Toyota Problems

There's no real reason to disconnect your battery when recharging it as long as the ignition is off when you do it.

Check the PCV valve, if it’s leaking it could cause a weakness at idle that would result in the stalling you speak of.

We have been told that some softness is a characteristic of the Prado, and despite this uncertain feeling the brakes do work and stop the car effectively. We have also been told that there is an issue with the brake master cylinder and Toyota has been replacing them under warranty. I would suggest you quiz your dealer about the master cylinder issue and request that he checks yours.

We haven’t had any other reports of this problem, but I wouldn’t think changing the type of oil would have any effect on it. The oil is being sucked into the engine under vacuum, so I would be looking for things like worn or leaking valve stem seals.

Prados and Hiluxes have a history of a knocking noise when cold and it was put down to over-fuelling while the engine is warming up. Our understanding is that Toyota fixed the problem by changing the injectors. Ask the dealer to request assistance from Toyota again, although I don’t fancy your chances given that the car has done 120,000 km and you bought it secondhand.

This is a known problem with the RAV4 and we're told Toyota has an upgrade kit available to fix it. Contact your dealer and ask them to upgrade your car.

You can use both fuels with safety in both cars. You should get better economy by using the better fuel, but I would suggest that you try 95 before trying 98 because it costs less up front.

It would seem that the problem might not have been fixed as Toyota claims. Go back to your dealer and demand it be fixed.

Backfiring in a vehicle running on LPG is usually a result of the air-gas mixture igniting in the intake manifold, and it's usually caused by a problem with the spark plug leads. In your case it would appear that an explosion has taken place in the crankcase, probably caused by a combustible mixture igniting. You need to have someone investigate then reason such a mixture might be present in the crankcase.

I don’t believe there is any such standard applying to build quality. What you would need to do is to bring in someone experienced in the industry and present their opinion to the tribunal. You could try Graeme Cuthbert (0422 444 335).