2010 2.7L won’t start after fuel system cleaner

Gents, I’ve a 2010 AC Prerunner 5spd 2.7L, all stock, with 160k miles that’s not started several times now, & this began a few days after I poured a pint of

$24 BG 44K Fuel System Cleaner Power Enhancer 11oz.

BG 44K fuel system cleaner into a full tank of gas.

Truck has always run perfectly, 20mpg always, never a starting, driving, or any power issues, but now, intermittently, cold or hot, it’s not been starting until I wait a while & retry it, & it’ll start right up & run fine. Battery is good, engine turns over fast/strong, spark plugs are only 40k mls old, has clean air filter, etc.

I suspect I’ve loosened up old fuel tank crud & clogged the in-tank filter, &or pump likely requiring a tank/pump replacement?

Any ideas &or simple things I should also check?

 

Your suspicions are most likely correct so, a fuel pressure test is in order.

I had a car that it was such an ordeal to hook up a pressure gauge that I just left it on. Connected it to a hose long enough to run out and into where I could see it, for temporary testing only. Then when done I just rolled up the hose & gauge & left it under the hood.

Something to consider, most of the time when an issue happens after you did something, it’s because of what you did. On rare occasions, what you did has nothing to do with the problem, it’ll drive you nuts. So if hooking up a pressure gauge is difficult, you could check other things to rule out any other causes. Error codes, spark, fuel pump relay, etc.

 

160k on the original pump/filter?

Sounds like it's time for the URD pump and remote filter upgrade.

 

If indeed it’s the filter &or pump that failed due to the fuel sys cleaner, then I’ll be giving that URD system serious thought. I’m still surprised that it could cause the issue at all.

 

I seriously don’t the cleaner actually caused the pump to fail. If the pump failed is was likely a coincidence and the pump was on its way out already.

I’m not trying put you down, but you said the truck had “always ran perfectly”.
If that was the case, I wouldn’t have put any type of cleaner in it.

 

Getting the urd kit certainly wouldn't hurt but, I wouldn't expect installing it to solve your issue without some diagnosis first.

Error codes, if you don't have a scanner, stop by your friendly auto parts store for a free scan, write down any codes, ask them to clear & rescan. Spark, if you don't have a spark tester, pull a coil, stick in an old plug, be mindful of where you ground it to, crank to test. Fuel pump relay, if you don't have a relay tester, take it out, find one that's the same, it would probably have the same numbers and color, pull that one out, stick it in the fuel pump relay socket, test. I know the 4.0 has a fuel pump resistor, not sure with the 2.7, if yes it's another easy one to check if you have a multimeter.

Since the hood is open, you should be checking for obvious things like fluid levels, battery terminals are clean and tight, air filter isn't super dirty or oops I left a rag in there.

If the easy checks all test good, time to figure out how to test fuel pressure.

 

Check the fuel pump wire (Pin8 Black/Red) at the IB1 connector behind the drivers side kick panel, sometimes it develops a bad connection there.

 

Many thanks for the super helpful .pdf’s & info folks. This’ll be informative for anyone experiencing intermittent start issues.

AAA got a flatbed to my street in an hour & the Toyota dlr tech advised $185 to diagnose (uggh). 6hrs later said he started it up just fine @30 times with xero issue (grrr!). They also ran codes, no issues or faults etc. (wtf?!)

I go by to pick it up & it still turns over just fine but it won’t start. Adorable srvc advisor gal walks out to the lot, I climb in & it turns as usual over but still won’t start multiple tries, so she says are you really pushing the clutch in hard? & I say yes, just like I have the previously 400,000+ times in the past ten years..& then it starts right up. Wtf.

I shut it down, climb out, reach down to push the switch that the clutch pedal depresses & try it..no start. I push the switch 1/16” deeper..it starts right up. So I still need to verify the culprit by removing & inspecting the switch, but I should’ve looked there first at the very beginning. So any of y’all w a clutch & this issue try checking there first. It reminds me why I disable these clutch interlock switches on all my motorcycles.

Also, the Toyota dealer to their massive credit charged me nothing for all that diagnostic work.

 

The clutch switch will prevent it from cranking if it's not working properly, you said it was cranking fine though?

 

And that’s ^^ my next question, what circuits does the clutch switch enable? The starter has always engaged & spun the engine easily every time the engine wouldn’t fire.

 

Strange, have you tried using the clutch cancel switch?

I have never owned a manual, my wife had a 96 5 speed long ago though

 

The clutch switch only enables the starter, it won't prevent the truck from starting if the starter is engaging.
I think I'd check the IB1 connector for signs of corrosion or a bad connection.

 

Easy to bypass, pull the relay, stick in a jumper wire, no more stomp to start.

 

That’s ^^ just what we do w moto’s..but a bit of a different consequence than falling off a jumping bike..but it’s very tempting..

 

I did the bypass when my clutch switch started to go bad, instead of buying a new switch. Super easy, just gotta hook the relay to a multimeter, 2 pins will show resistance, 2 will be open, the jumper goes where to open pins go. About 1" of wire and 2 males spades, done.

 

Does your truck have a Tach and does it move when the truck is cranking?

 

I'm confused, how did we start going after the clutch switch for a crank-no start? If it was a no crank-no start it would be a different story.

 

I agree. If it cranks. It’s NOT the clutch safety switch. No need to bother with that. It’s something else causing it.

 

The reason I ask about the tach is because I don’t believe the injectors will fire with out a crank signal.

 

Wouldn’t a code be thrown if there’s no crank signal?