Vienta Grande Advice/Help - Cutting Out.

[Grande_Tony]

Can any members give me some advice/help/pointers with a problem that i am having.

I have a 1998 Toyota Vienta Grande and on the last 2 occasions on holiday and whilst towing our caravan when we are on a country road with a steep incline and when the gears drop themselves down via the auto transmission she cuts out, the steering goes stiff and i have to pull over to allow traffic to pass, at this stage there are no lights on the dash at all, if i turn the ignition to off then to on she starts up straight away as if nothing has happenned and then we proceed with our journey without further fault.

This does not happen on motorway inclines it only seems to happen on steep country lane inclines, on the both occassions its happenned we have had the aircon on and the vehicle has been in cruise control, its as if someone unplugs its main power scource.

Someone said it could be the cruise control but that does not signify as to why the complete engine just dies, it does not shudder or splutter but simply turns off as if you have used the key to shut the engine down.

Another person said that the problem sounds like the ECMU unit shutting down which sounds more feasable.

Anyways, if anyone can shed a bit more light on the problem it would be greatly appreciated.

Tony

Edited June 28, 2009 by Grande_Tony

[lateralus]

have you had any problems with engine/transmission overheating at all? quite possible considering your towing a caravan on hills with an auto

Edited June 29, 2009 by lateralus

[Grande_Tony]

Hi Lateralus

Car does not seem to be overheating in either temp or transmission.

Would overheating transmission cause it do die instantly as if the key was turned off ?

Tony

[Sanctuary]

Your problem sounds fuel related Tony, I would say you need a new fuel filter and you might want to check your fuel lines as well. The combination of steep incline and pulling a caravan is probably maximum fuel usage senario. The engine cuts out coz not enough fuel being delivered to clim the incline while pulling the trailer. Another possibility is the fuel pump.

[Whip Cracker]

Just remember this:

Camry 4 cylinders can pull up to 1 tonne... maybe a bit more for a V6.

Check that you can put the Transmission into "Power" mode too... there's a button on the console for that. Camrys have a useless cooling system in the first place, tranny fluid is normally quite thin and gets hot easily... I have heard of someone upgrading their radiator for the tranny fluid, the gears are a tad quicker changing (bit more kick in the changes) most likely from the thicker viscousity of the oil... he hasn't had any issues since.

I'd be trying with the "Power" button on first.