Truck wouldn’t start after remote start

Hey everyone. Had quite a strange experience with my 2021 Tacoma this morning. I used the OEM key fob remote start, and it started up like normal. Went to get in the truck and it didn’t shut off when the door opened like it normally does. When I went to put it in gear it immediately shut off. After that I could not get the truck to start again. I opened and closed the door, locked and unlocked, no luck. When I hit the start button it would make the normal buzzing sounds but it just would not crank. In the end I disconnected the battery for about 30 seconds and after that it started up fine. Has anyone else had this happen?

 

OEM remote start? What other electrical mods do you have?

 

Yep OEM remote start. Zero electrical mods.

 

I’ve had this exact problem a few times. I have no idea what causes it, but I find when it won’t start I can start it with the remote start again, hit the brake pedal to shut it off, then start with the push button. It’s strange

 

I had something similar happen recently. Did you receive an error message or code?

 

Yes this happened several times in my 20 using the factory remote start. It's like the truck gets confused once in a while. I installed a new remote starter from N2 and have not had it happen again.

 

sounds like an electric ghost problem that comes and goes

 

My 20 has done this once in 25k miles. It was confused exactly as someone said. I got out locked the doors. Got a cup of coffee and it started right up. For a second I though I owned a German car again lol.

 

Gotta reboot your system.
Happens to my computer and/or cable box frequently.

 

No codes, just standard “charging system error” that shows up if you have the truck on but the engine is not started.

 

Yeah something similar happened to me the other day. Created this thread on it.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/check-engine-charging-system-message.745446/#post-26542150

There's a fairly probable explanation near the end as it pertains to my experience. Maybe something similar happened for you.

 

That is interesting. I don’t engage my steering lock, so maybe this is caused by multiple things.

My theory is that the truck is missing a signal, and they don’t have the logic to programmed in to handle it. I’m my case, I think the the truck missed the signal that the door opened, and then could not recover from that. I think that is might be fairly easy to test. Could have someone sit in the car and remote start it from the fob (they might have to sit there for a bit because I think the truck has to stay locked for awhile before it can remote start) After that they could try and put it in drive, and see if the truck freaks out and won’t start again.

 

You can remote start with the truck unlocked, as part of the start process the doors are locked.

 

Yes, that happened to me on my 2017. Everything happened as you described. In the end I had a dead battery in the keyless remote. The other key had a good battery but still wouldn't work. I noticed that none of the interior lights would come on as I approached the vehicle. I think the security system didn't recognize the key fob and locked everything down, including me holding the fob in front of the start button. I changed batteries in both remotes and everything works normally. I don't know for a fact that this was the real problem though. The main battery ended up bad within a week. Perfect storm.

 

I have experienced this problem the last 2 times I remote started my 2020 Tacoma. Funny that a college at work had the same problem on the same day I first had this issue. Now that I had some time to consider what might have gone wrong or at least what to do to get it to start.

So pressing lock - lock - hold lock will remote start the vehicle.

When I approach the vehicle the interior lights come on. When I insert my hand in the door handle the vehicle unlocks and continues running. I am able to enter the vehicle with issues. The steering wheel is locked, I cannot turn off the fan to reduce noise to make a phone call. I tried pressing the brake, opening and closing the 4 doors, hood and tail gate, all things that should stop the engin after a remote start. Last if I shift out of park the engine stalls. The only indication is the red alarm indicator flashing. I tried pressing the panic button to try to reset the alarm if it had an error. It came on and I was able to clear it by pressing the unlock button or pressing the start button.

Trying to restart the vehicle fails. Exit and lock the vehicle then unlock and enter. Starting fails with foot on brake only lights up dash no noises that would indicatecate relays or starter attempting to operate. Foot off the brake I can press the start button to go to accessory or ignition modes and back to off. While inside with all doors closed I can use the fob to lock and unlock the vehicle which is an issue. Unlock, open and close door, foot on brake press start. Dash lights up saying check charging as if brake was not pressed when Start is pressed. Press start to turn off vehicle, exit and lock. Go back into house and get other electronic key leaving other in the house. Same problems with second fob.

Today I read the owners manual to see what might be causing the issue.

P.204 STARTING ENGINE WITH SMART KEY
1) Set parking brake 2) Shift lever to park
3) Firmly press the brake pedal
A wireless key picture should be displayed.
4) Press the start engine button for 1 second
Engine should Crank for 30 seconds or until engine starts. Press start button to turn off.

P.520 EMERGENCY START FUNCTION
1) Set parking brake 2) Shift lever to park
3) Press start button once to accessory mode
4) Press brake pedal firmly and then press start button switch for about 15 seconds.

P.78 ENGINE IMMOBILIZER SYSTEM
Flashes when engine is turned off to indicate the system is operating. Should stop flashing on and off when in the accessory or ignition mode indicating the system is canceled.

Test by pressing the start button to switch between the 3 modes. Off, accessory and ignition with foot off brake pedal.

P.88 When vehicle is locked the alarm indicator lights on for 30 seconds and then starts flashing to indicate the alarm is set. Unlocking the doors will stop the alarm system or pressing the start engine button.

Test by locking and unlocking vehicle from a distance that the indicator can be monitored.

P.134 Conditions affecting Smart Keys
Low battery voltage (displayed in vehicle)
Other wireless electronic keys
Electromagnetic interference radio waves
Metal coins or keys touching the key fob
Metal blocking transmission or reception
Electronic devices or metallic window tint

Testing the alarm. Lock vehicle with door windows open. Keep electronic key away from vehicle and open any door from inside.
You will need to press unlock with the electronic key to disable the alarm alerts.

I also spoke to 2 dealer service departments without any awareness of this problem. I will reply back once I analyze this issue.

 

Last 4 remote starts worked properly.

When coming up to vehicle interior lights come on. Put hand in door handle and truck shuts off. Red alarm light flashed until the start button is pressed.

First attempt I used spare electronic key.
Second attempt I used my regular electronic key.
Third attempt I tried to quickly unlock and open the door.
Today, no problem.

There is one state that the vehicle will continue to run, is when the alarm is activated.

 

FYI I have the N2 system and have had this exact issue happen twice in 2.5 years of owning it. Engine didn't die with the door and I had to get out and cycle the locks a few times for it to start. Really rare it happens so hard to replicate. I just chalk it up to to the system getting confused for some reason.

 

Wanted to bump this, as it is getting to be remote start weather again

 

This is quite frustrating when it happens. You think turning off the ignition and locking the truck would reset everything (logically) but it doesn't. After 5 to 10 minutes of trying to unlock lock unlock then start with your window open and your keys extended outside isn't working. Maybe opening and closing all the doors and hood might reset the alarm. It is a rare occurrence but I haven't got to the point of disconnecting the battery and waiting before reconnecting. Holding the remote close to the start button did not help either. Maybe the solution is to lock it up and go have a coffee and try later. Maybe locking the truck with the window down, taking the remote away so you can trip the alarm by open the door from the inside or pressing the panic button, might affect the alarm system. Maybe going back into the house and tring the remote start sequence again? Technically I feel the signal to turn off the truck is too short emulating the start button being pressed when the vehicle is running. This causes the alarm to activate protection mode not allowing the starter circuit to function. The key fob is working as it lets you open the door. Your now in the vehicle with it running as it did not shut off. As soon as you shift from park the engine stalls and won't start when the shifter is returned to park. The flashing alarm light on the dash is the only indication of a error condition. I believe the security system is active while the vehicle is running is the issue. The vehicle needs to be shut off to disable the security. Otherwise we could just get in and drive away once the door was unlocked. Maybe if the engine does not shut off when opening the door you should hit the start button to turn it off. I should make a list of things to try first to narrow down a solution for this rare occurrence. I might have tried checking that the gas cap is tight lol. So far this year it has worked properly giving a sigh of relief when the engine shuts off when I open the door.

 

I found unlocking the truck to turn off the remote start has never lead to the problem starting.

Opening the door (which shuts off the truck) and starting again right away has given me the start issue 2 times.