2.7L Doesn't start well or easily.

I just bought this truck with 67,000 miles. Dealer turned it on and it fired right up. When I turned it on to take it home, it turned over a few times before rumbling to life. Throughout the day it did the same thing all 3 times I need to fire it up. Turns over for a bit then starts. And it's pretty shaky at first. But once it's running it idles perfectly. Never dips in RPM or ever feels like it's going to stall.

This morning when I turned it on it fired right up again. I was on my way to the dealer because they needed to fix something else on the truck that was minor and not at all related to this problem.

They told me to monitor it (the starting issue) and call them if it gets worse.

I'm not too worried about all the warranty stuff and how to deal with the dealership. I just wanna know what anyone thinks the problems could be.

There's no service record from the dealership and I have no idea when it was last tuned.

I figure I need to change spark plugs. Maybe check the starter?

 

The one suggestion I've got is to get some injector cleaner and run it through. Any other thoughts?

 

An '08? Is it the original battery?

 

Yes its an '08. I do not know if its the original battery and don't have any way to find out. The owners manual said that if I try and start it with the dome light on, and the light flickers badly, the battery might be shot. I tried this and noticed no significant flickering.

I will probably run by a les shwabb and get the battery checked out anyways. The first things I thought of were spark plugs and then battery.

 

Wouldn't be a bad idea if it is the original.

 

Are you trying to start it with the AC on? My work truck (09 2.7 Tacoma) does not like that.

Plugs on that engine are 100K change interval.

Work truck is driven hard (heavy foot, but not abused), has 68K on it as of right now, never had the plugs changed. Getting 18MPG in town, occasionally ten to twenty miles of freeway thrown in there, loaded down pretty good. It has had literally nothing done to it other than oil and filter, tires, light bulbs since new.

I just turn the AC off before starting, or give it some gas while cranking it with AC on. Other than that, it's as you described: idles perfect, runs great.

Edit: after reading John's post below, I remembered I did change the battery out. It was leaking acid. That made no difference in starting for me.

 

Had the same problem with my truck, I put in an older optima and the the problem was solved years ago. Ditch that cheap battery Toyota uses.

 

Mine ('08) cranks fine, but is also a little hesitant to actually fire up on hot restarts.

It's strange. Cold, hit the key and it starts right up.
Hot, I have to hold it a bit longer and let it crank a couple more times.

 

That is exactly what mine is doing. Going to go in and get that battery checked out. Probably grab some fuel injector cleaner too, considering it only costs about $3.00.

Might do plugs anyways later. I mean, I JUST bought the thing and wouldn't mind starting out with a clean slate y'know?

 

I got mine in Jan. 2011, a 2006 RC with only 18,000 miles on it at the time. Despite the low mileage, I changed the oil, plugs, all filters, coolant, trans and diff fluids, greased all u-joints, and cleaned the throttle body.

I still get minor hiccups when starting. I'm at 38,000 miles now.

 

When you put the key in and try to start it, are you shoving the key in, and then cranking the key immediately all the way to the start position? Or are you stopping at the on/run position for at least a couple of seconds?

If you aren't stopping before cranking it, try doing so. Put the key in, turn the switch to ON, wait 5 seconds, then crank it.

 

I took it to Les Shwab and had the battery checked. One of the leads was a bit loose but other than that the battery is fine.

I went and picked up some injector cleaner and dumped that in the tank and then filled it up at the gas station to get it all good and mixed. So far it appears to have helped a bit. I've also been giving it just a little bit of throttle while it turns over and that also helps. It might take a day or two to see the effects of the injector cleaner as it works its way through as I drive around.

I've only remembered to turn the key to "on" before turning it over once. That may have made a slight difference.

Either way I think I just need to learn the quirks of this truck. I spent the last 3 years driving a new 09 aveo around so this is quite a change (and for the better in my opinion).

 

I also have had a chance to do this yet. I will try and check that out tomorrow.