when you pull out engine oil dip stick and the faint smell of fuel hits your nostrils, what could be responsible? Car is 02 Toyota Camry 2AFE engine. Fuel consumption increased and the car drags when accelerating. Scan picked one code P1349.

A quick search through Google, point towards a blocked oil control valve filter. Have a search on youtube, to point you in the direction/location of the faulty part.
Purchase and replace, if you have the technical ability or ask Baba latifa for assistance !!!

Cruise-z:
when you pull out engine oil dip stick and the faint smell of fuel hits your nostrils, what could be responsible? Car is 02 Toyota Camry 2AFE engine. Fuel consumption increased and the car drags when accelerating. Scan picked one code P1349.

P1349 refers to Toyota - Variable Valve Timing System Malfunction Bank 1

Possible causes
- Dirty or low engine oil
- Valve timing
- Oil control valve
- Variable Valve Timing controller assembly
- Engine Control Module (ECM)

When is the code detected?
The P1349 code is triggered when the valve timing does not change from of current valve timing or the current valve timing is fixed.

Possible symptoms
- Engine Light ON (or Service Engine Soon Warning Light)


Source: engine-codes.com/p1349_toyota.html

1st degree Excessive fueling!

Something is making your engine ECU or ECM, as Toyota calls it, to command your injectors to spray in excess fuel into the combustion chambers, which unfortunately cant be all burnt during the combustion stroke. The unburnt fuel will gradually wash down your cylinders and settle in your oil pan, while it mixes and dilute the engine oil. Depending on when it started, the oil level on the dipstick supposed to have increased beyond where the level was in the last oil gauge. You should be getting black smoke symptom on the exhaust pipe opening on the car tail or you will find black soot there.

Or

Leaky injector(s). This takes place when engine is off. Due to pressure on the fuel rail, fuel will push itself down into the cylinder of any leaky injector and gradually drip into the oil pan. But in this case, you will observe that the car would hard start and rough idle, especially when parked overnight, until the dumped fuel in the cylinder clears off. But this might not be the case, since you have a code.

The Cause:

Well, like i said earlier, you have a code (hopefully, that would be the cause). But it appears to be a Toyota specific error code, if am not mistaken. Am not sure i would like to delve into it.


Note:

Running that car in that condition, with a diluted engine oil, will be causing more harm to the engine. The oil will be getting watery, washing the crankshaft journals and its bearing (friction). Unless you are ready to be replacing the the engine oil every two weeks or so, i would suggest you get it fixed as soon as possible. And replaced the oil when its sorted out.

Ikenna

Ikenna351: 1st degree Excessive fueling!

Something is making your engine ECU or ECM, as Toyota calls it, to command your injectors to spray in excess fuel into the combustion chambers, which unfortunately cant be all burnt during the combustion stroke. The unburnt fuel will gradually wash down your cylinders and settle in your oil pan, while it mixes and dilute the engine oil. Depending on when it started, the oil level on the dipstick supposed to have increased beyond where the level was in the last oil gauge. You should be getting black smoke symptom on the exhaust pipe opening on the car tail or you will find black soot there.

Or

Leaky injector(s). This takes place when engine is off. Due to pressure on the fuel rail, fuel will push itself down into the cylinder of any leaky injector and gradually drip into the oil pan. But in this case, you will observe that the car would hard start and rough idle, especially when parked overnight, until the dumped fuel in the cylinder clears off. But this might not be the case, since you have a code.

The Cause:

Well, like i said earlier, you have a code (hopefully, that would be the cause). But it appears to be a Toyota specific error code, if am not mistaken. Am not sure i would like to delve into it.


Note:

Running that car in that condition, with a diluted engine oil, will be causing more harm to the engine. The oil will be getting watery, washing the crankshaft journals and its bearing (friction). Unless you are ready to be replacing the the engine oil every two weeks or so, i would suggest you get it fixed as soon as possible. And replaced the oil when its sorted out.

Ikenna

If the ECM is the culprit, how do I detect and correct it? Also tell me how to detect leaky injectors? I found black shoot deposit and the engine oil level appears to have gone up marginally.The only fault detected P1349 doesn't seem to be linked to both possible cause.

Cruise-z:


If the ECM is the sculpt, how do I detect and correct it? Also tell me how to detect leaky injectors?

I did not say the ECM is the culprit, rather I said something is making your ECM to manage or run the engine wrongly. The fuel-air mixture is wrong. The car is having an injection issue. ECU works with signals/values it receives from various injection sensors and components, interpets them and control how the engine run via injectors, IAC, Throttle Body (Electric control), timing (electronic), etc. So, forget about your ECU for now. It's usually the last thing to suspect. Find what is causing it to work in that manner. You have a code already, start from there (if that is the only cause of the car excessive fueling, like i said earlier).

As for testing leaky injectors. Start the car, run it as long as you want, switch off the ignition and quickly pull out the fuel rail, leaving the 4 injectors attached. If there is any injector leaking internally, you will see it with your very own eyes, fuel dripping from it or their nozzles. Just wait and observe for some minutes to be sure only one or none is leaking before you re-mount the injectors on the intake manifold.

Ikenna.

Thank you Ikenna. I hope to get it sorted out tomorrow. I just wish the car will register related codes during the next scan.

It's the o-rings at the injectors. At service, it is advisable to test for injector pulse width and [also] fuel flow. Afterall, injector service is being performed.

If you can't get to it in the meantime, add a quart of fresh oil and park at slopes with the grill upward. It helps mitigate gas sips. Don't rush in the morning on cold-starts and avoid excessive revs. 99% of the time, it is the o-rings. Another factor could be the installation of gasoline in the oil crankcase. It's a sensitive to medium service (that's if the injectors are still good). You risk contamination or damage if due precautions are omitted when dealing with the injectors. If you had no prior experience to this and you could smell without reasonable doubt that it is gasoline, then you have a very bad leak. If minor-to-moderate, you'd have a cologne-like smell (or fragrance-like) and may need an opinion or two. The oil thinning definitely will be obvious. This is from experience.


By the way, a scan tool is not needed. A multimeter is needed for the test stated above. The rings are cheap.

Cruise-z:
when you pull out engine oil dip stick and the faint smell of fuel hits your nostrils, what could be responsible? Car is 02 Toyota Camry 2AFE engine. Fuel consumption increased and the car drags when accelerating. Scan picked one code P1349.

That's not faint. If you could tell it was fuel from your description, then it's not faint. You have a serious leak. Early/Mild leaks will be detected by a trained nose (based on skepticism) or oil analysis (after an oil change). Sometimes, it is as a result of excessive stop-and-go traffic coupled with extended interval drainage. In this case, oil [just] needs to be reinstalled. If the situation happens to be a dead give-away as yours, then mechanical service is needed. The symptoms stated will be eroded when service is complete (provided the problem is encompassed around this topic).

Cruise-z:
when you pull out engine oil dip stick and the faint smell of fuel hits your nostrils, what could be responsible? Car is 02 Toyota Camry 2AFE engine. Fuel consumption increased and the car drags when accelerating. Scan picked one code P1349.

Do not fret, i don't think the P1349 code has anything to do with the faint smell of petrol you observed in your oil. The faint smell of petrol in engine oil is quite common, most people whom have bothered to smell their engine oil would observe the same thing.
As for this the prime culprit is your spark plug i would advise you to have it checked out immediately and ensure you google for the recommended spark plug. You can find the tokunbo spark plug that matches the recommended type as a temporary replacement.
As for the code I would advise you start with the simple things: Change your engine oil and filter first and lets see if you get an improvemnt.

Cruise-z:
when you pull out engine oil dip stick and the faint smell of fuel hits your nostrils, what could be responsible? Car is 02 Toyota Camry 2AFE engine. Fuel consumption increased and the car drags when accelerating. Scan picked one code P1349.

You need to provide more information about the condition of your vehicle (mileage etc), previous repairs (spark plugs changed?) and symtoms (like idle rpm).

Ok while you are at trying to provide the info, I suggest you go for a lube change (pls use mobil XHP) and would be great if you can find any of the modern service centres that can use compressed air to flush your engine before putting the new engine oil. Ensure the oil is guaged to just below the upper limit on your dip-stick.
If you haven't changed your spark-plugs since your last 15,000miles I suggest you do that also. Then you can let us know if the old plugs were oil-soiled or dry.
Then lastly get them to use a scanner to erase existing codes. Start the car and run for a few minutes (still at the garage) and have the vehicle scanned again. Write down any codes.

Lets have your report after 3 days of use. Then you would have checked if the is any rise in oil level on your dip-stick, any drags on acceleration, any codes etc. Cheers

Thank you all. I had to change the engine oil and filter last Saturday. When the mechanic checked both MAF and air filter it was too dusty (road construction going on in my area). I will change the O ring this Saturday. I use mile master engine oil 5w30 SN.

I use recommended spark plug (denso sk20r11). Changed the old ones about three months ago, distance covered since then is about 3500km. I will note the idle rpm and revert, i guess its about 700 or so the last time i checked. Luckily, i have a scanner so i can erase codes myself. Where can i flush engine in Lagos using compressed air?

I just experienced that few weeks back though I use a VW product. The symptoms are thick black smokes, over gauge oil level, low engine performance and high fuel consumption.It is simply injector nozzle problem. One or two injector Nozzles is bad. I completely change a four nozzles and and the vehicle is back to normal. Friend, just get your injector nozzles replaced. As for the code, it may be pointing to the cause analyses.

just to add to what the wondaful people have said, could you call 'Auto Medics' tomorrow on trafic radio 96.1fm. btw 10 am and 12 noon. 08139503656 or 08038292296 or 08057777961. might have some insight. All the best.

Waiting for oga Sienna.

Guys, its simple. Your engine oil oughta smell like fuel. This is becos it makes contact with the inner walls of the cylinder and is scrapped off by the oil ring. Prior to that, the inner wall had traces of fuel ex inection and combustion.
Engine oil gotta smell like fuel at some point.

oi

Thanks guys, the response is overwhelming. I cleared the code (p1349) and it reappeared after about an hour of driving. That's the only code I got.

Cruise-z:
Thanks guys, the response is overwhelming. I cleared the code (p1349) and it reappeared after about an hour of driving. That's the only code I got.

You said you found the airfilter and MAF very dusty. What have you done about those two?

As simple as airfilter is, yes, it can cause such problem. Imagine when you close your nostrils and mouth, can you be able to breath or talk properly ? Thats what happens when the airfilter becomes too clogged to make it difficult for required amount of air, needed for the air-fuel mixture to take place in the intake manifold. Besides, it will affect other injection components like IAT.

As for the MAF, it's a different ball game. Sometimes, a failing MAF may not give any code. MAFs can be very difficult to diagnose, most times, better manually tested. I would clean off the dust with mild solvent and see what happens.

Ikenna.

I bought a new air filter and cleaned the MAF. I noticed an improvement in fuel consumption. I also bought tools I can use to clean both regularly since road construction in my area is still on going.

Haba. Too many suggestions on this matter that one can get so confused on what to really do.

Fuel in your engine oil could be caused by a number of reasons but the most basic and obvious cause is usually the spark plugs not firing in the cylinders. This causes uncombusted petrol to remain in the cylinders. This fuel gradually finds its way through the piston rings and drip into the oil sump mixing with the engine oil.

Imagine the RPM of an engine having raw fuel dumped in a cylinder without spark in each firing cycle. That a lot of fuel.

You complained about the loss of power. That could be attributed to your plugs not firing well.

Check your spark plugs and be sure that they are firing ok. If not, change them and check the result. The code you pulled from the scan does not necessarily reflect to the issue at hand so ignore it for now.

Car-Doctor.

car-doctor:
Haba. Too many suggestions on this matter that one can get so confused on what to really do.

Fuel in your engine oil could be caused by a number of reasons but the most basic and obvious cause is usually the spark plugs not firing in the cylinders. This causes uncombusted petrol to remain in the cylinders. This fuel gradually finds its way through the piston rings and drip into the oil sump mixing with the engine oil.

Imagine the RPM of an engine having raw fuel dumped in a cylinder without spark in each firing cycle. That a lot of fuel.

You complained about the loss of power. That could be attributed to your plugs not firing well.

Check your spark plugs and be sure that they are firing ok. If not, change them and check the result. The code you pulled from the scan does not necessarily reflect to the issue at hand so ignore it for now.

Car-Doctor.

No matter how good spark plugs are and how properly gapped they might be, they cant burn all fuel when there is excessive fuelling. They have limited amount of fuel the spark can handle during the explosion. Otherwise, you are saying all black smoke symptom means faulty spark plugs?

When fuel spray into the intake manifold by the injectors is more than required amount of air, do you expect the combustion stroke to be properly done in those chambers?

Op said he changed his spark plugs recently with OEM. At least, copper plugs should last 20,000 km, not to think of if they are platinum or Iridium. I would lay more emphasis, especially on the injection, rather than ignition, in finding the culprit, in his case, without ruling out the ignition components though.

By the way, excessive fuelling would cause hesitation, poor acceleration or drop in power as well, until the rpm hits 4-5k rpm.

Ikenna

@ Cruise-z,

Something I forgot to ask in the beginning. Were you experiencing black smoke when you depress the accelerator hard or were you seeing black soot on the exhaust pipe opening at the tail?

Ikenna

No black smoke when i accelerate hard but i noticed black soot deposit. Not a heavy deposit though.

Cruise-z:
No black smoke when i accelerate hard but i noticed black soot deposit. Not a heavy deposit though.

I innitially guessed the priblem would have been with your plugs, but since you just changed them, it can be ruled out. However, are you sure the plugs are original. I just changed my plugs to brand new NGKs that I ordered from Amazon and they made a big difference with the smoothness of my car. Dirty Air filter is another thing that can affect drivability. You cqn also consider cleaning your throttle body, that also helps a great deal especially when they were dirty.

Ikenna351:

No matter how good spark plugs are and how properly gapped they might be, they cant burn all fuel when there is excessive fuelling. They have limited amount of fuel the spark can handle during the explosion. Otherwise, you are saying all black smoke symptom means faulty spark plugs?

When fuel spray into the intake manifold by the injectors is more than required amount of air, do you expect the combustion stroke to be properly done in those chamber

Op said he changed his spark plugs recently with OEM. At least, copper plugs should last 20,000 km, not to think of if they are platinum or Iridium. I would lay more emphasis, especially on the injection, rather than ignition, in finding the culprit, in his case, without ruling out the ignition components though.

By the way, excessive fuelling would cause hesitation, poor acceleration or drop in power as well, until the rpm hits 4-5k rpm.

Ikenna

Then he should check the ignition coil. By the way, I have seen so many fake spark plugs about that Don't even work from installation.

Ikenna, I thiink you are trying too hard to help solve a problem that really requires a proper physical examination. So much guess work going on here. Please, let's not mislead the op.

Car-Doctor.

car-doctor:


Then he should check the ignition coil. By the way, I have seen so many fake spark plugs about that Don't even work from installation.

Ikenna, I thiink you are trying too hard to help solve a problem that really requires a proper physical examination. So much guess work going on here. Please, let's not mislead the op.

Car-Doctor.

A failed/failing ignition coil would give a misfiring error code. Op did not state his car was misfiring or rough idling, which is what a failed or bad spark plug would do. Op did not sound like a novice to me not to know what misfiring and rough idling means for not to have mentioned it in the beginning.

Misled who? Can you tell you that I all I have suggested so far has nothing to do with fuel finding itself in the oil pan?

Guess work? Who is doing the guess work here? Myself? I can see that you don't know me that much or you are beginning to do. Sorry, we are different. I do elimination method/ manual troubleshooting and am good at it. I list out possible components/sensors which if failed would give a particular symptom and gradually start eliminating each one after the other until I get to the culprit. In the process, I would discover better method of troubleshooting, components about to fail that have not started giving warning and understand the car better. I do not see anything wrong in teaching someone how to fix an issue with his vehicle which he asked for.

If discussing DIY is a problem for you, then you just have to deal with it. Am not in your workshop, neither am I your apprentice. So keep your authority to yourself. If you are not comfortable with my suggestions, then be convincing to Op with yours and not attack mine. Am not competing with anyone. Op is old enough to choose whatever suggestion he finds useful or better here.


Ikenna.

The car is not misfiring and the spark plugs are genuine. I have a reliable source for all my spare parts and I only buy recommended parts. Here is what I have decided to do and I want the gurus (ikenna, car doctor etc) to let me know if its a good or not so good move. I want to change all four injector nozzles. I haven't done that since I bought the car but I have used additives on few occasion. I will also clean out the throttle body then wait for results. This is day 3 since I changed engine oil, no petrol odor when I pull out the dip stick.

Ikenna351:

No matter how good spark plugs are and how properly gapped they might be, they cant burn all fuel when there is excessive fuelling. They have limited amount of fuel the spark can handle during the explosion. Otherwise, you are saying all black smoke symptom means faulty spark plugs?

When fuel spray into the intake manifold by the injectors is more than required amount of air, do you expect the combustion stroke to be properly done in those chamber

Op said he changed his spark plugs recently with OEM. At least, copper plugs should last 20,000 km, not to think of if they are platinum or Iridium. I would lay more emphasis, especially on the injection, rather than ignition, in finding the culprit, in his case, without ruling out the ignition components though.

By the way, excessive fuelling would cause hesitation, poor acceleration or drop in power as well, until the rpm hits 4-5k rpm.

Ikenna

Then he should check the ignition coil.

Ikenna, I think you are trying too hard to help solve a problem that really requires a proper physical examination. So much guess work and speculations going on here. Please, let's not mislead the op.

Car-Doctor.

Cruise-z:
The car is not misfiring and the spark plugs are genuine. I have a reliable source for all my spare parts and I only buy recommended parts. Here is what I have decided to do and I want the gurus (ikenna, car doctor etc) to let me know if its a good or not so good move. I want to change all four injector nozzles. I haven't done that since I bought the car but I have used additives on few occasion. I will also clean out the throttle body then wait for results. This is day 3 since I changed engine oil, no petrol odor when I pull out the dip stick.

With the feedback after the preventive maintenance carried out, we can now attempt to isolate the cause of your vehicles problems.

Am bearing in mind your opening post and your latest feedback here reproduced.

No more petrol odour in dipstick, though you didn't say I believe your oil level on the dipstick is still at the last gauge point. Lets leave what might have introduced that odour for another discuss. But bear in mind that there are provisions for non-combustible fuel to be expelled through the exhaust-valves and also re-injected with the help of the catalytic converter; which helps with fuel efficiency.

You didn't say if you still experience the car drag when accelerating. So we just focus on the P1349 code. Lomomike had offer an interpretation of the code which is correct. Find attached a TSB from Toyota; I obtained from http://www.needmotorparts.com/toyota/service/toyota it will guide your mechanic on how to repair your VVTi (variable valve timing) Actuator. But you will need a scanner of the type of Launch 431 that can be set into Active Test mode. Basically the bulletin explains that if the vehicle experiences rough-idling on step 3 of the test then you need to change the VVTi Actuator (ie inlet sprocket).

But before you get into all this get a good Diagnostic technician with Launch x431 to scan the vehicle. And I believe other routine maintenance (eg. fuel filter replacement) for high mileage vehicles have been done.

Cruise-z:
Thank you all. I had to change the engine oil and filter last Saturday. When the mechanic checked both MAF and air filter it was too dusty (road construction going on in my area). I will change the O ring this Saturday. I use mile master engine oil 5w30 SN.

I use recommended spark plug (denso sk20r11). Changed the old ones about three months ago, distance covered since then is about 3500km. I will note the idle rpm and revert, i guess its about 700 or so the last time i checked. Luckily, i have a scanner so i can erase codes myself. Where can i flush engine in Lagos using compressed air?

Gasoline is a flammable hydrocarbon. Gasoline in liquid is not the most of your problem(s). It is the vapour. The vapour and air integration in the presence of a spark is what causes [a] fire. Above all, gasoline vapours are heaver than air, thus it collects in places within the oil crankcase. A condition to warrant any spark will set a fire. Surely, the category of fire will be an inferno with a very dedicated attribute when application of water occurs. It will float over water (since it is lighter than water) and continue out of control. A spark from a spark plug is approximately 4500degF. Oil plays a role in the combustion phase. You have oil and fuel within a closed-system, with air and spark as certain/necessary variables under appropriate conditions; and nothings bothers that you are running "games." Interesting! From your admission, the stench of fuel bothered you upon unlocking the crankcase cap. Doesn't that ring a bell that trouble might be a potential? The liquid is not what you smelt but vapour. It is safe to conclude from your initial post that you have a chronic case and needs immediate attention. You can choose to listen to the fellow (no qualms intended) that told you it is normal that all cars have fuel in the crankcase. You don't need a priest to officiate in motion the statement as fact or crap. Logic has resolved that (if you lend yourself to it). When in skepticism, ponder on how dithiophosphorus (major component in oil) reacts with fuel within a given system of rapid running mechanical interactions. Take time to ask [people] how their conclusions were drawn. They shouldn't be offended if they know what they are saying.

The core-question should be how gasoline got into the crankcase. Sadly, solutions have been given without identification of a possible cause. Furthermore, how did your mechanic come to the conclusion of the air-meter being the root of the matter?

As Bomijuwon reinforced, it is your INJECTORS and not ECU, headgasket, MAF, IAC, plugs, horsepower or any direct/indirect dependencies stated. Or crankcase was fed with gas. It is also impossible to have a unified solution to the problems you have stated. Personally, I want to believe a portion of the lion-share of the issues would be your injectors. As previously stated, if the injectors are good, then the o-rings need replacement; sincerely cheap. Get a qualified mechanic to perform service. A multimeter is all that is needed to check for pulse-width; a scan-tool is useless.

Above all: For goodness sake, do not attempt eliminating any code. There are certain codes you eliminate and there are certain you NEVER eliminate. If you know what you are doing, you will NEVER need a scan-tool. I've never used a scan-tool in the approximate nine years I've worked on cars. They aren't designed as a definitive reference to diagnosis.

Ikenna351:

No matter how good spark plugs are and how properly gapped they might be, they cant burn all fuel when there is excessive fuelling. They have limited amount of fuel the spark can handle during the explosion. Otherwise, you are saying all black smoke symptom means faulty spark plugs?

When fuel spray into the intake manifold by the injectors is more than required amount of air, do you expect the combustion stroke to be properly done in those chambers?

Op said he changed his spark plugs recently with OEM. At least, copper plugs should last 20,000 km, not to think of if they are platinum or Iridium. I would lay more emphasis, especially on the injection, rather than ignition, in finding the culprit, in his case, without ruling out the ignition components though.

By the way, excessive fuelling would cause hesitation, poor acceleration or drop in power as well, until the rpm hits 4-5k rpm.

Ikenna

So, what happens to the fuel if the spark plugs are not working at all? If the spark plugs are not working at all, there will be no combustion. The unburnt fuel remains in the cylinder and then eventually drips into the oil sump through the piston rings causing "bore wash" as well. The fuel drips may not significantly increase the level of oil as may be shown on the dipstick but it will definitely leave a fuel odour in the oil.

Car-Doctor.