IS 220d extremely slow acceleration out of 1st gear when cold

[Ohoopee]

I bought my 2009 IS 220d a year ago.  It only has 56,000 miles on it even now and is in great condition.  It has driven like a dream since I got it until a couple of weeks ago.  When the car engine is cold, it has gotten where is accelerates extremely slow out of first gear.  When I stop at the entrance to my housing estate to turn onto the main road, it literally moves a snail's pace.  It also can be slow to accelerate in other gears as well...I have had to drop it down to second to get it moving faster in slower traffic which I didn't have to do before..something has clearly changed.  No lights on in the dash.  I just changed the oil in it myself along with the air filter.  The only thing I can't do is change the fuel filter...I have tried but just can't get it out...luckily I have a garage I trust who will install the new fuel filter later this week for very reasonable.   I am hoping a new fuel filter will fix the problem but I am becoming increasingly concerned that it could be something wrong with my turbocharger.  Once the car engine heats up, the problem either goes away completely or becomes almost unnoticeable.  I have also noticed the car skipping...not very often, but it is doing some skipping now which it never did.  IT did all of this before I changed the oil and filters, so it is nothing that I have done.  If changing the fuel filter doesn't solve the problem, any ideas what the problem could be?

[madasahatter]

Do you do short journeys? I would try a fuel additive like Archoil, then give it an Italian tune up. 

[Texas]

Diesel's are not my forte but I suspect that ( at only 56k) your's has never had an EGR clean, do a search on here and check out the procedure ( quite doable by home mechanic I read).

paul m.

[johnatg]

Yep - sounds like a dpf problem - possibly needs some good blasts to regenerate.

You need to do at least something like 20 miles a day on deristricted roads (by limits or traffic) or 50 miles once a week if you drive any modern diesel with a dpf.

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[Ohoopee]

I mainly use the car to drive to work.  According to Google maps the journey is 15.7 km each way.  But the last weeks..including a couple of weeks prior to this happening, and one week after have driven further, about 30 km.  I will say people here drive like grannies.  The road that goes from my house to work has a speed limit of 100 kph but rarely to I get to drive that fast because of slower drivers.  Diesels don't have an EGR valve....at least mine doesn't.  This is my first diesel car ever.  The oil I just put in my car was Mobil 1 ESP which is supposed to help your emissions system.  I will try a fuel additive and an Italian tune up and see if that does anybody...if not I'll look into cleaning my dpf.  Thanks

[johnatg]

Your car does have an EGR valve and it probably needs cleaning!

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[Ohoopee]

9 minutes ago, johnatg said:

Your car does have an EGR valve and it probably needs cleaning!

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Realy?!  I had a look and didn't see it...I will look again.

 

Oh Yeah, just found a video on youtube of a guy cleaning the EGR valve on a IS220d..it is in a different location and looks different than any car I have ever worked on...probably because it is a diesel.  I think I might be able to do this job myself.  It looks simple enough.

[Ohoopee]

So I am off tomorrow, was planning on trying to see if I could remove and clean the EGR valve.  Went to go to work this morning and the car won't start.  I don't think it is the Battery but am charging the Battery just in case...it is taking a charge but it doesn't seem like a bad Battery to me.  The engine is turning over it is just not starting. The starter is working it just seems like the engine is not starting for some reason.  Do you think my power problems and this are related?

[johnatg]

Not a lot of response! But it's hard to tell from here. Might well be connected - but might not. Check all the usual things - fuelling in particular - possibility of an air leak in the fuel supply? One or more fauly injectors? Blocked fuel filter? Or a very blocked dpf - but that's not likely if it was more or less OK except for cold running before.

Or off-the-wall unlikely things such as timing chain or crank position sensor?

[Ohoopee]

1 hour ago, johnatg said:

Not a lot of response! But it's hard to tell from here. Might well be connected - but might not. Check all the usual things - fuelling in particular - possibility of an air leak in the fuel supply? One or more fauly injectors? Blocked fuel filter? Or a very blocked dpf - but that's not likely if it was more or less OK except for cold running before.

Or off-the-wall unlikely things such as timing chain or crank position sensor?

Got it going...it hasn't happened again.  No warning lights came on the dash.  When I got it going, I drove it straight to a garage.  They didn't remove the EGR valve but tested the Battery and the alternator...all were fine.  He also checked the computer for fault codes....none.  The timing chain was fine...  He also finally changed the fuel filter...it was black...the mechanic believes it to be the original one as bad as it was.  The car is a lot zippier now with the new fuel filter but still has lack of power when cold.  I got some REdex Diesel fuel system cleaner and will be putting my first bit in tomorrow when I fill up.  I also got some Carb cleaner and will have a go at removing the EGR and cleaning it my next days off.

[Chris_G]

On 5/30/2019 at 6:11 PM, Ohoopee said:

Got it going...it hasn't happened again.  No warning lights came on the dash.  When I got it going, I drove it straight to a garage.  They didn't remove the EGR valve but tested the battery and the alternator...all were fine.  He also checked the computer for fault codes....none.  The timing chain was fine...  He also finally changed the fuel filter...it was black...the mechanic believes it to be the original one as bad as it was.  The car is a lot zippier now with the new fuel filter but still has lack of power when cold.  I got some REdex Diesel fuel system cleaner and will be putting my first bit in tomorrow when I fill up.  I also got some Carb cleaner and will have a go at removing the EGR and cleaning it my next days off.

Did you get anywhere with this Vance ?

[Ohoopee]

On 6/14/2019 at 3:41 PM, Chris_G said:

Did you get anywhere with this Vance ?

The car has improved but is still not like it was.  Work has been crazy...I have only gotten one day off a week since all of this happened and they have been sporadic...I just haven't had a chance to remove and clean my EGR valve.  Having said that, my car claims it is getting 38 miles per gallon which I would figure would not be the case if the EGR valve was clogged up enough to be causing these king of problems.  I have learned that if I aggressively feather the accelerator before releasing the clutch on take off...it really helps...still something has clearly changed in the car.