Toyota Avensis slugish

benoneill

Hello,
I have a 2003 (new type) Toyota Avensis 1.6 petrol that runs sluggish at low revs, jumpy even, sometimes. If I change the spark plugs it will run perfectly again but only for about 4000 miles. anyone any ideas.

MarkR

When you take the spark plugs out, do they seem dirty?

benoneill

The plugs are a grey colour

colm_mcm

If they're black and oil fouled you could be looking at piston rings, if they're covered in ash, you could be looking at the engine burning oil,

Is the car using much oil, is there any smoke?

benoneill

It does seem to be using alot of oil but there is no excess smoke. I just put the oil down to the 224,000 miles it has on clock ( Taxi ).

colm_mcm

try using an oil additive, but you could be looking at short block or piston ring (and probably catalytic convetor at this stage) damage.

benoneill

would something like slick 50 do any good

colm_mcm

I used stuff before that thickened the oil, this would make it less likely to run through the rings. It'd have to be worth a shot. It may decrease the protection given to the engine due to it being thicker, but at this stage you're probably looking at big money to properly rectify it, getting rid of the symptoms is good enough for now.

Esel

benoneill wrote: »

would something like slick 50 do any good

Very unlikely; more likely to harm your engine...... by causing oil starvation due to blocked filter.

benoneill

Ok, Thanks very much for your help lads.

Padraig Mor

Surely a 1.6 Avensis would be sluggish the whole time, no?!


Apologies for unhelpful post.

nice1franko

I've an 06 one with 90k on the clock and it's a bit sluggish. It's a big enough car...

benoneill

Thanks, Ill have to go for the 1.8 or 2.0 the next time

GERMAN ROCKS

but if you look at it this way that is savage mileage for a petrol car. you wouldnt take as much notice in a diesel. the engine is bound to be a bit crocked at this stage in its life.

Pkiernan

It could also be a case of the fuel air mixture being too rich, causing the plugs to foul.

This could be a relatively simple fix, for example cleaning the Mass Airflow Sensor.

benoneill

Yeh. Do realise its big mileage for a petrol and I suppose I cant expect it to run like new. will get the mass airflow sensor checked. thanks to everyone for your ideas. very helpfull.