New Member - '13-4.0L Spark Plug change - Throws CEL/TRAC off and no cruise

First off I'd like say Hello to all members here, your time and expertise will be greatly appreciated.

I bought my very first brand new vehicle ever in Oct, 2012; a '13 Tacoma SR5 PreRunner Texas Edition (TSS package). I just recently have graced 50,000 miles and up until this last oil/spark plug change the truck has been absolutely flawless. I honestly could not be happier in any other truck, full or mid-size.

I decided to forgo the suggested spark plug change at 30,000 miles and wait until my 50,000 mark. Ordered 6 new NGKs and replaced all 6 with minimal effort as was expected. Turned the engine on with the new plugs and immediately noticed a heavy lope, CEL and TRAC off light. I figured one of the cylinders wasn't firing and brought the truck to AutoZone to get an OBD read. Turns out the #5 was the culprit. Pulled the plug, and sure enough the ground tab was smashed all the way up against the center electrode. I replaced the new NGK with one of the old plugs temporarily and voila, the engine seemed to run just as smoothly as when it was brand new.

So my problem is the CEL and TRAC off light. I have read several posts concerning these lights, and it seems that in a majority of the system faults the two lights work in conjunction with each other. I've put over 100 miles on the truck since rectifying the misfire, but the lights remain on. I know in a lot of cases the OBD system will reset itself once the fault is resolved, but I have had vehicles that do not and the CEL has to be cleared. I predict this is the case in my Tacoma, but I wonder if anyone here could say for sure.

By the way, AutoZone does NOT clear codes, they will only read codes. Apparently its against the rules. I don't know who makes up the AutoZone rules, but they're stupid.

Also, I just noticed this morning that my cruise control is no longer functioning. As in, the cruise control system will not even turn on. I had read some posts about a faulty brake light switch preventing the cruise to activate, but I would think that you should still be able to turn the system on even if the brake pedal is activated.

I will check fuses when I get home this afternoon.

Any insight on either problem is highly valued.

Thanks,

Ken

P.S. sorry for the lengthy thread.

 

To clear your cel just disconnect your battery for about 10 minutes and it should reset. I believe you have to disconnect both ground and positive though. As far as cruise control not working. The electronic switch in your brake pedal is designed to cancel out the cruise control and shut it down. It is a safety precaution installed in almost all new vehicles. Just curious is yours an automatic of manual

 

If the plug ground was smashed you have possibly damaged that piston something hit it maybe plug are to long!!!!!!!!

 

To Newlife:
-It's an auto. When I press the brake while in cruise, it cancels the cruise function but does not turn off the system. Hence, I'm able to hit the resume button and maintain the previously set cruise speed. I'm just not sure if you're able to to turn on the system with brake switch activated. And if that's the case and there is a fault in the brake switch then I could see that being the source of the problem. Either way, I think I'll start with the easier option of checking the fuses.

To Whopper:
-That was my initial thought, the plugs are too long!! Scared the crap out of me. But I triple checked the plug model numbers when ordering and triple checked again when I received them. They're definitely the NGK model numbers listed in the manual. Aside from that, I would think the other five pistons would have been tapping the plugs as well. All I can come up with is that I must have dropped the new plug on the floor or somehow hit the ground tab before installing it. Or it just came from factory that way. :-/

One thing I did notice, and saw on a previous thread, is that the #2, 4, and 6 cylinders originally came with NGK plugs, while the #1, 3, and 5 cylinders had Denso plugs. Any reasoning behind this?? Do the plugs fire any differently between the two manufacturers? The manual gives a model number for both NGK and Denso, but I had assumed that this was just a cross reference.

I'm thinking about just ordering three new NGKs and three new Densos and installing them exactly as they came from the factory. I just don't know why Toyota would do this.

 

Update:

Went home yesterday, went through every fuse in both fuse blocks, and not a single one was blown. Disconnected both battery terminals for about 20 minutes, reconnected them, and both CEL and TRAC were cleared and cruise control was fully functional. I have about a 60 mile commute to work, and made it this morning without incident. I'd say the problem is resolved. Thanks guy's for the advice.

It does seem that the mpg is lagging a little bit with these new plugs, and it feels like there's been a small dip in power. Like I have to put my foot into it a little more to get the same response as from the factory plugs. I got 6 new NGK plugs, but from what I've been reading it seems that the Denso plugs may be a little higher in quality. I might order some Densos and see if there any discernible difference in performance. The truck just doesn't seem to want to respond quite as readily as it did with the old plugs. Not sure why.