Low Fuel Pressure

That certainly seems adequate to be able to say if it was going to get hot, it would be hot......

The Service Advisor did say that they were told that it is normal for the HP pump to get hot, obviously they're aware of this as a concern, and Big Toyota had told them that they do get hot. I should have asked him to tell me how hot is his "okay hot" and what is a "not okay hot," but I didn't. Obviously though, it's a known concern, though I have read nothing about it here on the forum.

So, anybody else care to lay a hand or an IR/laser temp gauge there, or at least a few fingers on top of their High Pressure fuel pump and tell me how hot yours gets, or perhaps share any more experiences of those who have had some troubling gremlins associated to a fuel starvation fault?

At least now folks will know what that shiny round thing is at the back of the passenger side valve cover.

 

No one else checking their High Pressure fuel pumps after a moderate length trip, say 10-20 miles? I could use some data that is otherwise out of my reach.

 

If the temperature warms up sometime this week I will try to remember to grab my IT Thermometer and check for you.

 

Took an hour long trip today, came inside, read your post about 20 minutes later, went out and checked:
I could put my hand on it for about five seconds before it became a bit painful... and could keep it there; but, I'm a rock climber with super manly hands, so... I'd say at least 120F after sitting for a while. I shot it with the IR and got a max of a little over 140F (hotter near the bottom).

That's the best I can do for now.

 

Well, that's another data point. It sounds toasty though, like kitty cats would want to climb on top of it when it gets cold outside. I would think that fuel flowing thru it would cool it, while 140 would seem it would boil/vaporize anything volatile (like gas) going thru it and cause a problem. Okay, thanks for the info, I'll keep gathering temperature readings/impressions.

 

Truck is still under warranty. Take it to a dealer. Salvage or not it still has factory warranty.

Semi-related story. I bought a $500 John Deere lawn mower from Lowes for $20 that they marked as scrap "Engine." Literally drove it over to a John Deere store and they fixed the engine under warranty...

 

Wow... that's a good bit hotter than what I was seeing. I'll see if I can check mine again tonight. It was pretty cold last Friday, so that my have helped mine cooling off, but I'll see if I can get another temperature reading.

 

Thank you all, for your input.

 

I was getting between 131°F and 144°F tonight. Same drive, but outside temperature tonight was >60°F whereas Friday it was right around freezing.

 

Hmmmm. Well, that is a temperature you can touch, but not hold your fingers on for more than about a half second to second before it gets a bit uncomfortable. Also that's about what I felt like mine was, but that's without having my IR temp gun handy.

Truck is at the dealership, they are working on it, apparently the intake plenum/top of the engine is off, so they're doing stuff with the fuel rail hidden in there. At least it is being addressed, and for that I'm grateful. They did tell me they have ordered parts, so maybe a week to get here to this little Island. Once I get all the details, I'll flesh out this thread a bit more definitively.

 

Woot! Glad its getting fixed.

 

Glad it is getting fixed. Not sure why my temperature readings were so much higher tonight compared to Friday, but I would say that the below average temperatures here had a lot to do w/ that. It was pretty cold and windy (for Mississippi) so I would guess that is why it cooled off so fast. Drive was pretty much the same.

 

Did u follow fuel lines down and kinks ? Lots go off road with these trucks. Look closely.

 

Found no kinks. Kink-less.

 

So my truck has been with the Dealership for a week now. I did get a call after dropping it off that they confirmed low fuel pressure at rail, fuel rail sensor code as mentioned above etc and felt the problem was the sensor on the fuel rail. This part required ordering and about a 5 day wait. They did install the fuel rail/sensor and yesterday took it on a road test--I had asked they do a long road test as it generally has happened at around 10+ miles, and it died on the highway for them. They towed it back to the shop, where it started and ran adequately so it's back in the bay now. I am told they are calling Tech Support on this, for this time there are no CEL codes. I am going to guess they'll be doing things like driving it and monitoring fuel pressures, etc.
I mentioned again how hot the HPFP got in my experiences, and the distance they told me they drove corresponds with the distance I've driven for it to die on me. At least we are experiencing the same symptoms, and it consistently dies not only on me but on their mechanic as well. We shall see, and as promised I will provide updates. Something isn't right here, I imagine they'll figure it out, but I'll be without my truck for a lot longer than anticipated and I had a number of things I need it for. Honestly, if I didn't need a truck regularly, I wouldn't have bought one..........At any rate, I'm grateful it has their attention and I'm hoping for a fix on it soon.

Or at least a few more updates.

 

So a call from the Service advisor today, he tells me much head scratching is taking place. It is impressive that they call me periodically and are apologetic; gotta hand it to them. I have not called them at all about this as generally all it would do is annoy them, and that is never productive. Additionally it seems their lead tech is taking a holiday break. Field Tech support want to get real time pressure and function readings "while it is happening" and they are apprehensive about taking it out on the road and stalling on the freeway again. Yeah, I don't like this either, that's why I took it in when I couldn't fix it w the CKP. I did suggest following it with a tow truck, not sure how well that was received, but apparently they've driven it around the block etc but SA is aware that what induces the stalling is a freeway (Honolulu speeds at least) speed trip of at least 10-11 miles. They don't want to get stranded again and have to call for a tow, well duh..... Idling it in the bay isn't going to induce the failure. Follow it with a tow truck then. Maybe set it on a dyno and set to 55 mph.
He did offer a loaner car, but I told him what I really need is a loaner truck. I need my truck since, well, you know why we need trucks, otherwise we'd be driving sedans, and soccer-mom vans. I do have family in town for the holidays, and I am down on vehicles, but I declined for now. We shall see. I am not expecting to get the truck back til mid/mid-late January somehow. Sadness.

Will keep in touch.

 

So let me ask a question now.

Is it possible to syphon gas from the tank of my '16 Tacoma? I know there is a flap valve sorta thing that the fuel pump nozzle has to go thru to put gas in, but is there a screen or something at the bottom of the fill spout--for lack of a better term--that would block a hose from going into the tank to prevent syphoning of gas?

"A friend needs to know."

 

Not sure about being able to syphon or not, but l am pretty sure that flap up near the top has been eliminated.

 

I have had the same symptoms in vehicles around here. We frequently get gas with water or other contaminants in it. Especially with the winter gas blend. Ethanol can create condensation in your tank, plus station tanks leak, etc. There are a variety of treatments that people use to try to get rid of if by making it blend with the gas better so it just gets run through the engine. Some work better than others. I usually go to West Marine and get the stuff they have for boats that sit in the water. Can't remember the name, but I believe it's an enzyme based additive. Google 'water in gas tank'.

 

??

Re-defining my question for greater clarity:

Is it possible to syphon gas from the tank of my '16 Tacoma?