Strange clunk on start up

So this issue is only presents itself like 10-20% of startups. I have linked a video with me starting the truck 3 times. First is a normal start up. No strange sound. The second is like a stutter sound (still strange) but no clunk. The 3rd is a clunk sound and you can kinda feel the clunk in the pedals.

https://youtu.be/Oy-jmw3VZBo

The truck has never failed to start. I just put in a new battery as well and you still get the issue. At 45K miles now but i got the dealership to witness the sound while under warranty. And they were not able to get it to reproduce and i bring it up and show them every time im back. Thankfully they are willing to fix it under warranty if it causes more issues. So while im finishing up the last half of a deployment i thought id ask around on here.
My gut says like maybe a missing tooth on the starter gear or whatever gear the starter is turning. The missing gear would cause it to slip and hit the next tooth in line resulting in a clunk. One toyota mechanic said that seems like a starter issue but the master mechanic i got to witness it a bunch thinks its something to do with timing or something incant remember but he basically said its not an issue. And if it gets worse come in and lets take a look. It has not gotten worse in the maybe 2-3 years its been going on. Truck is just under 4 years old.

Thanks - Mike

 

Is your truck under the fuel pump recall and has it been replaced?

 

Yeah the fuel pump has been replaced, and there are no issues while driving at all so i would assume fuel is getting to the engine just fine. And i think tho its hard to remember that this issue existed before that tho ill confirm with avondale toyota and what they got in their service records when i get back.

 

Is that 3 consecutive starts in a row, or time in between, can't tell from video.

 

That was 3 different ones. It was cut like that cause it took me maybe 10 starts to get the sound to appear. It will make this noise after like a day or two of no running but it seems like it is most common after like 5-10 of being off like grabbing gas or a couple things from the store.

edit: i see what you mean. Yeah those were one after another till i got the sound to start. But like i said i just did that to replicate the sound and its just like that. I never did that until now. (Now as in like 8 months ago when i made that video to show the dealership)

 

Weird, hard to tell if starter problem, or a kick back from to much fuel, like flooded studder kick back.

 

Oh interesting, ill keep that in mind the next time i take it in for its 45K service thing. I wonder if they can check for that.

 

Have you tried an injector cleaner/fuel treatment, throttle body clean at all? (Techtron/Lucas) I know there is a self clean cycle, but you may have drity/ stuck injector. I throw a bottle of Lucas in mine every so often.

 

I have not. I will try that out but i mean i had this issue at like 15-20K miles. But ill give that a shot. Wont be home till aug but thanks for all the advice!

Also the issue is only at startup. No hicups or any thing while the engine is going.

 

How old is that gas in truck?

 

It happens if the gas is a day old or a week old. For 2 years maybe more its been doing this.

 

any info on this problem?

 

Nah, i need to reattack it with the dealership. At 48000 miles and no issues at all but issue still persists. Im pretty sure its an issue with the starter. Probably a bad gear tooth that connects the starter to whatever wheel it hits to turn the motor. What is that called the fly wheel? Idk. I think that cause it only happens once in like 20-30 starts. So maybe if that tooth is present in the startup then it slips and gets caught on the next one and is fine. But i could have no idea on how the tacoma starter works.

 

I'm having a similar issue most mechanics say not to worry but keep a eye on it and c if it gets worse or more consistent and 1 said its probably not a missing tooth on the wheel.

 

Does yours make a similar sound to whats in the video? And how often is your sound? Mine has never failed to start but its just strange and idk man it shouldnt make that noise.

 

if I let the truck sit for 5 - 20min sometimes it starts almost instantly like with half a crank and makes about the same sound as yours

 

https://youtube.com/shorts/mI3C68_fSQU?si=OLkMiyvxJ9sB2bPn

 

Yeah that is very similar to mine, maybe alittle more harsh sounding. How often does yours do that? What year and how many miles on it? Is it stock also?

 

Yeah i always noted it after filling up my gas tank. Not every time tho. Also is yours manual?

 

22 automatic 17k stock. only happens once in a while when I let it sit for 15 no other time