Rough Start Up - Engine Sputtering Video

I cleaned my maf sensor and it seemed to work for now. haven't seen the issue in a few days.

HOWEVER, Just a thought...so I turned on my electricals this morning and heard the fuel pump priming..and it took FOREVER to prime. like...a solid 10 seconds of running. I wonder if there's a leak in my fuel pump somehow. maybe the pressure is dropping through the fuel pump.

 

I have a 2016 TRD that started doing this same thing. Ironically it started a few days after I used the 4x4. Taking it to dealership Monday but thanks for all the posts on here. Will update...

 

I believe that 2017s produced late in the model year were added to the fuel pump recall list, you may want to check into that.

 

Yeah, I checked. Don't have the recall. Also, my 2017 is a EARLY 2017. Like, I bought it in august of 2016. lolol. I somehow have found a unicorn where I have dodged so many recalls.

That said, I haven't noticed this issue in a long time now. :/

 

Well, crap. My 2021 Off-road sputtered on a warm start yesterday and today. It has less than 800 miles on it. It sat for an hour or two and was still warmish when I went to start it, it sputtered for a second and I had to turn the key a second time to get it to fire up. I didn't really give the fuel pump time to prime the system, since it was warm. I just jumped in and turned the key to start.

 

This happens to if you let go of the key too quick. Mines done it since new, if I dont give it till it actually starts itll stumble and die. Its not what i consider a long crank by any means but too used to my previous honda and most vehicles i deal with during the day that crank till start on their own. But i have a key not a button.

 

Hoping that's it. Mine is a key as well (manual). I'm going to give it a week or so to see if it happens again, paying particular attention to how long I crank it.

 

This issue reared its head again for me and now it's happening with more consistency. I can't seem to nail down the pattern. It'll start up fine after a long night of just sitting. but after running into a restaurant to eat with friends or something, it MIGHT struggle to start, it might not. It's very inconsistent on when it decides to have a problem...

already have a new battery installed. the starter sounds healthy. I had the alternator tested. a tiny bit low on voltage when running (it's low by like less than .5v). so..don't think it's electrical...

engine purrs and runs perfectly fine once it's running...

133k miles, I'm thinking it's time to replace injectors. Spark plugs were changed around 40k ago. Should be good but woudln't hurt to replace them.

 

All I can say about this issue is that I got lemon law for my 2020 and came out way on top. Bought a 2021 and have had no issue. Might be worth looking into lemon law, if that is still possible given your timeframe/purchase date.

All that said, I am fairly confident that this issue is due to fuel pressure, or a lack thereof, particularly in the high pressure fuel line (there are two separate fuel lines in the 2GR-FKS engine; one for port and one for direct injection). Most probably due to the high pressure fuel pump itself.

 

Thanks for the response. It's a 2017. bought in 2016. I passe dhte warranty a few years ago. not sure lemon law would apply.

I'm also confident it's a fuel pressure issue given that onc eit's good, it's good. But even after I give it some time to prime the fuel system, it sometimes struggles to start.

is the high pressure system used during start up? I can see arguments going both ways for port vs direct on the startup sequence.

 

dirty fuel injectors

 

thought about that. thoughts about jsut throwing in fuel injector cleaner?

 

good idea. might save you a bunch on repair costs if it's just some gunked up injectors.

 

I experienced something similar yesterday, after the truck had sat for about 4 hours. Cranked it up, it sounded bad, like it wasn't firing on all cylinders or something, so I immediately cut it off. Cranked again, and it ran flawlessly, so naturally I drove to Taco Bell and pretended it never happened. Have cranked it 3-4 times since with no issues, so wasn't sure if it was a fluke or not. Got to thinking, I had received a recall notice for fuel pump I believe, and hadn't had any symptoms, so figured I'd not get it replaced since I've read many horror stories here of perfectly good trucks becoming not perfect trucks after a dealer recall visit. Guess I'll be digging up that notice and having it replaced now. Makes sense that it would do these exact symptoms if it were bad.

 

What year and how many miles on your truck? Just out of curiosity. My 2021 has 65k and it’s been fine. Still believe my old truck’s issue was due to bad injectors or bad high pressure fuel pump.

 

2016, 132k miles; I just looked up the "recall." Its not a recall for the hpfp, its some sort of extended customer support campaign to replace the hpfp for affected vehicles. So from what I've gathered, if my truck doesn't smell like gas fumes, no replacement. I'll definitely be keeping my senses on guard though now that I have a rough idea of what probably caused the weird startup stutter yesterday.

 

Do you have any of the raptor light stuff or anything like that?

 

I've got all kinds of crap wired in my truck, but not a raptor light kit. Again, this has only occurred one time, and hasn't been an issue in the last 100k+ miles I've owned the truck. Considering it cranked up just fine immediately afterwards, and was a cold start, I'd imagine it was probably just fuel prime related. I'm not really worried with it unless it happens again. Just looking through threads to see what others have experienced, and hpfp makes alot of sense, but I'm not touching it unless it continues to happen or other symptoms come up. I did see somebody mention he can replicate it by not turning key long enough, and that was actually my immediate thought when I cranked up. Although I'm push button start, I immediately thought this was to blame (like I had barely depressed the button/had not "turned the key" long enough). It was like it was still trying to turn over, even though it had fully turned over.

 

Well, I revived a few dead threads unintentionally in the past couple months, but I keep coming back to this one. At the time of my post above in August, I had only experienced this "stumble start/extended cranking" once; since then, its happened 10 or so times over the last 5 months, all at random. It doesn't matter whether the truck is warm or cold, outside temp is no factor, and battery has since been replaced just in case it was a factor, although I was convinced the entire time it was fuel related. It does exactly what OP's truck does in the videos. I did receive the extended customer support campaign notice for the high pressure fuel pump - low pressure seepage, and I'm starting to consider that it could be the source of my problems.

Truck sometimes stumbles/fails to start; wait a few seconds, start again, and it starts/runs no issue; sometimes it stumble starts, runs rough for maybe 2 seconds, and runs perfect afterwards. I also recently began to think my trucks exhaust was "more than usual" and just attributed it to the weather being cooler, more condensation in exhaust; didn't think too much of it, and have just been keeping an eye on it cautiously wondering if I was being paranoid about white condensation exhaust in colder weather; I'm now wondering if the two are related, and if a bad hpfp would lead to an overcompensation/flooding with fuel, and that being a factor for the excess white exhaust.

All that being said, has anyone with the stumble start had the hpfp replaced and it resolved their issues, or did it seem to point more towards injectors or other components? I will say I've only noticed a fuel smell a few times, and never really noticed any chirping, but then again, I've probably convinced myself any scary noises from the engine bay is just a 2gr normalcy; plus, between wind drag from mods, tires, and radio, I don't really hear anything most the time.

 

The engine startup happens in Port injection mode.
Once the engine is fired up, it goes to Both Mode (Port +direct)
If you are experiencing startup issues, most likely it is a lower pressure pump in the tank.