WTFFF. 09 won't start, NEED HELP ASAP

I'm glad to hear that things are moving in the right direction. I wish you luck on getting this resolved. Intermittent problems can be the worst because diagnosis usually means testing things out or observing the problem to glean clues from the behavior.

It probably won't surprise you to know that I used to be a mechanic (in the days before they were called techs. ) That was in the late 70s. At a couple of dealerships I worked at, I got to be the go-to guy for this kind of problem. Sometimes it meant driving the customer car until the problem happened so I could see the symptoms first hand. (Not so bad when the car was a 911 or nice Audi ) Descriptions can be troublesome (witness the discussion on exactly what cranking means earlier in this thread.) I always solved the problem, but due to the way warranty repairs paid out I always took a beating when it came to getting paid. I returned to school and got a BS in engineering and never looked back. That's the other problem getting this resolved. The best and brightest technicians are most likely not working for a dealer. They will either move on to something that pays better or open their own shop.

 

If they ever do get back to you with an issue or anything they find out you should post it up. I wash under my hood all the time with a power washer and its gotten down to -18 where Im at and my truck started fine. Im curious to see what comes about of this but glad you got your truck back.

 

Howdy!! wow.... extremely similar story here, currently ongoing.... as in there's a silver rental yaris in my driveway (wince). anyway when i bought my truck (27k miles) it did this same thing ur describing in the driveway 2 days after I bought it..... cranks like crazy, won't fire up. try it 15 mins later, starts right up... called the dealer, obviously nothing to fix, but at least it was documented. happened again maybe a month ago (~30k miles), gave it a few mins and started right up. Now the last time was on Saturday morning, after x-mas i went to the store, came out (in the pouring rain) and it wouldn't start. gave it 15 mins... still wouldn't start. disconnected the battery let it sit for 15, hooked back up... won't start. Call toyota, arrange towing, and they towed it to the dealer. By monday night they had looked but couldn't figure it out, so they gave me this yaris tuesday morning..ha. anyway it seems to me there is a problem with the programmed keys/engine immobilizer system. (it thinks it's being broken into and shuts down) now i talked to the service manager and he said that there were 7 codes relating to that system and that they tried to reset the system, only to have it revert back to "registration mode," which i assume means blank slate from the factory. Anyway, i am happily buzzing around in my yaris in the meantime and will be sure to let you know the outcome. Please keep this thread updated because i sure am curious whats going on. Sorry for the lengthy post. just wanted to include details.

 

What up cuz? I'm just glad you made it up here man, it's been good seeing/talking to you and Sandra.

I have a fix for you guy... you had your key in UPSIDE DOWN! don't you feel dumb? Oh yeah, and you need a block heater!

See you in a few hours for some Call Of Duty! (if your truck starts!)

 

My cousin isn't some asshole, he bought his truck brand new already lifted from the dealership, paid for the badass warranties and dropped $32,000+- with the understanding that he would be safe and taken care of if something came up. The fact that they flat out told him NO rental car, NO paid towing costs, and NO idea how to fix it, has him a bit upset. Not to mention he got screwed out of adventuring in MOAB MOTHER****IN UTAH... He's a good guy, loves his truck, and loves his country. You know what he hates? The taste of Jagermeister, his truck not being reliable, and the joy of being scared to drive more than a mile from home/civilization.

 

Well in very cold temps my '09 Tacoma has trouble starting, but I have it winterized and if its plugged in I can start it in -60 F no problem.

 

It was 10 degrees F in Moab, I think a lot warmer in New Mexico when he had issues the first time. My 05 starts fine, lowest temp ive seen is 4 degrees

Probably not temperature related

 

Sometimes if I stick my key in too fast and turn, it will just crank...crank...crank......then I take it out, put it in and turn again and fires right up. Never had it not start on the second try, so obviously not the same issue. Good luck with everything.

 

I just got into my truck about 30 mins ago and mine would spin over and not start. did that about 2 times and then it started right up. my girlfriend tells me that it did the same thing this morning and figured it was just her not pushing the clutch all the way in. i hope mine isnt about to crap out on me, got a drive from mississippi back to minnesota saturday. i left my keys in the ignition for about 3 hrs so they should have had anything on them to cause interference with the chipset

 

Not entirely sure it relates to OP's and other's problems, but considering there must be a small lithium ion battery to send out the radio signal from the key itself, it may be that the cold and weakend battery power is affecting the engine immobilizer system. (ie my fully charged cell phone loses battery storage if out in the cold in a jacket pocket) The OP's key is fairly new, but dud batteries are produced.

Not sure how often key batteries need to be replaced, but this would have been a helpful step in diagnosing the problem - eliminating one possible cause. Might be a good tip to keep keys warm as much as possible and avoid proximity to other similar keys.

 

a LEMON?!

 

update: talked to toyota who said that they had to replace the immobilizer computer and were putting my dash back together when i talked to them. we'll see what happens... Is there a guarantee on a job like this because i'm almost out of warranty and would be pretty pissed if it does it in a couple months when the warranty is up..

 

Does everyone who is having this issue have keyless entry? I don't have it on my 09 base so I'm not sure if my key even has a chip in it or not.

From the other people that said they had the same issue, it sounds like it definitely has something to do with this immobilizer system with the key.

I have an 09, live in upstate NY, and don't drive my truck too often. My truck sits for days, possibly a week, and it will still start up just fine in our low temps (single digit temps.) I highly doubt the cold has anything to do with it, but who knows.

I don't know how they can say that it's a common problem with Tacomas. Randomly not starting? There would be a recall for that if it was a common issue. People don't often enjoy getting stranded.

My girlfriends Pontiac started having an intermittent problem where the wipers would just randomly not work. Her car is a 2009. I was pretty scared at how the GM dealership would handle it since they don't even make Pontiac anymore and I've never had much success dealing with GM. They actually handled it amazingly and since the problem was intermittent and they couldn't reproduce it, they just changed out the wiper motor and wiper module, basically taking a guess that it had something to do with one of those.

I would think they should at least narrow it down to what is causing the issue and start replacing parts one by one rather than just saying, oh well, can't fix it. I would expect more from a Toyota dealership than that.

 

Except he has his key and his wife's key that he tried... unless they are both crap...

He probably needs to treat it like a diesel, turn the key to ACC, wait a few seconds for everything to register, then try starting it.

 

I haven't seen this mentioned, and I still have a lot to learn about my new truck, but I have worked on several older Honda Civics and Accords that had a relay that was energized by turning the key. Among other things, the relay would switch on the fuel pump, thus pressurizing the fuel system. When that relay would start to go bad, it would cause hard starting symptoms that were very similar to the intermittent problems and failure to start problems described in this thread.

Anyone know if the Tacomas have a similar setup? If so, that relay would be a logical thing to check.

And I am pretty sure there is no battery in the immobilizer keys, I believe they are energized by a coil (or some such) in the ignition switch, and they use that power to transmit whatever code they transmit, I don't know the exact details, just the general stuff I have read about these types of coded keys.

 

Update; woke up this morning to drive home to NM, and what do know, wouldn't start... and all the dealers in UTAH are closed on sunday. Going to try messing with the battery, disconnecting and then trying different things, i will try keeping the key warm as well... ill let ya'll know how it goes.

 

so 3:00PM local time, he's heading back to his truck/hotel to give it another shot, I head over there to see if I can be of any help, he gets in, tries to start it..... starts up fine. Heh, what a POS issue this is turning into. Good luck Dustin and Sandra, have fun driving back to New Mexico with the comfort of knowing that your vehicle may or may not start up again if you stop along the way

 

He's tried his wife's key every time the issue arises, no dice.

 

dude, it must be a lemon!
take it to court!

 

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Not a mechanic , but my guesses are ....

(1) Chip in key - immobilizer issue ? Was key ever bent, dropped hard, super cold, hot or wet ??

(2) Bad ground or electrical connection with computer or sparking process.

(3) It could even be 2 minor issues that when put together = a major issue that prevents a startup. Had a few of these issues in my life.

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