2009 Tacoma Mystery Problem: Dies in Flight

Howdy all.

(if this has come up previously or needs to be posted elsewhere please direct me to the appropriate place)

So I've got a recurring problem that the Toyota mechanics haven't been able to diagnose.

2009 Tacoma Access Cab - 2WD 6cy

Just under 15k miles

I'm the original owner and have had it since Feb 2008

Starting May 21, 2010 it has died 4 times in flight.

3 of those 4 times it would not start, and I had it towed to the dealership. Every time it starts back up by the time they get to checking it out.

Times 1, 3, and 4 it has occurred and almost the exact same place/time.

On my way home after approximately 12 miles (20 or so minutes) of mixed driving (surface roads and highway) it dies while I'm braking to a stop.

After it dies it cranks and everything sounds good, but nothing fires... like no fuel.

Time 1: May 21, 2010. Restarted after tow to dealership.

Time 2: Not sure. Maybe sometime this past fall. Died at a stop sign and immediately restarted.

Time 3: Feb 17 (last thursday). Would not start when I got it to the dealership. But started fine the next morning when the mechanics were checking it out.

Time 4: Tonight. Started at the dealership.

Computer is logging no codes. The mechanics are saying they don't even really know where to start.


Anyone experience this or have any ideas?

 

I had a truck (different brand) that did exactly as your describing. It was the wire connection under the fuse block for the fuel pump relay. It was towed to the shop 3 times before they found it. Good luck

 

Make sure your fuel pump is staying grounded.

 

Could also be your alarm system. My brothers 4runner did that once and wouldn't start back up and it turned out to be his alarm system.

 

Well, I had a car in the shop today with a similar problem- stalling occurs on deceleration- found to be the crankshaft position sensor. When there is an issue with the sensor or the crank blade, the ecm doesn't know where the crankshaft is in revolution and the vehicle dies. With that being the issue, the stalling becomes more frequent and eventually restarting is impossible. Something to keep in mind. Chances are, there would be a code found, but that may not always be the case.

As for the intemittant fuel pump issue- seen that as well. We hooked up our computer to the vehicle and let it run- checked the fuel pressure at the engine and found it dropped very intermittantly.

 

Maybe it's a main relay problem or something to that effect?

On my previous vehicle, a 1994 Honda Accord, it would die while driving down the road once in a while. The one that did it for me was when I was pulling out of a parking lot making a left turn crossing both directions of traffic. It died right as I left the parking lot...thankfully there was a center turning lane that I was able to coast into. Busy road, scary stuff.

Anyway, the mechanics didn't quite know what it was but they had an idea that it could be the main relay. I had them go ahead and replace that and it totally solved all the problems. It would crank over perfectly fine after it had died, but it would not start up. Just like you said, it felt like it was simply missing the fuel from the whole equation. Also, when it did die it would take maybe an hour or two and then it would start up just fine and drive for a day or two without any symptoms. Then it'd die... no codes of course.

Changing out the main relay totally fixed it, so it's worth a look.

 

I agree with the other posters that it sounds like a fuel pump problem, but if the fuel supply was bad enough to stall the engine and not let it restart, the truck should store a "mixture too lean" trouble code, among others. The OP said there were no codes stored.

I had an '86 Toyota pickup that did the same thing as the OP's '09. In both trucks, the fuel pump is inside the gas tank. It's submerged when the tank is full and mostly dry when the tank is nearly empty. The gasoline carries heat away from the fuel pump.

On my '86, everything was fine as long as there was more than 1/4 tank of gas, but if I went below that, the fuel pump would overheat and the thermal breaker inside the fuel pump would turn it off until it cooled. The real problem was a clogged fuel filter causing the fuel pump to work too hard and overheat.

Anyway, back to the OP's '09: I bet that you have a thermal problem. Most likely, something is getting too hot (probably) or too cold (not as likely) and stopping the truck, then working again when it returns to normal temperature. Thinking back on the weird self-resetting failures that I have had to troubleshoot over the years, all of them that I can recall right now were caused by a thermally intermittent component.

Good luck.

 

I know at my shop, we can arrange for a field tech to come out from the regional office. Maybe Toyota can arrange alternate transportation for a couple of days and allow him/her to perform some tests. Maybe suggest that to the dealer? Bottom line- there are WAY too many things that can cause the issue you're experiencing.

 

Do you have an auto-starter installed?

 

No auto starter. Stock everything.

I talked to the service rep early this AM and, believe it or not, he wasn't very interested in any input from me that I found on the internet.

Anyway, they are going to be spending today trying to duplicate the problem. He more-or-less told me if they can't duplicate it, then there's nothing they can do... I presume that they can't be reimbursed for warranty work if they can't prove anything is broken.

 

leave it at the dealer and get a loaner. They will see the problem sooner or later. There are a million things that can cause this to happen.

 

Good news today.

They ran all their diagnostics and found nothing. Right when they were pulling it out, it died... right there in the bay.

They were able to determine that the fuel pump was over-heating and shutting down. So they are replacing the fuel pump and checking the wiring.

 

I doubt if this will help,but here goes. I had the same problem with an H.E.I. distributor, in a chevy. went nuts till I found it. it was the pick up inside the distributor. when it got hot, it would'nt fire. when it cooled off,the car would start right up. check if the distributor has fire, right after it shuts down. a garage couldn't find this either, because when they checked it, it was cooled down. when i took the car there,the sucker wouldn't shut down-figures!

 

It's true that if the problem does not duplicate at the dealer, they cannot do anything under warranty. We face that issue regularly. It's not something we enjoy- getting screamed at by the customer, not being able to pay a flat rate tech, etc.... Basically, with most parts, if the tech throws something into the vehicle without having diagnosed the issue because it didn't happen again, the part cannot be put back on the parts shelf later. If my tech does 2 hours of stuff and cannot resolve it, who pays the 2 hours of labor? All issues must happen on the lot and be witnessed by personnel to start diagnosing under warranty. The manufacturer simply won't pay for open-ended diagnoses. Trust me- it sucks for us service people as well! I'm glad it happened there and the issue is being addressed! Good luck!

 

You got to love know-it-alls who want zero input from the customer.

OP good to hear that it died for them. What a fortuitous event. Hopefully they got it figured out.