Fuel system sensors turn off my cruise control

I love my 2013 Tacoma. I bought it brand new with less than 50 miles on it. As of today, I have > 203K miles on it. I am an outside sales engineer covering 3 states. I drive a lot. I service the vehicle regularly per the Toyota expectations. Shortly before I hit 100K, I started experiencing the "Service engine soon / Trac off" light coming on, which resulted in my cruise control being inoperative. PUNISHMENT. From my perspective, going without cruise control is a HUGE issue. I took it in to the dealership, as this started happening frequently. The first response was "You aren't clicking the gas cap consistently." Not true but I addressed that by making sure I had a good click every time. 2 clicks, 5 clicks, literally I spent time doing 20 clicks EVERY time I gassed up. FOR MONTHS. It happens frequently but not with any common pattern. So we replaced a sensor that "had to be the cause". $1600 and it happened again. Replaced another sensor, this time for free. Replaced a third sensor, this time for free. I even replaced the gas cap (OEM) thinking maybe something this simple might be the answer. Nope. It could happen and be off for a few hours. A few days. A week to 2 weeks. Maybe 50 miles. Maybe a couple hundred miles. Last week is was off for over 1000 miles. It can go on and off in the same day. Local Toyota dealership is stymied. The answer I got recently is "Toyota is baffled". There are allegedly 8 trucks out there experiencing this issue, with no answer in sight. I am obviously way out of warranty, but I need an answer. I am not a gifted auto mechanic. Just a Toyota Tacoma loving owner! My truck is spotless and often people guess that it has 50-75K in mileage. They are shocked when I let them see the odometer. I really don't want to trade off my truck. I just want some relief. Anyone have a suggestion? Thanks in advance!

 

Good ol mechanics throwing parts at "for sure" the problem..

@WARROOM are you referring to the "Maint req'd" light or the Check Engine light?


If it were mine I would buy (and I do have) a Bluetooth obdii reader and an app for my phone (Torque for Android) that would allow you to do some diagnosis. Fuel trims, O2 readings, coolant temp, MAF sensor, etc..

 

Not the maint req'd light. It is a dual light appearance of the service engine light and the trac off light. When I start up the truck, if I see the service engine light come on during the start up (with all the other lights), that let's me know I will have no cruise. Just this week, for the first time, I have experienced it happening in the middle of driving. Lights came on, cruise shut off. Then I drove about 60 miles, shut it off for 15 minutes when I got home, then when I started it to go to my office, they were off again.

I'm a gadget guy! I would certainly get the items you mentioned - but honestly I might not know what to do with the information I am gathering lol. Can you suggest a way to educate me? Would that info help the Toyota service folks?

 

Toyota should be getting that info.. But you never know some shops/techs suck. You can post info here and we can help guide you. The Bluetooth obdii reader will also read Diagnostic Trouble Codes that are set and you are notified by the check engine light. Toyota also should be reading those. You can also have the codes read at Advance/Autozone/O'Reilly, auto part stores for free, get a print out.

 

Are you talking about the BlueDriver Bluetooth Professional OBDII Scan Tool for iPhone, iPad & Android for $99?

Or the less expensive versions like the Veepeak Mini WiFi OBD2 EOBD Scanner Scan Tool Adapter Check Engine Light Diagnostic Trouble Code Reader for iOS iPhone iPad and Android or the Car WIFI OBD 2 OBD2 OBDII Scan Tool Foseal Scanner Adapter Check Engine Light Diagnostic Tool for iOS & Android in the $15 - $35 range?

 

The less expensive ELM327 adapters work for most of us. If you have an iPhone, you may need the wifi version not Bluetooth (I'm not 100% on that).

 

Gotcha. Agreed. I would think that when I pay the premium for a vehicle (that never goes on sale, never has a deal at the time you buy it, and you cant ever find certified used or even used trucks) AND pay a premium for dealer service, I would get some positive attention.

I like the Advance idea, but you know how it goes. It happens when I am pressed for time, in the boonies or stops when I get to a town that has an auto parts store.

Does the Bluetooth device archive info to provide to the dealership service techs?

 

Perfect. Thanks! I will chase down the ELM327 unit and start learning.

 

You can set it up to store logs on your phone but it's likely Toyota(or any dealership/shop) will blow you off or laugh if you try to present your own data or logs.

 

LOL. I've been laughed at before. That doesn't scare me. I love a challenge. Maybe this time I will come armed with data and better questions. I will take you up on posting the data here just in case someone has a suggestion. Thanks for the direction and help.

Before I spend another $1600 with them or take their attitude, I will just ask them how many days of full page ads $1600 can buy locally bemoaning their lack of help before they decide to take me seriously?!?!?

 

You drive a lot and fill a lot. Are you also a 'squeeze in every drop' or 'top off guy'?

If so, fuel purge canister / charcoal canister / EVAP canister, whatever Toyota calls it could be the issue.

 

One click for me, just to make sure it didn't pop off prematurely.

 

Sorry! Busy weekend. I am not a squeeze every drop in guy. I just put the pump on automatic hands free fill and when it stops, I click it off and hang it up.

As far as how many clicks, I have done 1, 5 15 and 21. No luck. The new gas cap goes on and off easier, and gets a nice clean click but the problem is still here.

In fact, this week I have driven to Omaha and back, Kansas City and back, plus some other little trips. It has been CHECK ENGINE / TRAC OFF for that whole time - approximately 4 days. This is getting old.

I will ask the dealership if the fuel purge canister is something they checked.

Thanks again for the advice!

 

You ever have your secondary air pump replaced? There known to cause check engine and Trac lights.

 

I have not. We only replaced 3 sensors. No one said anything about that. Is that something they can check, or is it a "replace it and see if it does the trick?"

 

There's a filter foam inside and breaks down and then the foam chunks get sucked into the impeller and breaks the fins off of the impeller. You have to break open the pump too see it unfortuantely, its glued together from the factory.

 

Mine on my '14 wasn't glued together. There's a screw right in the middle. Remove it and the top pulls off. I pulled the foam and added a 1" Uni filter on the outside. Took like 2 minutes.

 

My 2012 would do this randomly. Usually after I hit a pothole. My obdII sensor would read that the o2 sensor was bad, but it wasn't. I would just reset it and it wouldn't happen for another 6 months or so. Very random.

 

Can my local mechanic check for that? The canister I mean. Someone else suggested a smoke test to see if there was an emmisiions leak. Plausible?

I should add that I have driven over 1000 miles with no cruise in 4 days. No reset yet on day 6.

 

Okay. Purchased the BlueDriver Bluetooth OBDII scan tool. Running it from my iPhone. Tracking and recording data for my visit with the dealership. All kinds of data LOL. The scan code is consistently reads P219B Bank 2 Air-Fuel Ratio Imbalance. It came on 6 times in the first 7 days of June.

Typically, it is on for DAYS and at least 500-600 miles.

In the short term, I greatly enjoy clearing the codes so I can have cruise control on my trips. But that is a short term solution only.

Thoughts?