2011 Tacoma 4.0L rough idle & underpowered - any ideas?

I had a similar problem on a vw, would run great then die back and choke till stall. It turned out to be the cam position sensor. But in all the spudder it ended up jumping time and bending some valves. Thats when I got my Taco.

 

I am having a similar issue. My truck also has a weird idle and makes my truck have a slight vibration going through it. Really annoying for a brand new truck with only 2800 miles on it. WTF? Dealer says they found nothing but to keep an eye on it to see if it gets worse. No F/n S**t

 

I had a customers Chevy truck (I know, a Chevy..... bear with me) that would lose power ONLY when towing his boat. Turned out the hitch and trailer ball were loose and would rattle on certain bumps. The noise was transmitting up the frame rails and triggering the knock sensor. The ECU "thought" it was doing the right thing and there were no knock sensor codes. It would pull the timing back till the truck would barely move on bumpy roads..... A shot in the dark. Hope it helps.... RON

 

I had a Kia that once did this... It was so bad that it just stopped at every red light that I encoutered. They replaced the fuel pressure regulator... It sounds a lot like the situation that you are encoutering... I would keep all of your recepts from all the dealerships, and maybe go after them for lemon law....

 

Well guys... the verdict is in. The dealership replaced all six injectors and if FIXED the problem. Believe it or not, it runs perfect now. Idles smooth and has the high end torque back. I wouldn't believe it if I didn't experience it. For some reason, one or more of the injectors were not performing.

I really expected it to be something to do with the VVTi valve timing. Its good to know that if your 4.0L goes into an inconsistent idle and feels underpowered, the injectors could be your problem. I've driven Tacoma 4.0L engines for more than a combined 100,000 miles and haven't experienced this before. I'm glad its working now. I feel like a kid again driving it around. Its a lot more fun, zippy and powerful once again!

Thanks for you thoughts and input on this

 

Awesome!
I was wondering what it was in case I have the problem on my 2011.

 

Good to know. I owned a 2002 Audi A4 1.8T a few years ago and ran into a similar situation except with the ignition coil packs. The engine would cut out or off all together and pretty much just freak out. Turns out Audi had a recall on their ignition coil packs from circa 2001-2005. I had 2 of 4 go out one month, and the other 2 go out the next month. Once they were all new, Quattro Woot!-mode was re-engaged!

 

I wonder if there are more out there with this problem. Does your Tacoma idle strange in neutral? How about top end power? I couldn't really tell much of a difference, but above 65mph on the highway or with a trailer I could really tell a difference.

 

Prob a wiring issue.

However, have you checked the fuel pressure? Sometimes a failing fuel pump can set up misfire codes. I know of 4 vehicles in about 10 years this has happened to. Very similar symptoms you describe were present in the other cars as well.

Just a thought.

 

Wow crazy. Great that they got it fixed though! Now you can get back to enjoying your truck.

 

My truck is doing almost the same exact thing.. Its a 2011 4.0 . Has 3200 miles.. Just changed the oil in it myself.. Wife went to go to work with it this morning and it started up ok but as soon as she shifted it into rev it started to idle really rough and vibrated.. was misfiring and the valves were very noise. I started it tonight when I got home and sure enough it was doing just that.. check eng. and traction control light stayed on.. took it up the road and it run good , brought it back into the garage and it was running like it should but lights are still on.. calling the dealer tomorrow.

 

Can anyone tell me where the camshaft position position sensor is located?

 

Took my truck to dealer the other day for the eng. light and trct light being on running rough.. got about 5 miles from the house and lights go out.. get to dealer and tell them what it did.. they put on computer and checked codes.. had codes from both cam sensors showing a fault.. they cleared codes and test drove it for 15 minutes and said to keep an eye on it and if it does it again bring it back.. I told them if it does it again I will call them and they can come and get it and haul it back to the shop so the light would still be on and they could experience the issues it was having..

 

I had a ford ranger did the same thing would just cut off while driving then wouldnt start its the cam positioning sensor changed it out ran perfect my money is on that Google it forgot the price of the part but my mechanic charged 40 to change it he know what it was right away give it a shot op

 

My 15 has a rough idle, i noticed last night. 83k miles. No idiot lights, but the rpms were under 1000. I'll have to grab video of it. Some people in my local Taco group say its the normal thing but last time I had an engine sound like this the lifters came apart. I still have a warranty till I hit 84k so I'm taking it in tomorrow, not sure if they'll be able to fix anything being I bought it used from a Chevy dealership.

 

It's supposed to idle under 1000

 

It sounds very choppy though.