines. Soooo unless a customer tells us EXACTLY which part (by correct part number) he wants what us to do then we ignore that part of vehicles because it is not our responsibility and too much like dirty work.
The above is based on an actual horror story - with a major dealership. Part of the solution was to check for fuel from INSIDE the fuel tank and then finally in the DIRECTION of the spark plug. Skip NO PART! The 2k of work at engine was a total waste in this case. You may "need" a new car unless you get lucky. mike
I have never seen the fuel pump in a Rav4 but I am pretty sure that it is not a diaphragm type.
An engine needs 3 things to run - air, fuel, and a source of ignition, in proper proportions at the proper time.
I would start with the basics:
Check the air filter
Check the Mass Air Flow (MAF) sensor on the air filter housing. There is a oval-shaped tube that protrudes into the air stream flowing out of the air filter housing, and inside the tube is a heated wire. The MAF sensor is not supposed to be serviceable, but a shot of car cleaner in the tube might help clean crud off of the wire so that it can properly sense air flow.
Check the black plastic intake snorkel between the air filter housing and the throttle body for cracks, holes, or other leaks. If there is a hole, seal it with duct tape.
Temporarily disconnect the vacuum hoses from the EGR valve and plug or pinch the disconnected hoses and see if the problem goes away. If it does, clean out the black crud that has accumulated inside the EGR valve or replace it and re-connect the vacuum hoses.
Check to make sure there are no other disconnected vacuum hoses.
Check all electrical connections to make sure they are tight.
If the vehicle has ever had body work done, check the ground points.
When was the last time the fuel filter was changed? Had this happen on a Nissan 240SX. When I took the old fuel filter out, I turned it upside-down and MUD came out...
I'm sure the techs at your local Toyota dealer can solve the problem ;)
mike
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