2014 Tacoma Experienced strange problem

2014 Tacoma Access Cab TRD OR (Stock)
Owned for 2 months

On my drive home from work this evening, my tacoma I guess kinda went haywire for a few seconds. I dont really know what to really describe the incident as, but any help or info on the situation would be great.

The problem began when the steering wheel stiffed up, almost as if I lost power steering. That was followed by 2 other strange things. My front driver side tire felt as if it was dragging, or dragging something with it. And there was a weird grinding noise coming from the same location. Then the gas pedal began to pulse, in the same fashion that ABS would pulse the brake pedal. And the computer reduced the engine power to almost nothing.

This all occurred while traveling at 80 km/h on the main road at the oilfield where I work.
I ended up pulling onto the shoulder of the road, to get out and check to see if I had hit a small animal or had broken anything on the truck. Nothing seemed out of place, and I didnt hit anything. So i ended up crawling underneath to make sure nothing was lose or out of place. After that, i got back in the truck, and continued driving home. Truck had all its power, the grinding noise was gone, and there was no dragging feeling no more.

I gave the Toyota dealership where I bought my Tacoma a call, and spoke with one of the service guys. Explained what had happened to him and also told him I checked under and around the truck. He got me to pop the hood and check my pulleys and belt to make sure they were tight and all still there, as they were. He didnt know what to really do about it, and suggested I take my truck in to have it checked out and to check to see if it threw a code or anything. (CEL never came on)

So when my days off roll back around, im taking it down to get checked out. Just wondering if anyone else has had this happen to them or has heard anything about this happening.

 

Gas pedal can't pulsate... there is no servo on your end.
You might feel vibration coming through the floor in the pedal, but it is not physically capable of giving the same type of feedback as the brake pedal does when the ABS triggers.

It does sound like something went wrong in the ABS system given that one wheel began to drag.
The ECU will shut the engine down to idle if it detects braking when the throttle is over 25%, so that could have been involved as well.

Pending codes will be stored even without a CEL... definitely get it in to be checked. It's under warranty anyways, won't cost you anything but time.

 

I'm going to guess left speed sensor- that's what happened to mine.

 

That actually all makes sense to me. And I figured the noise and dragging feeling had something to do with the ABS or Traction Control system.
Thanks

Now just gotta figure out why the steering wheel stiffened up.

 

Yes. Sounds like a speed sensor for sure. Have the ABS system checked out. Any CEL's?

 

Speaking of strange problems... I let my truck sit for three days while on vacation. 2012 1gr- Fe. When i returned and started it up it ran fine for about thirty seconds and then it sounded like someone poured rocks into the motor and chocked it down a little. It came back to life immediately and ran normal. It has only happened one other time when it was really cold out. Anyone else have this problem?

 

At 500 miles, my 2014 trd sport double cab is doing the same thing. Now it won't stop and I cannot drive it with my kid in the truck. No problem on freeway or straightaways. I live on very windy, nicely paved roads, however. When I take a corner, especially downhill to the right, a sudden traction control problem occurs:
The traction light blinks on the dash and a strange grinding sound comes from the front differential and the vehicle suddenly tries to slow the inner cornering front wheel. It jerks the steering wheel and releases and then does it again. It is crazy dangerous on the cliff side roads in Northern California.
Took it back to the dealer, where they said there is no fix that Toyota has for it. They reset the computer, "zeroing it out". Now it is much worse and much more dangerous. It constricts the inner front wheel on any good corner and grinds loudly from the traction control in the diff.
I am understanding that the computer senses the inner wheel moving faster than the other and "thinks" that the vehicle is losing traction, when it is not. It tries to pull me off the road. Only had it for two weeks.

 

There is a recall that has been issued for a software update on the anti-lock braking system which is intrinsically connected to the traction control system. If your dealer doesn't know about it, you should seek another dealer. I'm not sure if this applies to your situation, but it's worth checking out...

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2n...fety-recall-brake-actuator-reprogramming.html