"Check Engine Charging System" message

May have encountered my first glitch.

I'm still under 5K on my 2021 OR, so just getting her legs stretched. Anyway, I used the Toyota app to remote start this morning (as I always do). Went out and the truck was running (as normal), opened the door, which stops the engine (as it should). I hopped in the truck, depressed the brake and pressed the start button, and got an error message "Check Engine Charging System" and the truck wouldn't start.

Interior lights were bright as day, stereo, dash lights, headlights, all functioning normal. Truck just wouldn't start.

Tried a few more times, cycling through the push button...no dice. Figured the battery must be dead. Got out to grab jumper cables and thought I'd try the remote start again (I mean why not?)...fired right up. Wtf??? Hoped back in and it fired up manually as well, no error message this time. Drove to work and tried a few times in the parking garage and it started normally every time

Anyone experience something similar? Is this an indication of a looming larger issue? Any other thoughts? Would hate for this to happen while I'm out camping or something.

Thanks in advance Taco Fam.

 

How quick did you manually start it after getting in the first time? Immediately? You may have just been faster than the ECU could reset.

 

Not too fast I don't think. I open the rear doors first to throw my lunch and work bag in the back seat before getting in the driver's seat. So as long as it takes to do that. That'a a good thought though. Maybe it is still too quick?

 

My Tacoma uses keys. So I don't think that I have the remote kind of start options that you have.

But both I and the shop I take my Tacoma too have triggered the anti theft system before.

Where if you leave the keys in the truck too long without leaving the truck, it triggers it and it results in you being able to crank the engine but it cuts off.

When it happened to me, I would keep cranking the engine with it cutting off. When I went out to check the battery and got back in it started up fine. I think it's the opening and closing the door, maybe removing the key, that resets the system and lets the truck starts up again.

I always try to remind the guys at the shop about it when I drop it off but hear them struggling with it sometimes too.

And I think that message comes on regardless if there's really an issue or not. Like when I turn the key to just check something on the dash but don't start it, that message pops up. I can't remember if it popped up that time I had the issue with the anti theft.

Is it possible that the sequence of things you did might've triggered the anti theft?

 

that message is just an idiot light. On older cars it was a light.

 

Interesting. It could be something similar going in for me. One thing I forgot to mention is I do engage the steering wheel lock (as I normally do) Maybe that had something to do with it too?

 

Sure, as are most notifications. My concern isn't "idiot lights* it's that the engine wouldn't turnover.

 

I've seen this before when mistakenly in "accessory mode". I just reattempt to start and then I continue about my day.

 

I found my old thread from when it happened to me:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...er-security-system-so-it-doesnt-start.584493/

Doesn't really say much though. I think the main thing is that for my case I was able to get the anti theft to consistently trigger, which is if you leave the key in the ignition for more than ten minutes. And doesn't apply to your case.

I'm not sure if the steering wheel lock would have to do with it. But maybe try it out to see if you can get it to occur again. If I wasn't able to, I would've taken it into the dealer and had an appointment scheduled to have them look at it.

Also there was something about the anti theft indicator light, which I just vaguely recall and can't remember the exact details anymore. Based on that previous thread, I think if the light isn't blinking it means that the anti theft system got triggered? Also I think there were youtube videos about Toyota's anti theft system but it might've been for other cars. I just tried a quick search for Tacoma remote start anti theft system and nothing came up. But maybe try to do more searches for it and see what comes up.

Good luck!

 

Yeah I thought about it being in accessory mode but I cycled through several times (even got out of the truck and locked it) and still got the error message. That said, maybe it was something to do with it being stuck between accessory mode and not in "start up" mode. I guess starting it with remote start reset something. I dunno.

I'm not super concerned since I eventually got it started (and couldn't recreate it) but I just wanted to make sure it wasn't something others had experienced as a larger issue. Mainly I don't want to be out in the middle of nowhere and have it happen. Haha

 

Awesome! Thanks for all the info! Whether our situations are directly related or not, I greatly appreciate you sharing your experiences. You never know when some nugget of info is gonna be what you need to hear.

I'm wondering now if the timing of the auto start "warm up" time expiring coincidided with me opening the door and attempting to start the truck. I noticed on the app there was under a minute of "warm up" time left when I went outside to the truck. Maybe that caused a glitch.

Anyway, thanks again!

 

Same. I get it pretty frequently if I leave the truck in accessory mode. Have since the first day I got the truck.

 

I had a somewhat similar thing happen recently, and posted a thread that no one commented on :-(

Except what was weird for me was that I had remote started it, and then when I opened the door...the truck didn't turn off. That freaked me out, and because I didn't want to chance it and drive away without knowing if it was going to shut itself down after 8 minutes, I turned it off manually. Then, when I went to start it again it showed the same behavior as you mention. Wouldn't start, wouldn't even try to turn over, and got that message with all the lights on, dash lights, HVAC lights on, but interestingly pushing the HVAC buttons had no effect.

I didn't try to restart it remotely, I just disconnected the battery and waited a few minutes. After that, started right up. Haven't used remote start since, truck's running fine since. But I should give remote start a try again this weekend to see if it was a one time thing.

 

IMHO there are a lot of computerized 'stuff' in/on today's vehicles, all of which seem to be interconnected. Computers eff-up (actually it's their programming). The folks who design this stuff try to anticipate everything we owners do and then try to make the programming bullet-proof. Reality is, they can't. There will always be some unanticipated sequence of owner actions that the programming didn't anticipate and then things go south.
The seemingly universal solution has become "Have you rebooted your system?" Guess that now applies to vehicles as well.

 

If I see it again I'll update you on the sequence of events that lead up to it. Hasn't left me stranded yet in 12k miles. I think it's usually when I remote start via via app, I'm not sure.

 

Purposely engaging the steering lock may be your issue. The engine won't start if the security system cannot physically release the electronic steering lock. If you are physically setting the steering lock there is a potential the lock is being bound tightly enough that the mechanism cannot be released. Fits with remote starting just fine too as the lock is not released in that mode.

I've had it happen several times on multiple Toyota's with push to start. It's reproducible by purposely turning the wheel hard against the steering lock while trying to start it. Happens mostly when parking against an object (curb, parking stop) causing force in the steering system. Turning the wheel hard one way or the other while trying to start will relief enough binding for it to release and start properly.

 

Yeah now that you've talked through this I'm fairly confident this is what's going on.