Injectors Plugged (1 Viewer)

[ewurt]

I had the 4Lo and CEL come on in my 2013 200. It has 36,000 miles.
I took it into local Toyota dealer Sept 19 and they scanned it to find misfire and injector codes. Injector was plugged and was replaced in cylinder #2 along with plug and insulator.
The truck ran fine until last weekend when the same codes and a misfire occurred again. Local, non Toyota mechanic looked at it and suspects cylinder #1 now has the same fault.
Has anyone else had these issues? I'm not sure what could be plugging them up, I'm gassing up at Shell or 76 and we mainly drive on the highway with occasional short dirt road stretches but no extensive trail use. I don't think the fuel filter has ever been replaced.
Not sure where to go from here? Back to Toyota for another 7 injector replacements?
Tim

 

[OregonLC]

Sounds like maybe she needs to be driven more or harder? Extended pauses between drives can cause fuel to varnish over moving parts like injector solenoids. Or maybe it’s being driven daily but never warmed up?

 

[ewurt]

It is a daily driver that is on the highway regularly. I don't often warm it up though.
I guess I will see what Toyota says.

 

[Rando Kuruza]

Hmm sounds like you need to put 91 octane in, 87 is known to clog injectors..... lol it’s a joke, it’s a joke

 

[bloc]

American 200s don't have real fuel filters. There is a mesh sock over the pickup but other than that nothing to protect our fuel system.

Personally I'd pull the injectors and send them off to RCEngineering for cleaning/flow testing. Obviously you'll be down while they are out.. maybe look at a rental, their turnaround is very quick. But that's really the only way to get a solid idea of the health of the remaining units.

And while they are out find a way to run the pump and flush out the fuel lines. Also pull the pump module to have a look at the screen.

I did some digging in the past to see if any foreign markets got a fuel filter, and the only gas 200s I could find with one were in the China market. No clue whether you could order this fuel line and install it on ours for a working factory filter.. there could be tons of differences in the fuel system. Not to mention likely having to drop the fuel tank and tons of other stuff, possibly having to lift the body, to install the line.

Cutting the stock line and flaring it for a custom filter seems like the best option.. but that would be tough as the fuel line hugs the frame most of the way. Plus unless you do it right you introduce the possibility of vibration caused failure and all kinds of things toyota designs for when they put one on at the factory. Not to mention, most of us don't see this problem so I'm not sure it is warranted.

Use good fuel!

 

[619TOY]

My first question would be how confident you are in the dealerships diagnosis of the injector actually being "plugged"? Injectors go bad, cause misfires and initiate codes without being plugged. The coils can go out of spec, usually the resistance increases to a level that causes the injector to no longer function correctly.

I had that happen twice on my 4Runner. Swapped one injector, fixed the problem and six months or so later another injector same problem. Fast forward a few years and no more problems since... In my case maybe just coincidence, but not plugged injectors.

Upside is that I got pretty quick at swapping injectors I could swap one during my lunch break, about an hour.

 

[bloc]

My first question would be how confident you are in the dealerships diagnosis of the injector actually being "plugged"? Injectors go bad, cause misfires and initiate codes without being plugged. The coils can go out of spec, usually the resistance increases to a level that causes the injector to no longer function correctly.

I had that happen twice on my 4Runner. Swapped one injector, fixed the problem and six months or so later another injector same problem. Fast forward a few years and no more problems since... In my case maybe just coincidence, but not plugged injectors.

Upside is that I got pretty quick at swapping injectors I could swap one during my lunch break, about an hour.

That question could be answered by sending the “plugged” injector to RCE for analysis. And the bonus is it’s only $20 and no downtime.

 

[619TOY]

That question could be answered by sending the “plugged” injector to RCE for analysis. And the bonus is it’s only $20 and no downtime.

That's a great point if the OP still has the offending injector.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I'm sure just a coincidence and not pointing fingers, but both of my injector failures were after sending all six to RC Engineering for cleaning, balancing and flow testing. I figured it was a good idea since I was in there replacing valve cover gaskets. I'm assuming they don't measure coil resistance during their process.

 

[bloc]

That's a great point if the OP still has the offending injector.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I'm sure just a coincidence and not pointing fingers, but both of my injector failures were after sending all six to RC Engineering for cleaning, balancing and flow testing. I figured it was a good idea since I was in there replacing valve cover gaskets. I'm assuming they don't measure coil resistance during their process.

That is a very interesting detail.

Would probably be worth investigating whether other toyota owners are having the same issue. Maybe they are hitting them with a different signal that is appropriate for the GM injectors they do a lot more of and that causes damage?

 

[ewurt]

Unfortunately I don’t have the first failed injector!
I know the local mechanic is swapping injectors and coils. Sounds like it is running better, stay tuned...

 

[AUswimmer]

I had the 4Lo and CEL come on in my 2013 200. It has 36,000 miles.
I took it into local Toyota dealer Sept 19 and they scanned it to find misfire and injector codes. Injector was plugged and was replaced in cylinder #2 along with plug and insulator.
The truck ran fine until last weekend when the same codes and a misfire occurred again. Local, non Toyota mechanic looked at it and suspects cylinder #1 now has the same fault.
Has anyone else had these issues? I'm not sure what could be plugging them up, I'm gassing up at Shell or 76 and we mainly drive on the highway with occasional short dirt road stretches but no extensive trail use. I don't think the fuel filter has ever been replaced.
Not sure where to go from here? Back to Toyota for another 7 injector replacements?
Tim

2013 with 36,000 miles? 5K/ yr?

 

[ewurt]

Daily driver might be a stretch but it’s driven most every day.
This is my dads cruiser, I’m posting for him bc I’m on Mud for my 40.

 

[04UZJ100]

Did Boeing make your fuel tank?

 

[619TOY]

That is a very interesting detail.

Would probably be worth investigating whether other toyota owners are having the same issue. Maybe they are hitting them with a different signal that is appropriate for the GM injectors they do a lot more of and that causes damage?

Anything is possible,but I really do think it was just a coincidence. I chose RCE because of all the positive reviews on Toyota boards. I would like to think that if they measured resistance as part of their process they may have saved me the troubleshooting and R&R time, but that’s about it.

 

[Riaz]

Hmm sounds like you need to put 91 octane in, 87 is known to clog injectors..... lol it’s a joke, it’s a joke

Even try using 98 it had cleaning agents