3rd gen engine skip

I’ve noticed this as well.

On a 60mph Highway where I live, there are some very short on-ramps that you have to stop at the end of, and if you notice an opening in traffic, you better floor it and merge because that opening isn’t going to be there in a couple seconds.

So I floor it and the truck seems to go through “stages” of torque. It’ll surge and then bogg, surge and bogg, all the way up to redline. One of the surges is for sure the VVT on the engine, but the rest are who knows what. Shitty tune, non-linear power curve.

being a truck engine, I wonder if these things have been tuned to run reliably on less than stellar fuel. Because the SAME EXACT engines in the Highlander make 15ish more horsepower, but a Highlander will probably not live in the boondocks, only getting filled with low-quality or stale gas out of a local Citgo or jerrycans filled when Obama was president. Trucks need to run on just about anything and they need to work.

 

On road I hear your complaint, off road however, the throttle knows before you do, what your are thinking. Don't touch that dial Toyota...don't listen to these guys.

 

Wut. Are. You. Talking. About.

 

I run non ethanol all the time, 3rd gear for me 2700 rpm and up a hill I get slight knock then goes away. I have a manual, 2nd gear punches mid throttle I noticed some weirdness. Lots of power, switch to direct/port then linear power to 4K. I don’t care it happens very little on my drive, I do love the manual.

 

My kinda party

 

Check OV Tune website, there's an explanation of the dip, then surge in power along with an RPM graph. They claim to smooth this out.
Note: I do not have an OV Tune, I just did some reading out of curiosity.
GL

 

Ok. For sure. I will look at it. However, it’s not really a dip and surge. It’s more like a skip or sputtering. Nothing smooth about it.

 

try using a bottle of Techron for the next few fill ups of fuel. Maybe you have crud on your injectors. It shouldn’t be skipping or sputtering. Have you had any check engine lights come on?

 

Is it a single misfire type of feeling? How frequently?

How does the truck idle?

 

Yeah tough for either of us to describe/understand, but I was hoping given that graph, you could see if your RPMs match. Their site is referring to it as acoustic valve control, mine very noticeable/repeatable.

 

No lights have come on. I would guess that most folks would not even notice it, or think it is uneven pavement. I will try the Techron. I also notice a major improvement with non-ethanol gas. It almost disappears.

 

The truck idles OK. I’ve heard the issue described as a fish tugging on the line. That is a very accurate description.

 

It happens anytime the vehicle is under load, but is most noticeable in 6th gear going up an interstate hwy

 

I have a 19 MT. It does the same thing.

I bought the ovtune and it helps a lot. If you still put it under load in the way you described, then it does still sputter some. However, with the tune i don't need the put that much throttle into it as 6th great pulls so much nicer in the highway with the tune.

I flashed 87 FOB .

Running 91 with the tune helps as well but it's more expensive

 

To buy or not to buy.

 

Damn Serg, that was Thread-Jackmaster-5k!
Yeah, buy it, and start your own thread

 

So the OVTune will help a manual transmission as well? I wasn’t sure about that because, well...the shifting is already up to you. I didn’t realize the tune would effect the engine. I thought it was more of a shifting alteration.
You bought the OVTune and used the 87 FOB - which is the tune for 87 Octane gas? Did your fuel mileage go down, up, or ?? Thank you.

 

Lol! I wasn't trying to high jack the thread. My message was, "Do I really want to buy the same truck in light of what the OP is going through?"

 

I like my truck, but don’t love it. I am coming off several 2001-2004 era Tacomas. I’ve had 3 of them. I never had a peep of trouble with them. They just kicked ass and would go almost anywhere.
This truck is 10x’s more comfortable on a long ride, but it’s heavier by a lot, it gets the exact same gas mileage, and this engine quirk makes me frustrated. Plus I have the rear differential whine and some of the other classic Gen3 crap. That doesn’t make me super pumped.