Johnnie Levin ZR 2008

[johnnieboi]

Dropped the car off in the morning at Toyota for diagnostics. Just got a phone call from them saying that my fuel is contaminated? WTF?? That the fuel is cloudy. They asked if i've put any fuel additives into my fuel mixture which i havent. I've been pouring Shell V-Power 98RON for the last few months. This puzzles me greatly, how could my fuel be contaminated??

The verdict is that they need to drop the fuel tank out because theres no way of draining the contaminated fuel with no drain plug, which will take them 4hrs to do. Coupled with a fuel filter change and x4 spark plug change its gonna cost me $655 :( :(

I'll have to find out what error code it was and i've asked them to keep a sample of the 'contaminated fuel' because i want to see it.

Now gotta wait till they call me again to go check it out.

[jeffy]

ohh man, that sucks :(

now you're makin me feel even more cautious when filling up with vpower :o

edit: wonder which shell, has the contaminated one ? Ballarat rd one .? then you can sue them when you get the sample <_<

[johnnieboi]

Just picked the car up from Toyota. An awesome $653.80 later. :(

The Report goes:

Check for engine warning light on dash , plug in IT found codes P0171 & B1249

(P0171-Air/Fuel mixture system lean Bank 1) (B1249- Blend door failure)

Fuel contaminated, removed fuel tank and drain, replaced fuel filter

Replaced spark plugs and supplied $20 worth of petrol

Carried out injector service

Roadtested vehicle and carried out IT check

Engine light no longer on dash at time of inspection

http://engine-codes.com/p0171_toyota.html

I cant find the description of the B1249 code.

Heres the fuel sample Toyota gave me.

I've contacted Shell and lodged a claim of fuel contamination. They will contact me back in 24-48hrs. See how it goes

Such is life. :(

[ben yip]

Good that you solve the problem.. from your symptons, seems to be the oil problem because it is choking on idle.

Oil contamination happens to me 20 years ago in my dad's car, got chkoing on idle as well..

Do you think your fuel is contaminated with moisture? especially if you don't drive often.. any chance that dirt get into the oil?

can you dyno the car and find the AF ratio?

I have dynoed my car two times, and shows no lean or no rich, so no way that CAI is the culprit

12 to 13 is the ideal range,

I almost never use Shell, whenever I use it, I find my car lack of power and higer fuel consumption

Please use Caltex 95 or 98

[jeffy]

BP man or mobil, [personal prefference]

never really liked vortex,

[Kenshin X]

I almost never use Shell, whenever I use it, I find my car lack of power and higer fuel consumption

Please use Caltex 95 or 98

depends which petrol station and how often they clean the tanks. I've filled up from the same place Johnny filled up 2 weeks ago. car still seems fine and not showing any symptoms yet.

v power actually gives me more economy than other fuels. vortex the same.

I also find that the vortex here in Melbourne isn't as good as the mix in Sydney (possibly caltex keeping the good batch there?)

the fuel looks ok john. if ur fuel filter is doing its job, it should be delivering clean fuel to your engine. the colour is right: its a yellowish colour. also check your exhuast if any white soot is there? I didn't notice any on Sundays dyno day.

I guess its the waiting game now. hopefully it will be in your favour and shell, if found its contaminated fuel, will reimburse the full service bill to you.

[jeffy]

I almost never use Shell, whenever I use it, I find my car lack of power and higer fuel consumption

Please use Caltex 95 or 98

depends which petrol station and how often they clean the tanks. I've filled up from the same place Johnny filled up 2 weeks ago. car still seems fine and not showing any symptoms yet.

maybe that octane booster they gave you on dyno day prevented it :P

[johnnieboi]

Good that you solve the problem.. from your symptons, seems to be the oil problem because it is choking on idle.

Oil contamination happens to me 20 years ago in my dad's car, got chkoing on idle as well..

Do you think your fuel is contaminated with moisture? especially if you don't drive often.. any chance that dirt get into the oil?

can you dyno the car and find the AF ratio?

I have dynoed my car two times, and shows no lean or no rich, so no way that CAI is the culprit

12 to 13 is the ideal range,

I almost never use Shell, whenever I use it, I find my car lack of power and higer fuel consumption

Please use Caltex 95 or 98

I havent dyno'd again yet Ben since my first one. I'll wait till after my exhaust is done to dyno again and find out the A/F ratio, i think that should solve the running lean issue.

Car seems to run quite smooth after exiting toyota so hopefully after this its all good mechanically and i can get back to other important issues.. eg. exhaust, tyres, coils.. B)

[dwee.]

Good to hear that it's all been fixed. Winton!!! :P

[johnnieboi]

CEL on again. :( Went to Duys aka Kenshinx plugged in his OBD-reader program. Came up P0171 again; Air/Fuel mixture system lean Bank 1. Toyota must not have rectified the problem the first time.

I still dont believe its my cai that is throwing the CEL, i need to do that exhaust upgrade to rectify that issue.

Thinking i should take it to Toyota again, see what they say. They charge $110 diagnostic fee which is waived if you choose to do the repairs with Toyota. Painnnn. Or maybe i should just go back to stock airbox for now.

Drive still seems fine, throttle response feels the same so i dont know if its misfire/injector problem. sighhh

I've looked up the possible causes of getting a P0171:

Fuel System:

Leaking or faulty fuel pressure regulator

Plugged or dirty fuel filter or lines

Fuel pump weak or defective check valve

Injectors leaking or faulty

Low fuel pressure or running out of fuel

Leaking EVAP system components

Faulty FRP (Fuel Rail Pressure Sensor)

Air Intake System

Vacuum leaks

Contaminated, damaged or faulty Mass Air Flow sensor

PCV valve leak or stuck open

Air induction turbulance caused by wrong filter

Oil dipstick not seated

Air leaks after the Mass Air Flow Sensor (MAF)

Oil coated aftermarket air filter

Exhaust System

Any exhaust leak before or near the oxygen sensors

EGR System

Vacuum line disconnected from EGR System Module (ESM)

EGR valve, tube or gasket leak

EGR vacuum regulator valve leaking

Secondary Air Injection System

Mechanically stuck secondary air injection valve

I hate getting the CEl because its in your face everytime you start your car and drive.

[dwee.]

:(

[johnnieboi]

Toyota diagnostic verdict - CEL P0171 (Round 2) -

After dropping my car at Toyota at 7.45am today, i finally got a call back at 3.30pm (took them 8hrs to diagnose my car? WTF?!)

My air/fuel meter is faulty now apparently from the contaminated fuel. WTF? Is this possible?

Anyone know where our ZRE air/fuel meter is located? Is Toyota and their mechanics just ripping me off and trying to sap all my money or what?? And why the eff wasnt this found out the first time i went?!? Im friggin pi$$ed off. Its already an annoyance dropping the car off, taking time off work, picking it up and on top paying for repairs over and over.

Really starting to lose faith in my Toyota dealership, esp since its the place that i bought my car from. Seriously, if you dont know what your doing then dont do it. Even when i talk to them about things, it sounds like they got barely half a clue of whats going on.

Now my zre has to stay overnight at toyota for them to order the new part in and replace it which is costing me $420. What a load of sh!t

Why couldnt they order the part early today and do it today? FFS. I've asked to see the faulty A/F meter and what is exactly wrong with it.

If its a genuine fault and needs repair then fair enough, but how am i suppose to know? You can only go by what they say. I feel like just abusing them and bringing their whole dealership reputation down.

[jeffy]

which dealer is it ?

[Kenshin X]

that's something john would rather say in person (if he wants to). forum is not a place to be putting any dealer in the spot light.

[dwee.]

Not good to hear man! :(

Ask Vinh's brother, he might know where the air/fuel meter is..

[Kenshin X]

just to clarify about the "contaminated fuel" I checked my batch which I filled up the same day as john did. the fuel inside the tank was yellow clear colour. definately not contaminated. exhaust didn't show any white powder. spark.plugs didn't show any white powder either.

Toyota dealer is stuffing u around too much. I'd hate to go through what u r going through john. :( just hope it sorts out everything soon.

[jeffy]

POst removed.

[ben yip]

Johnnie, what do you think the real cause of your oil problems? Any chance that oil filter was too dirty or you got leaking somewhere?

From your symptons, I believe the oil is contaiminated, but how does it get contaiminated?

[YE34OK]

Not good to hear man! :(

Ask Vinh's brother, he might know where the air/fuel meter is..

Not sure about corollas but on skylines the AFM or 2 (if you have a GTR hehe) is on the actual intake before the air filter box or pod

[le.vinh.zr]

FML I hate dealers....

[1stKill]

FML I hate dealers....

+1...most of them don't care and if you have modded your car in anyway they treat you like a disease :(

really sorry to hear about all this sh!t that going on with your ride John,i feel for you mate :(

[johnnieboi]

Toyota Verdict - Round 2 - Another $351.60 bye bye

REPORT:

Re inspected for engine light on again, re checked engine management system and carried out inspection on O2 and A/F (Air flow sensors)

Found air flow sensor to be out of range. (Suspect damaged due to contaminated fuel. Replaced air flow sensor and tested O.K)

NOTE: If engine light re presents will need to further inspect and possible further repairs may be required.

So i asked for this 'faulty' air/fuel meter component, and i get handed my MAF sensor. Hrmmm ok then. So my MAF sensor suddenly sh!ts itself?

As you can see at this point i was already quite 'happy' with the service/diagnostic so the i got sent to go speak to the mechanic who performed the work on my car.

I asked him so is it because of the 'contaminated fuel' that caused the MAF sensor to be faulty? I didnt really get a solid answer.

So i asked them both also in an 'extremely happy' manner, that why was this not rectified the first time i brought my car there when they said that through their diagnostic they couldnt find anything so they extracted a sample of the fuel and found it was contaminated. Yet again no solid answer.. we can only deal with one issue at a time when it arises.. bla bla bla

He then blamed it on my INjen intake saying that it was throwing a P0171 code because its taking it my volume of air, which is fine but it didnt throw a CEL for over a year now, the mechanic had nothing to say. I told him i know what the the code P0171 means and i know having an intake takes in my volume of air, if they can give me a solid answer that the CEL is because of my intake and nothing else then i will agree and walk away happy, but they cant.

He was saying something like when the stock airbox is installed (which they tested) the air/fuel mixture is optimal... yeah i know that

The the 'aftermarket intake' takes in too much volume of air and throws in out of balance (ok, we call that running lean)

He then recommends me to return to the stock airbox if the CEL reappears which is bullsh!t.

The service rep was great, he waived the labour fee and offered that if the CEL returned just give him a call and bring it back to them to fix free of charge.

That is all.. if my CEL returns in a few days i think im gonna bang my head into my steering wheel.. or just go back to stock airbox <_<

[Kenshin X]

i think im gonna bang my head into my steering wheel..

AMEN :D

hope this is the final hurdle mate

[ben yip]

Toyota Verdict - Round 2 - Another $351.60 bye bye

He was saying something like when the stock airbox is installed (which they tested) the air/fuel mixture is optimal... yeah i know that

The the 'aftermarket intake' takes in too much volume of air and throws in out of balance (ok, we call that running lean)

He then recommends me to return to the stock airbox if the CEL reappears which is bullsh!t.

Looks like the mechanic is an amateur,, and that is bullsh!t.. your intake has been there for a while.. and loads of people put intake with no problems

Have they clean the MAF before replacing it? DId they replace it last time?

so the life of the MAF sensor just last for few weeks? Is that MAF sensor dirty or not? any oil blocking that sensor?

and for your info, Toyota TECH USA site contains the full repair menu of our cars, the menu is designed for dummies. You can pay 15 dollars for 2 days to have a look.. I won't give my car to Toyota anymore..

If OBD2 scanner can read the code, why take to Toyota.. however, they are using something called TECHSMITH, certain operations (like ECU reflash) require that program to do. no one except Toyota can do it

omg, another 351.6.. that is crazy

Edited October 5, 2011 by ben yip

[johnnieboi]

So now..

After picking my car up at Toyota yesterday i drove home no dramas. That same night i reversed out and while in reverse gear while releasing the clutch past the friction point i heard a clanking/grinding sound. I was estatic!! <_<

So today i called Toyota and they told me to bring my car in to get it checked out anytime, which i thought was nice.

So after i finished work i drove to Toyota and spoke to the service rep, explained to him the situation and the noise i get when reversing and releasing the clutch. His answer was 'we didnt touch that part of the car' WTFF!??!?! So i bring my car in with it all fine, and now suddenly my clutch/reversing gear magically sh!ts itself. WHAT THE EFF!!!

So he says leave it with us and he'll get the mechanic to roadtest it with me, which we did and he couldnt hear it so i did it and after hearing it he takes it back into the workshop. I was fuming by this stage, the service rep trying to palm off the blame on me like i got nothing to do but waste my time and money to go see them.

After about 20minutes of fiddling in the workshop they drive it back out and i speak to the mechanic and asked him whats wrong, he said the heatshield around the exhaust was touching the body of the car and when reversing it hits so therefore made that sound.

So after i reversed it a few times and saw that it was all good i said thanks to the mechanic. Yeah.. thanks.. thanks for nothing.. thanks for 'Roadtesting' my vehicle yesterday and not noticing. FFS

I've also got 2 new dints on my passenger rear door that wasnt there before.. but due to me not filling out the checklist form on tuesday because i dropped it off at 7.45am and had to go to work i cant blame them. F#%$!!!!!!!!!!!