Toyota Corolla Verso starting issues & Info on 2016 CR-V 1.6L Diesel

Question

Hi Scotty,   Love the show, really value your opinion. Here's my question (2 parts)   We're in Europe (ireland) so the cars in question are manual   1. We have a 2008 Toyota Corolla Verso 2.2D 160k miles. Brilliant car, had it for 10 years. I love it however it's being giving trouble starting lately. It usually take about 2 or 3 goes to start and I have a knack of tapping the accelerator to turn it on in the the morning. Only happens first thing in the morning, grand then for the rest of the day. We've changed the starter motor, ignition switch, and alternator. Glow plugs were done 40k miles ago roughly. The car is regularly maintained also. It's happened in the mechanics shop and he's hooked it up to his computer and no errors show. He's baffled and next week he's going to get his auto electrician to have a look at it. It's my wife's car and we have different opinions on what to do. Personally I love Toyota Corollas and drive a 2003 1.4L Corolla hatchback myself. If it was any other car with starting issues / possible electrical faults etc. I'd walk away from it  but it's a Corolla so I'm finding it hard to do. My wife, and women, in general would look at the situation differently and don't see the point in putting more money into such an old car which is fair enough. How far do you go chasing an error like this? and have you been in a similar situation before where you had to give up on an otherwise good machine with an outstanding track record?   2. In the meantime we're looking at the Honda CR-V, probably 2016 model with 1.6L diesel engine. What's your experience with the smaller diesel engines? Have the designers compromised on anything in the process? It just seems too good to be true that you keep most of the performance characteristics but get much better mileage. Is there a catch?   Thanks   PS

scottykilmer · Accepted Answer

One question at a time please. I'm getting old. I can't remember two parts and I can't go back to look at the second one. Ask for it not starting and you have to tap the accelerator that primes the fuel injection system and the car is getting old. What the heck? I'd leave it alone. But you could try having a fuel injectors pressure clean by a mechanic or add some cleaner in a tank and see if that helps. You could also do my video how to make your car run better with the little spray cleaner

InThrustWeTrust · Answer

Is that 1.6L diesel, the one with a single or dual turbos? In either case, it was mated to a 9speed transmission which was having issues. I’d avoid.  Perhaps @dan may have something to add.

Dan · Answer

Posted by: @itwt Perhaps @dan may have something to add Well, that's the Honda N-series it's overall alright. Both the turbo and twin turbo variants hold up pretty much the same longevity/reliability wise - but with 158hp at 4,000 rpm and 350NM at 2,000rpm the twin turbo has very nice driving characteristics.   As @itwt has said, most issues with Honda diesels are related to the 9HP gearbox. Reading online, this gearbox is much better behaved when mated to a diesel - but it does have a tendency to sheer off the splines of the input shaft and clog the valve body with degree.   Replace the fluid frequently, every 20k-30k miles should be alright.