Check Engine light - Dodgy Fuel?

Diemos

I would appreciate any advice.

Over the weekend the check engine light came on in my car.
I was down the country and could no find a garage open to check the car, so I drove home. (probably a bad idea but I was stuck)
The engine sounds fine, no smoke, but feels very sluggish particularly in 3rd and 4th.

The car is an Avensis D4D,
200,000 M,
serviced every 5000 miles,
air filter and fuel filter changed at last service, 2000 miles ago.

Only thing I could think of, was that my last 2 fuel fills were from a cheap fuel station in south Dublin city, the D4 area.......

I had a 3/4 full tank, so I topped it up at Topaz, where I had usually purchased my fuel and the check engine light disappeared.

What should I do?
Take it to a garage and get the car checked out (ideally but cash is tight), have the fuel tank drained,
just keep diluting the crap that's in it and never buy from unbranded stations again? (The fuel thing may just be a co-incidence, but I've had the car for years and never had any issues, change stations and then problems).

Thank you

Bigus

It needs to be plugged in for diagnosis, down load fault codes,and take it from there.

Diemos

Cheers, I was afraid of that.
Can you recommend any good garages in Dublin city centre / south Dublin?

Cheers

dieselbug

i'v seen similar to this with toyotas, seem to be very sensitive to fuel quality. Maybe a little fuel additive might be a good idea.

bbbaldy

Dont assume its the fuel, any amount of things can cause the light to come on. Stuff just fails with time as well. Get the code off it or you could end up chasing your tail.

bbability

Do the simple things first. Check the EGR Valve and fuel filter. If you let it go empty its probably clogged the EGR.

Diemos

I never let it go empty, The light is off most of the time but I have no power at all in the higher gear, 4th feels awful.
Getting it checked out at the weekend. Fingers crossed this isn't going to be too expensive.
I try not to let it run dry, so I'd be surprised if that is the problem.

Thanks for all the advice. I'll post the results from the tests. Might help someone in the future.

Diemos

Morning all.

So the error code I got was: P0627: Suction control valves
The light disappeared over the week and on Saturday morning the car just started driving like itself again.
I took it to the mechanic anyway just to be safe.
He echo'ed DieselBug, "the D4D doesn't like sh!te fuel".
He suggested that I run the tank dry and refill it at a proper station and keep an eye on it. If it happens again I may need to replace the SCV valves but for the moment I can only cross fingers and never buy fuel there again.

I'll try to get my hands on some BG-244.

Thanks for all the help.

blacklilly

Diemos wrote: »

Morning all.

So the error code I got was: P0627: Suction control valves
The light disappeared over the week and on Saturday morning the car just started driving like itself again.
I took it to the mechanic anyway just to be safe.
He echo'ed DieselBug, "the D4D doesn't like sh!te fuel".
He suggested that I run the tank dry and refill it at a proper station and keep an eye on it. If it happens again I may need to replace the SCV valves but for the moment I can only cross fingers and never buy fuel there again.

I'll try to get my hands on some BG-244.

Thanks for all the help.

This happened me with my car, I uses BG-244 after bringing it to a garage but unfortunately the light came back on 2 weeks later so had to get the valves changed.
As for garage recommendations, murphy&gunn in rathgar or cardock on lombard street have both served me well.