Mihanicos

I would repair the caliper. You should be able to buy a piston as well if you need one. Any scoring within the caliper use sand paper to smooth the surface. Normally Toyota master and slave cylinders are made from aluminium alloy and there should be no corrosion. Any abrassion on the piston indicates eccessive uneven rotor wear more on the outer circumference than the centre. Replace the piston if it is not true. Chris.

A brake piston will stick when the piston rubber seal lost its resilience, or when the piston is rusty inside due to moisture in the brake fluid due to no replacement every two years. If the piston surface is scored it can be polished. More often is a failed rubber seal that causes the ceasure. Chris.

Most likely you have a failed lamda sensor on the up stream. You need a scanner that can display the waveform of the short and long term fuel sensors. The upstream responds instantly and the median value of the waveform sets the downstream fuel trim sensor. If the downstream fuel trim exceeds 20% correction of the stoichiometric value, then the engine computer sets the respective code. Chris.

I agree with Herbie. On second thoughts, look at the freeze frame data where you will find all the relevant generic data prior to the DTC code. From that data you should be able to deduce the fault. Chris.

If any ignition coil has been struck or dropped accidentally, should be replaced. Check that the electrode gap is 1.0 mm. If it is 1.4 mm, replace the spark plug. P 1300 refers to the igniter circuit. Use a scanner to read more details and more codes pertaining to the problem, P0351 refers to No1 ignition coil etc. As the ecu turns off the current to the primary coil of each igniter, a confirmation signal is sent back to the ecu for each cylinder fired. If the signal fails to reach the ecu, then a dtc is set. To identify and locate the fault you need an oscilloscope or a suitable scanner to monitor and display the ignition signal and the ignition confirmation signal on a common time base. You also need the circuit diagram to identify the points to measure and monitor the various parameters to locate the fault. The engine ecu also needs information from the engine coolant temperature sensor, Mass air flow Sensor, throttle position sensor to fire the spark plugs. Check that the Mass Air Sensor is connected and functioning otherwise the engine will not start. Chris.

I would check all the temperature sensors related to the hybrid system, on traction battery and coolant. If you have an electric water pump, check the connector pins. Some sensors when open or short circuited cause a maximum or a minimum reading. In any case, you should have full warranty and your problem should worry the dealer who sold the car to you. Chris.

When you press the clutch pedal, the clutch fork is pushed against its fulchrum either by hydraulic slave cylinder or by the clutch linkage and in turn the fulchrum pushes the release bearing against the pressure plate to disengage the gearbox in order to change gear. From the foregoing it emenates that the release bearing is ok and the noise comes from the gearbox. You may have worn bearings or gears or a fork within the gearbox. An inspection will reveal the cause and it should be a straight forward job to do. You will need a clutch centering tool or a spare gearbox input shaft for the refitting of the clutch. Chris.

The health test is just the value of the internal resistance of the battery modules which can be displayed by a scan tool. New modules have a very low value, something like 0.015 Ohms. As the modules " age " this value increases. Normally the internal resistance value increases very slowly over time and according to the charge/discharge cycles. There are many hybrid batteries over ten years old and with 250 000 km on the clock and still going strong. So in your case I would not worry about it. Chris.

Pulsating brake pedal suggests warped rotors. Slider pin seized, pads wear more one one side than the other and usually in a skewed pattern. Excessive brake pad wear indicates seized pistons. Chris.

There is a recent video on Youtube about plastic welding and your problem was the demonstration example. All you need is a soldering iron with a flat heated bit and a fine steel mesh. You cut a piece of steel mesh of the same shape to cover the area around the damage, put it on top of the plastic area to be repaired and place the soldering iron over the mesh. This sinks into the plastic and by spreading more plastic over the area the joint is reiforced. Repeat the process for the other side. If you need to fill a gap, cut a small piece of plastic from somewhere it does not matter. Chris.

Use copper grease on both sides of the antisqeal shims and at the piston contact area on the brake pads. Apply some grease on the pads where they contact the caliper. Do not allow any copper grease to get in contact with any rubber dust seals, it will make them swell. Chris.

Thanks Herbie you are absolutely right. I normally drive my Lexus on motorways, very rarely in the city. Chris.

I also share your considerations and engage neutral when I stop. On the other hand if you use the automatic transmission like most people do, as Herbie outlined, there will be no adverse circumstances. Chris.

Usually the play in most rack and pinions is in the pinion gear. In some models this can be eliminated by using a washer of a suitable thickness so the gap between the teeth is reduced. If there is wear on the rack gear, usually at the centre, the amount of play you can reduce will be decided by the specified turning torque on the pinion shaft. Make sure the pinion shaft if free when it engages at either end of the rack gear. If the play is in the universal joints, simply replace the faulty one. However, if the stearing play is small and the car cannot drive straight ahead on a flat level surface, you should scrutinise the suspension components with the car on a lift. Use a small crow bar on the rubber bushing members to see how good they are. Usually worn suspension parts are on the passenger side. Check shock absorbers, stabiliser bar bushings and ball joints. Make certain the steering geometry is correct and it should only be done when all the suspension is in good order. Chris.

Check the fuel injectors and the carbon built around the inlet valves. You should be doing an inlet valve cleaning once a year using special cleaners sprayed into the inlet manifold. If your inlet valves are heavily clocked you may have to use wallnut blasting or clean them with chemicals. Chris.

The are special oils for differentials that whine, 80W140 and also an STP additive directly into the differential and then fill with 80W140 GL5 minimum specification. I had Mercedes 280CE with a whining diffetential, especially when driving about 20 mph. Applied the above prescription and it was silenced forever. Clocked many thousand miles and had no problem. It may work for yours. Chris.

Assuming you are using the correct type and viscosity of oil, and depending on your driving style, daily trip lengths, ambient temperature, terrain of driving and load, some oil will be consumed by any healthy engine. Make sure you are using the correct ACEA C rating of engine oil. This rating depends on the High Temperature Shear Viscosity of the oil. Using the wrong HTSV oil will cause engine damage. See ACEA oil specifications. Check the compression of each cylinder. Worn piston rings and an engine that overheated will cause oil consumption. Worn valve seals will also cause engine oil consumption. It is possible to change them without removing the cylinder head. Inspect the spark plugs. A healthy engine will have the electrode porcelain colour light chestnut brown, indicating a stoichiometric combustion. An oily and sooty electrode indicates excessive oil consumption either from the piston rings or the valve seals. Some engines other than Toyota and Lexus are designed to burn oil about 1.5 litres per 1000 miles for normal driving conditions. The reason for this is to improve fuel economy at the expense of blocking the catalytic converters. Chris.

Thank you very much kijan and Lwerewolf for your time and kindness to offer your advice and knowledge on the subject. I managed to find out only yesterday that the dimensions of their modules differ, rendering them non interchangeable, despite they have identical electrical and chemical characteristics. Module dimensions are as follows: Lexus GS 450h and Prius: 19.6(w), 106(H), (285)L. Toyota Rav4: 12.2(W), 122(H), 370(L). Chris.

Can anybody please confirm if the modules or cells of a Toyota 2017 Rav 4 hybrid battery are the same as those of a Lexus GS 450h 2011. Chris.

There may be a blockage somewhere or some air trapped, before the oil pressure sensor both very unlikely but possible. I had this in the past, I unscrewed the oil filter until some oil drained out and then screwed it back. Whenever I remove any engine part with oil passages, I push water through them so I can see the flow. Then I dry them with compressed air. Try changing the oil filter if not original. Chris.

Check the thermostat. When it opens, rev the engine to about 1200 rpm and observe the water circulating in the radiator ( radiator cap off ). This indicates that the water pump is ok. Make certain that you bleed all the air from the system, there are many videos in Youtube. If the problem persists, you may have a cylinder head gasket failure. Check the inside of the engine oil filler cap, if there is any mayonaise on the inside of the cap, then this is a confirmation that the oil mixes with water. Another sign, on the oil dipstic where it is immersed in the engine oil, you will see bubles in the oil. Chris.

Whenever you drive in any gear and you do not press the accelerator, there is engine braking by using the electric motors to generate electricity. The lower the gear you select the higher the braking. This is possible until the batteries become fully charged. At this point you will feel the loss of engine braking and the car will then accelerate due to gravity if you are going down hill, depending on the gradient. To continue braking you engage B which is a resistor so that the generated electrical energy is dissipated as heat. Chris.

All wheels will still be out of balance. All nuts on each wheel must weigh the same. Chris.

Try cleaning the Mass Air Flow sensor. Clean or replace the fuel filter. Check the fuel pressure and clean the fuel injectors. Add fuel injection cleaning and maintenance fuel additive to the fuel tank. Make sure the fuel cap has a good rubber sealant and no air can be drawn into the fuel tank. Check the fuel canister for leaks and all its rubber tube connections are sound. Chris.

If you manage to get another nut, make sure it weighs the same to the nearest gram as any other nut, otherwise wherever you use it it will cause that wheel to be out of balance. This will further cause premature bearing failure of the wheel bearing and possible vibration on the steering wheel, if fitted to the front wheels, depending on the out of balance weight. Chris.