2018 tacoma is suddenly a no start

Wonder if rodents damaged the wiring harness

 

Hopefully they replace it under warranty. Can’t imagine what that would cost out of pocket.

 

You and me both. Negative on the mice. It lives in my shop, which is mouse proof. I have had a few occasions where a mouse snuck in through an open door, but I also have at least 4 traps baited with peanut butter just in case. I hate the destructive little buggers with a burning passion.

 

Well that’s a shit sandwich about the wiring issue.

 

Ok, got an email back from the service manager that this one is 100% on the house and parts are on order.

But I did ask what it would cost if I had to pay for it out of pocket.

I would not be shocked if it was over a grand.

 

Glad it is covered

 

He said if it were not covered, the cost would be 3-5 grand. That seems like a wide spread, but whatever the real number is, it's a big number.

 

Dude, you need to send that Service Manager a nice fruit basket! Sounds like he went above and beyond for you on this one.

 

My 2020 problem with starting was the starter! Only 20k miles. So it can be anything. Glad you got it figured out.
Oops...quoted wrong one. Lol

 

I'm with this guy...but spitballing here, maybe a hot cop in a smedium shirt who somehow forgot her pants?

 

Took two weeks, but it's sorted out. I don't have a blow by blow diagnostic report (which would be cool) but it sounds like:

1. Replaced the fuel pump b/c it's a recall issue, and low fuel rail pressure, probably the fuel pump. Still wouldn't start.

2. More electrical diagnostic work, and it looks like there is a bad wire in the engine harness, and/or a failed ground wire in the harness. At this point they had talked to some higher echelon Toyota service person (team?). They said replace the whole engine harness. The truck now runs, but is still throwing codes (and possibly new codes), including low fuel rail pressure. Hmmm.......

They had to take the manifold off to inspect one more bit of wiring to rule out mouse damage. Interestingly, he said if it was mouse damage my house insurance would likely pay for it. Or stated differently, Toyota would not pay for it. In either case, the got it off and there was no mouse damage.

3. They decided the fuel rail pressure sensor was bad. They also said they could not replace just the sensor, so they replaced the whole assembly. Sounds expensive.
This fixed everything and the truck starts, runs and drives like new again.

I have checked the fuel economy for almost every tank since new. For the first 2 years I routinely got high 22's up to 24.6. One tank hit 25. All of those number are if I am not doing any towing or highway work.
The last year it hardly ever went over 21. Towing and/or highway it drops to 18.

Driving home from the dealer I got 25.2. Only 15 miles and not a proper "fill the tank and calculate" method. But it's been a long time since the trip fuel economy got anywhere close to 25.

Now we enter the realm of speculation...

What if it was the fuel rail pressure sensor the whole time?

 

Thanks for the updates and conclusion man. Sounds like you kept a good attitude through the whole thing and have a good dealer who got it taken of for you.

 

There are a dozen ways this could have turned out worse. Other than the time frame, this is about the best possible outcome.
I am surprised over and over again how well it works to be nice to people.

 

Im experiencing identical issues now with my truck...P0087 w/ P0300 (multiple cylinder misfire) and P160400 (startup malfunction). Hoping its just the fuel rail pressure sensor like you mentioned but theyre still diagnosing. I had the truck in last week for this issue and they replaced the Fuel Pump ECM under warranty but that didnt fix the issue.

 

Extremely likely, but we’ll never know.
Was in the similar predicament. Went to dealer and bought all the parts I needed to fix the issue I had.
As a shot in the dark, asked dealer to see if this would be covered by warranty( I was just outside of the warranty) to my surprise they ok’d the repair under warranty.
I told them exactly what it was, they didn’t care for what I said( and also they have to follow their protocols not what a random person tells them to). They ended replacing a slew of parts(which in hindsight is great) which didn’t fix the issue, the last part they replaced, resolved the problem.
Sometimes it’s like that, but hey, you got a bunch of new parts, hopefully they did quality job replacing said parts, so you don’t have to be back to fix those issues.

 

Glad they got to the defective part, what they were doing is called shotgun troubleshooting. I’d bet a bunch of money that the wiring harness was fine as frogs hair. Fuel pump being changed on the recall is preventative but wise.

 

I agree with you, it sure in hell not the battery or alternator if its cranking over strong.. Have someone read the codes out for you, ck fuel pump pressure etc.

 

They think its a grounding issue with my truck...claim that the years of mud have damaged some of the grounding points near the fuel tank on the vehicle (I call bullshit but we'll see how well she starts up this morning).

 

Looks like the grounding point was the main issue of the low fuel pressure (bad ground right near the fuel tank). This was caused from lots of salt/corrosion from Michigan winters... The dealer based their technical diagnosis off of other Tacoma's in the midwest that have shown similar issues, so it sounds like its a fairly common issue around here. Just some food for thought if you have a snow-belt vehicle to check your ground-points every year or so.

 

Interesting....which ground points exactly, specifically?

I do live in Michigan and they do put a hefty dose of salt on the highways at every opportunity. I don't go off road much at all, so mud could not have been a contributing factor.

If that's what it was on my truck, you would think they would not have to replace the whole engine harness for many thousands of dollars.
And to be clear, the service manager bent over backwards to get my truck fixed at no cost to me, despite the fact that I was (slightly) out of warranty
by the calendar.

Perhaps related, perhaps not... I treated my brand new truck with fluid film, and I keep it touched up with the little spray cans. AND I have the all-you-can-eat buffet
at the best car wash in town. It gets washed 2-4 times per week.

Did I mention my Tacoma lives a pampered life?