WTFFF. 09 won't start, NEED HELP ASAP

I have a 2009 tacoma that just rolled over to 14k miles. It is fully warrantied on everything. ok so here is the story. About 2 weeks ago i got up to go to work at about 5 am, and my truck wouldnt start. turn over no start. it was about 10 degrees outside. i was concerned because i had washed my truck the day prior, including under the hood. so thinking something froze up maybe. i got home around 1 pm and it was about 50 degrees. it started right up... WTF #1
I just had my 15k check at the dealer before i left, and explained the issue i had, they said "they there was no check engine light, so whats the problem if it's running". at this point i was tired dealing with them so whatever.

Yesterday I am on a road trip from Albuquerque, NM to SLC, UT. we decided to stop in MOAB for the night and hit up some trails the next day (yesterday). I go outside and the bitch doesnt start, same issue as before. it will turn over, just no crank. i tried turning the key on for a bit to maybe prime the fuel pump, i tried every combination of gas pedal/ key on you can think of and nothing. so i tried sparying starter fluid into the intake and turning it over, still nothing. So i call my dealer Karl Malone service dept. they said "yeah its a common tacoma issue, just haold the gas down and try starting it for 15 seconds, and it should start." still nothing. So i had no choice but to have it towed (ill post pics later). they wanted to tow it to grand junction, co. because it was 110 miles, the closest daler. they said they couldn't even look at it for 2 days. So i paid the extra money to have it towed to brent brown toyota, Provo, UT.

I got it there at 4pm yesterday. and they said they would start on it asap, but probably not until tomorrow. The Asst. Manager said "Tacoma's have a common probelm with the valves freezing and thats probably the issue."WTF # 2, and they also said they would give me a complememtary shuttle ride to my hotel. They dont give rental cars in this situation. WTF #3. needless to say the shit hit the fan. I talked to every manager in the place explaining how f*ed up the situtation was. Finally as i was screaming at the service manager. and he gave me his fleet PRIUS because im military. ok its not a 4x4 but its better than nothing.

i get a call today from the service assistant manager, (the first dick i talked to when i dropped it off), and i wont even tell you what this moron said, but i talked to the manager and he said. "the situtation is, your truck wouldnt start this morning" ah no shit. he continued "after it wouldnt start we hooked up our TECH 2 programmer to it, and its about a 4-5 minute process in which the key has to to be on. After the scan, it started right up, and has started up ever since." so we can rule out any temperature or possible water freezing issues, it is definately a computer problem. we have narrowed it down to 65 possiblities." ok so what does this mean? "it means that you can pick up your truck if you want." WTF #4 "Our scanner isnt reading any issues with your truck. the best thing we can do is to keep your truck and wait for it to happen again and MAYBE we can find the issue."

So here I am now, stuck driving a poiece of shit prius, in a F***ing snowing blizzard in Utah. With my truck sitting at the dealer, not being worked on, because they dont know how to fix it. ANY Suggsetions please, im all ears.

 

All they have said is it is definitely a computer issue, but there are 65 possibilities.

 

sorry to hear bro, I don't have any idea what it could be, good luck thou, bump for you!

 

x2.maybe a bad wire in the switch or going to the starter.something with spark.

 

Unfortunately, until they can duplicate the problem you can't expect miracles. Not that it is the issue but it does seem a little peculiar that all this started after you washed down the engine bay. I am very cautious when doing this and cover everything electrical. Did you run the truck for awhile after washing down the engine bay?

Do you mean it would turn over but no start? I usually think the engine turning over and cranking are one in the same. I would think you would basically have one of two issues-lack of fuel or lack of spark(Assuming there is airflow to the motor). Hopefully it is just something stupid and is covered under warranty.

 

Fuck man sorry I cant help but I very Interested in knowing the out come good luck and keep us posted.

 

So have the replace the damn computer and be done with it...

 

sorry to hear that man. that blows , i would be putting a foot in someones ass.

 

Make sure your battery terminals are tight and all your fuses (especially ECM)are firmly in place. I had a similar issue on another vehicle and the problem was my ground cable was loose so it would start whenever it made a good connection and at other times it wouldn't. Check both ends.

Good luck.

 

Intermittent problems are the hardest to diagnose.

Personally the next time it happens I would have the equipment present to check for both spark and fuel pressure.

I vote a problem with the vehicle immobilizer system.

 

I had a similar experience with my 09/ 8500 miles. I got off work about 5pm. Ran to return something at the hardware store about 5 miles down the road. Was there maybe 20 min. The engine was all warmed up. I go to start it, just turned over. I had heard about this from another Toyota owner. He told me to remove the fuel cap and put it back on. After several trys ,I try'd the fuel cap thing. Still just turned and turned. I called for a ride and while waiting I collected my things, including my keys. After waiting about 10 minutes, I figured one more shot. I put the key in and it started right up. Figure that out. It has'nt happened again since. The only thing i figure is the keys have a chip or something in them? correct? I dont know how they work but think it had something to do with it? Good luck

BTW thats a great looking lift. Nice ride!!!!!!

 

subscribed!

 

The guy tells you: "common issue with the valves freezing up." WTF! Haven't heard that one before. If it was common, I'd bet we would have heard of it here on TW. Sounds like just another BS story from the stealership. I'm sorry about what a pain-in-the-ass this whole situation is for you and hope you encounter someone competent enough to fix it without the BS. Good luck man. I hope it's taken care of soon. Let us know.

 

I had something similar happen to me on christmas day, my truck sat outside in the cold for 10 hrs. When I went outside to start it, it ran for a few seconds then shut off. This happened a few times then all it would do is crank, I went back out a few minutes later and it started right up. Yesterday I went up to toyota and they put it on the scanner and told me it was a vehicle disable code. He went on to tell me about the electronic key and a ring around the ignition switch, there was a malfunction between the two and thats why it didn't start. He asked if I had used a different key than usuall and I hadn't, he said he would make some calls and see if anyone else had been experiencing this issue. He is supposed to call me w/ any info.

 

fuel injecters froze up maybe?

 

Not sure this helps , but I have a 2009 TRD 4x4 , and last year , about a month after I got it , we were out shopping , get back into the truck and it won't start . The starter cranks , the engine catches for about a second and dies . I am getting totally pissed off , my wife goes for a walk and I keep trying to start my truck , but the same thing keeps happening over and over . I started to think that it must be the engine imobilizer and I pull out the key and clean it with a rag . Pop it back in and she starts right up first try .

Both the manual and the service department at my dealership warn about getting the imobilizer chip in the ignition key too close to a magnet or metal debris which can "short circuit " the connection when you try to use the key . I am a carpenter and can only guess the I had some metal bits , crap , whatever in my pocket and they temporarily stuck to the key?

Has never happened since in a year . Hope you get your truck sorted .

 

update: on the phone right now with service manager. it starts up every time, no issues. they opened up a test case with TOYOTA. they said it might have been a faulty pin connector on any of the nine computers. they pulled out every connection and tested them. they did a "tap test", tapping on the computer searching for flicker... i don't know, we came to the conclusion, to pick it up. They have everything documented, and they can vouch for me that the damn thing wouldn't start, so if it happens again, even passed my 36k warranty it will be covered. So im going to pick it up, finish my vacation, and when i get back im driving the bitch thru Karl Malone Toyota front F***in window.

Thanks for all the advice guys, i appreciate it. ill keep ya posted on what happens.

 

And if I were the tech/writer/manager, I would park your car at the far back corner of the lot where it would wait for a l-o-n-g time for parts or something.

Look, there's two sides to every story and I have no idea what the dealer's side is. But I hear a lot of attitude in the opening post. Was that attitude expressed to the people dealer? They're people too.

Like someone else mentioned, if they can't duplicate the problem, they will have trouble fixing it. At some point all they can do is start throwing parts at it to see what helps.

And they do owe you that much. But... There is a certain level of motivation they will put into their work. If you are polite and courteous with them that will probably get you a lot farther than raising hell.

just sayin'

 

oh i completely agree. what sent me over the egde was the courtesy shuttle offer...

update: i picked up my truck, and they gave me same information as over the phone. when i arrived they said that they could not give me a print out of the issue, but it was logged as an open case with toyota. He did type up a nice dialog of the issue that happened, confirming that there was an issue that had occurred, and they could not fix the problem. He also stated that if the problem did occur, even after the warranty had lapsed, it would be covered. Over all they were very cooperative, and did their best to help me out.