Supercharger issues... Looking for your experience

I have a couple of issues with my supercharger that was recently installed. It was installed at 500 miles, and I am now at 1500 miles on my 2015 Taco.

1. The TRD serpentine belt is shredding. I have searched these forums and found they do not last but 10K miles before replacement and to get Goodyear 4050705 Gatorback Poly V-Belt to replace it. My concern is that it has lost an entire rib and it jumped a slot towards the shredded side on the crank pulley. Does this indicate that the supercharger pulley may be misaligned? Has anyone experienced this?

2. MAJOR MPG loss. From everything I have read most people experience a 1-2 mpg increase, not a 7 mpg decrease. I am currently running at about 12mpg (albeit heavy footed) and 14mpg very light footed. Has this significant decrease been experienced by other SC owners? I have no problem with the extra gas consumption, but this doesn't seem normal from everything else I have read. Thoughts?

3. I was told by the installation technician that my truck might run a little funky until I worked the 87 octane out of the tank and got 91+ into it. Well it has been 1000 miles and it IS much better than before, but I still experience a little bit of acceleration choppiness. Is there a TRD customer service hotline, or am I stuck with having to return to someone who may not have set up my SC properly? Anyone else experience this with theirs?

4. ***EDITED AND ADDED*** I also walked out by my truck the other day after it sat for a good 6 hours (cold motor) and heard bubbling water and a whirring. The intercooler pump was running! Is it normal for the intercooler pump to push fluids well after the truck has been off and the engine cooled?

I am interested in anyone's thoughts and experience with issues like this and their superchargers. Thanks everyone!

 

It was installed by my local Toyota dealership. I thought the same thing about 2 and 3 being related. I'm wondering if one of the injectors might be bad. I just noticed the belt this morning. I thought that a lifter/valve was ticking, but it turned out to be a piece of loose belt slapping the SC housing. Relieved it is only a $20 Band-Aid, but still a bit annoyed at the same time.

 

1- Sounds like whoever did the install did not know what they were doing. Belt should not be shredding
2-I have a '12 Baja w/ a factory installed SC & my MPG is right on with everyone else 18-20MPG running 87 octane

Suggest taking it to someone who knows what they are doing as much as a SC costs. Performance should be enhanced, not suffering from a proper install

 

Yes that is the entire reason why I had the dealership install it instead of doing it myself. Thanks!

87 Octane? Everything I have read (including all of the installation manual warnings) says to only run 91+ octane with the SC. Anything less is supposed to cause firing issues that can really jack up the engine. Yours is not very old... 2012... Could this be a new thing or did yours suggest the same thing?

 

1. I am still on the original supercharger belts with 40k+ miles.

2. I stayed relatively flat with my MPG. I do a lot of highway so I think that is mostly why.

3. My truck drove just like I dropped it off when I wasn't getting on it. There was never any hesitation.

I don't know about the belt, but I would be looking for a vacuum leak for 2 and 3.

 

I just added the bit to my original post about the intercooler pump running on its own for a few moments long after the truck was turned off.

Thank you for the replies. I initially thought the same thing about the belt being defective Rock Lobster, until I saw how it jumped track on the bottom pulley. That's what made me think it was possibly misaligned. Most people find the increase on highway mileage because the engine doesn't have to downshift as much when going up mild hills. In town driving is where I saw the biggest hit. Thank you for relaying your experience with the MPG drop in city driving. The choppiness that I experience is at initial low gear acceleration. It seems to smooth out as I gain gears. It kinda feels like the traction control is kicking in and limiting the engine, but I feel/hear no tire slippage and get no indicator lights coming on.

 

That's exactly what it feels like. Makes sense.

 

Inter cooler pump running is perfectly normal. Inter cooler is on the same circuit as the fuel pump. So when the fuel pump cycles so does the inter cooler.

 

The fuel pump cycles routinely when the truck is turned off? BTW thanks for this bit of info! You guys are really setting my mind at ease over some of these "quirks" that I am not used to dealing with. Thanks!

 

I don't know if this will help or not, but here is my experience with my 2015 DCLB so far.
Had my S/C installed by stealership @ 500 miles as well.
I have an automatic and a camper shell.
S/C will briefly peek @ 6lbs before tranny shifts into next highest gear.
Anything over 2lbs will result in rich afr @ 10 (Probably even richer, but that's as high as my AFR gauge goes).
When I lift completely, afr goes in the opposite condition to real lean off the gauge which scared the Hell out of me until I researched it and discovered that it was programed to do that in order to get better gas mileage.
Mine usually (but not always) stumbles on launch but then runs strong/smooth from 35mph to 90mph (getting 0 to 60's in 7+ seconds @ elevation of 4500 feet & don't know if that's normal or not).
I got really crappy gas mileage at first w/91 octane (14mpg) but I believe that was due to my heavy foot, combined with the ethanol additive that the environmental nazis in my state require during the winter months. Since getting real gas, I've been getting better gas mileage (15mpg with heavy foot, 16-17 mpg with rather civilized foot) good scratch in 1st sometimes w/stock tires (don't know why some days are better, maybe temps & road surface conditions?).
I've got 1600 miles now & been checking belts often (Hate looking @ that huge, 3" Frisbee pulley but no visible wear on the belt at all).
We paid a lot of $ to have the S/C's installed (and for that damned "Installation kit") in order to keep everything under warranty. I'd take mine back to either the original stealership or to one in a neighboring town to have it looked at, and 1) get your belt replaced 2) fix the problem that caused the premature wear in the first place (Which means, they will simply replace the belt as being "defective" and wait to see if it happens again...while breaking something else in the process).
Good luck my friend.

 

I have most of the same things to say as others. Take it back to the dealer!

The belt should not shred that fast.

Are you sure it's hesitating or is your transmission just going potato? Have the dealership check the fluid level in your transmission.

The fuel pump does circulate when the truck is off as part of the emissions system. If it is "bubbling" check to make sure the Coolant is not leaking out of the reservoir on the far back drivers side of the engine bay. It is fairly common for the coolant to leak and you may have to change the clamps a few times to get it to seat properly.

 

I think everyone miss read WVTacoma08's comment about the fuel . Pretty sure he meant he's getting the same mileage as those running 87 and not that he's running 87

 

We have a manual to read?

 

Installing a supercharger is not rocket science. Many amateur mechanics have installed a supercharger in their garage with basic hand tools without incident. The most technical/difficult part to installing a supercharger is the tune. Which Toyota has happily taken care of for you.

Take it back to the dealership. There's an install problem somewhere. Most of us w/ superchargers have had not issues. And when I say most I mean the vast majority. It's not new tech or complicated. It's incredibly simple actually.

 

Yes it indicates that the pulleys are not parallel. This is causing the belt to walk.

I assume this is a TRD Supercharger? It should have a bypass when it is not being placed under a demand. Maybe it is stuck and not bypassing.

I would take it back and have it checked. Something is not right with the belt walking, Excessive Loss of MPG and Choppy acceleration. Sum Ting Wong

I don't think this is normal at all. This will lead to a dead battery.

I thought that the only thing that runs after the engine is cut is the Evap. System Pump. I have never heard of the fuel pump running after the engine has been shut off... I have been wrong before, but...

 

See the previous page for the intercooler pump question, it's normal.