Need Help Programming My Tacoma ECU — Stalls After 20 Minutes

Truck’s Been Down for Over a Month — Need a Tuner’s Brainpower
I’m in Chattaroy, Washington and I’m stuck on a problem with my 2017 Toyota Tacoma TRD Sport 3.5L V6 that I cannot solve on my own. I’ve tried just about everything I can think of — and I’m willing to pay for someone who can help me get this programmed and running right again.

Here’s the situation:

Stock VF Tuner file will not get the truck to run at all — it cranks but never fires and stays running.

The current tune I have on it will get the truck running for about 20 minutes, then it stalls and dies every time.

From what I can tell, it’s going into closed-loop fueling after warmup and something in that transition isn’t right.


This isn’t just about tweaking a few maps — it needs full programming so it will run and stay running without stalling.

Current Modifications:

Rough Country Cold Air Intake (Part #10547)

JET Performance Powr-Flo MAF Sensor (2015–2020 Toyota 3.5L)

RIPP High Performance Coil Pack System (for 3.5L V6 2GR-FKS)

aFe Power Silver Bullet Throttle Body Spacer Kit (Part #

$137 46-38010 aFe Power Silver Bullet Throttle Body Spacer Kit Toyota Tacoma 16-23 V6-3.5L #46-38010

46-38010)

$320 MBRP S5338P 3" Cat Back, Single Side Exit for Toyota Tacoma, Aluminum

MBRP S5338P 3" Cat-Back Single Side Exit Exhaust (Aluminum)

LT265/70R17 Cooper Discoverer AT3 LT tires (M+S rated)

2" Hub-Centric Wheel Spacers (6x139.7mm, 106.1mm center bore, M12x1.5 studs)

Running 92 octane


What I’ve Tried So Far:

Multiple VF Tuner tunes, including my own custom files

Full Mass Airflow Delete (MAF-off) configurations

Adjusting idle targets, startup fueling, and ignition timing

Recovery tunes with modified airflow and torque tables

Open-loop idle setups to prevent stalling after warmup

Fuel trim and cylinder fuel multiplier adjustments

Verified hardware: MAF sensor, coil packs, intake system

Immobilizer resets via Techstream and manual (paperclip) method


Datalog Symptom Details:

Truck idles fine after cold start and during warmup

As coolant temperature approaches ~180–185°F, AFR readings lean out noticeably right before stall

RPMs begin to drop in steps (small dips) as if airflow is insufficient, followed by a sharp fall

Once in closed-loop, short-term fuel trims swing heavily, long-term trims begin adapting right before stall

Stall occurs regardless of load or gear position — even at idle in park


If anyone here has the experience to help me program this ECU correctly — or knows someone who can — I’d be more than happy to pay for your time.

Thanks in advance,
Ben Thompson

 

Get rid of the RIPP coils, aftermarket intake and MAF sensor. That will solve your issues.

 

Yes, they have some questionable aftermarket parts installed. What was the last thing you modified before you encounter issues?

 

Everything worked perfectly with my mods until I used VF Tuner and it cleared the ECU’s learned memory. After that, everything went downhill.

I don’t see why I’d need to revert to stock hardware just to make the truck run — it already ran fine with my current setup before VF Tuner wiped those learned values. That tells me the issue isn’t the hardware, it’s the calibration.

My plan isn’t to go backwards — it’s to calibrate my current mods so they work even better than they did before, without having to remove them just to re-teach the ECU. VF Tuner caused the reset, so I just need to reprogram the tune for my setup.


If I have to I will put back in my original coil packs but I dont have the original MAF anymore, I have a Delphi MAF just in case.

 

I’d put $10 that your aftermarket MAF is the entire problem. It’s not reading correctly, causing the ECU to go into closed loop and it dies out as it’s not getting the info it needs to make it run.

The MAF is the most important sensor for the ECU to control fueling. Put an OEM (in a Toyota box, not from a parts store) MAF in and I bet your truck runs again.

 

Right now I’m running the JET MAF sensor with my cold air intake. I do still have my original coil packs and a Delphi MAF I could swap in, but when I tried the Delphi with the stock tune it still wouldn’t run.

Since I no longer have the factory intake, that part’s staying. If you think swapping in the Delphi and the OEM coil packs would definitely help, I’ll do it — but if it’s just a guess, then my best option is to keep programming for the setup I have now.

 

I've seen those coils shut entire banks down. I always start with removing coils like that now.

 

I agree.

RIPP coils are JUNK. - Stay away from them.

 

You need an OEM MAF, and the aftermarket coils are certified garbage. A quick Google search or ChatGPT for the new kids will tell you that. Delphi doesn’t make Toyota MAF’s, at a minimum you need a Denso MAF, but even those are known to not work as well as OEM Toyota MAF’s (made by Denso).

You bought every snake oil mod known to man. Take them all off. The RC intake is one of the worst “hot air” intakes ever made, the spacer does nothing. If you want performance, it’s honestly really hard to beat OEM.