The following is posted by Doug Shiner of Kununurra WA of the Western Angler Forum (4x4 section)
Thought some of you maybe interested in this read............ big thanks to Doug for letting us post it here.... anyways here goes -
"Had a long term problem with the new Common Rail Hilux of mine. When it was new, the power was good, the economy was fantastic, had no real complaints. Over the past 10 000 kms (20000 kms now on clock), the economy has turned to sh*t, power at idle has been iffy, developed a miss from time to time. Complained about it to the local dealer, they found nothing untoward. Took it in for service twice, and asked that it be addressed. Twice, they reckoned they couldnt find anything.
Finally, this past service, the problem was addressed. The fuel filter, which supposedly didnt need changing 'til 80000 kms, was absolutely black and clogged. It appears that its not a problem with particles of dirt or rust, or even water contamination, so much as a component of the diesel itself. It may only be a problem with diesel in this area, I mention this as a warning!
The solution, which is also a recommendation from a few dealers, is to fit a prefilter inline, and to use a fuel additive from time to time. This is what I wanted to do originally, based on my experience in the workshop with Merc Common Rail diesels, but I was told by the then Toyota workshop manager that I wouldnt need to do that, and that it wouldnt fix anything as the OE filters were extremely fine and ordinary filters wouldnt trap enough material to be useful. Now it would appear that there has been a change of heart on the subject, and prefilters are recommended, as is fuel additives.
The local dealer has been pretty good to me so far, and they have been as honest as they can be, so I cant complain. I just wish I had done as I wanted to do, and not believed all of what I was told when common sense and experience told me otherwise.
Will fit a prefilter setup soon"