G a f f e r
Prominent Member
Toyota RAV4 2014 2.0 petrol CVT.
Weird thing happened to the RAV4 couple of mornings ago. Acted as though battery was out - wing mirrors worked once then car refused to start, instrument cluster flickering when attempted.
My wife left it at home as it appeared to be dead (took a taxi to work after a few attempts to start it) and when I got back from work, I attached my jump starter pack to it which indicated the battery had only 4.5V !!!!
Anyway, started the car but jump pack indicates it’s still at 100% charge (normally the pack would be down at about 70% after a jump). This means the pack wasn't "used" at all - the car had started via its own battery alone.
After about 10s, the engine then faltered and died (this has never happened before).
So I restarted and it started fine (again, jump pack showed 100% remaining so that hadn’t been used) but it had a rough idle. Drove to pick my daughter up from nursery (10min drive) and it appeared to be ok - normal acceleration and ride.
By the time we returned home, car appeared to start with no issues after turning off.
Checked alternator and it's a steady 14.05V. Checked battery with engine off and it's a steady 12.55V. Attached Optimax Charger and it indicates battery is slightly low but not excessively low.
So I don't think it was/is the battery/alternator.
That rough idle? Still there at this point with rpm varying from 500-900rpm whereas normally it sits dead on about 750rpm
So I then drove around the block a bit and it’s now back to normal. Idling normally, driving normally, starting normally. No engine light showing either btw.
It’s got me a bit stumped really. Could it be bad fuel? Or maybe some temporary crud in the injectors/filter?
It’s been running fine the past day.
It’s due a service so I’ll get them to check out the fuel system whilst they’re there (need to wait for them to fit me in) and I also added some redex to the tank - might be pissing in the wind but I had some in the garage and thought it wouldn’t hurt to attempt to clean the fuel system a bit.
Just wanted an idea of the bill I’d be expecting.
Weird thing happened to the RAV4 couple of mornings ago. Acted as though battery was out - wing mirrors worked once then car refused to start, instrument cluster flickering when attempted.
My wife left it at home as it appeared to be dead (took a taxi to work after a few attempts to start it) and when I got back from work, I attached my jump starter pack to it which indicated the battery had only 4.5V !!!!
Anyway, started the car but jump pack indicates it’s still at 100% charge (normally the pack would be down at about 70% after a jump). This means the pack wasn't "used" at all - the car had started via its own battery alone.
After about 10s, the engine then faltered and died (this has never happened before).
So I restarted and it started fine (again, jump pack showed 100% remaining so that hadn’t been used) but it had a rough idle. Drove to pick my daughter up from nursery (10min drive) and it appeared to be ok - normal acceleration and ride.
By the time we returned home, car appeared to start with no issues after turning off.
Checked alternator and it's a steady 14.05V. Checked battery with engine off and it's a steady 12.55V. Attached Optimax Charger and it indicates battery is slightly low but not excessively low.
So I don't think it was/is the battery/alternator.
That rough idle? Still there at this point with rpm varying from 500-900rpm whereas normally it sits dead on about 750rpm
So I then drove around the block a bit and it’s now back to normal. Idling normally, driving normally, starting normally. No engine light showing either btw.
It’s got me a bit stumped really. Could it be bad fuel? Or maybe some temporary crud in the injectors/filter?
It’s been running fine the past day.
It’s due a service so I’ll get them to check out the fuel system whilst they’re there (need to wait for them to fit me in) and I also added some redex to the tank - might be pissing in the wind but I had some in the garage and thought it wouldn’t hurt to attempt to clean the fuel system a bit.
Just wanted an idea of the bill I’d be expecting.