Over heating issue

Considering it’s a used Tacoma, who knows how that first owner treated it. There was a dude on here that drove his brand new Tacoma through a river and got stuck for a while with the truck leaning to the side and water over the hood, and then just dried it out best he could. So it’s a roll of the dice.

 

I had this problem before. It's your thermostat.

 

You take it to the dealer, hand the keys to the service writer, tell him what it's doing (show him a picture maybe)...being very specific about the conditions under which the problem occurs, and say "Fix it".

Don't tell him what the internet said...they hate that.

 

Yeah, take it to the dealer and pay them 300 bucks to put a 10 dollar thermostat in.

 

Its under warranty

 

it’s funny because that’s what I did both times XD

 

Yea that is the sad truth about buying used

 

So, you've already taken it into the dealer under warranty and they can't/won't fix it?

 

I know it might sounds obvious and dumb, but have you checked the radiator to make sure your not low on coolant? It could be possible you have a leak somewhere. Definitely check under the truck radiator, hoses to see if you see any signs. Which can lead to rising temps.

 

That doesn’t sound dumb at all, always start w the basics and I’ll add to that- don’t assume the dealer did, or did it correctly.

 

I believe the 3rd gen Tacoma 3.5 has a special magical thermostat that is part of the water inlet assembly. That costs $95 msrp.

 

yes. I take it in. They look at it. They’ve even hooked it up to their computer and they still claim to not find anything. Just like a dealership

 

Yea, I feel like I’ve checked off the basics which is why I came here haha. It never hurts to double check though which I’ll be able to do after work today.

 

Well that sounds lovely ‍♂️

 

Problem intermittent? Sure you're not getting them to find anything. It's the nature of the problem you describe, and unless you are overheating at the time they see it, they would likely conclude "could not replicate". I guess with a used truck, if easy to do so, I'd replace the thermostat. Isn't that the most likely problem? Although maybe there is an intermittent connection with the wiring to the thermostat?

 

Does any of the paperwork specifically call out overheating? If not, I’d ask them to document it, should you have any major engine issues down the road. I’d buy an OBD Bluetooth dongle and an app, just so I can take screenshots and email and text them to service, simply to create a trail of proof. The apps and dongle are very cheap,, especially before you piece out a new engine.

Redline type heat is not good at all,,,, repeated has gotta be horrible for it.

 

OP, you may have a clutch fan going bad. Probably doesn't spin fast enough (slipping)
Thermostat opens at 185-192° on V6.
The fact that temps drops at rpms means that the thermostat is working.
I know that techstream has a active tests for fans, but I don't know how to dx a bad clutch