T-SB-0044-14 Feedback: Engine ECM Reprogram [Pinging]

Sometimes I think I can hear a pinging noise, but I really have to listen carefully to pick it up...

 

Just had mine done today, only driven it a few miles since. I don't know if it's in my head or if actually helped but the trucks seems a but quieter and smoother at idle. I'll know better with a little more time behind the wheel and on the cold starts.
They said they really couldn't replicate it but they did it anyway.

 

That's the test for sure. About 150 miles on it now and it def runs smoother. I also feel like it shifts smoother. It's a manual but the engine does a lot better picking up the load while letting off the clutch. Let you know how it does on the next hot day.

 

Mine has gotten much better since the TSB however is still pings, not as loudly or as often but still fairly often nonetheless. I've been running Lucas engine cleaner through the last few tanks to try and help and I think it's gotten better so I'm going to continue to keep applying it every fill up. I'm wondering if some of the pinging could be happening from carbon build up. I wouldn't think an engine with barely 40k on the clock would have carbon build up though.

 

my motto.... redline a day keeps the carbon away

 

Good motto, with the gas prices low I haven't worried about it, just throw premium in it and its runs smooth as it should, no ping even down to under 1500rpms. The few times I have put 87 in it, within a matter of mins, the truck sounds like its a decade old. Mine also sounds terrible at wot with 87

 

is this even in the cold??

i honestly have never had any issues with pinging and i only run 87. and it has gotten hot here in so cal.

The reason i got the reflash was for possible better mpgs' which according to fuelly i have been up trending since the flash.

I have had the XTP intake manifold spacer on my truck since early on which might make pinging problems less of an issue.

and gas prices have gone up almost a full dollar here in so cal in the course of 3.5 weeks.

 

I've heard before that driving a little harder can help blow out some of the carbon buildup. My truck is a manual and I've always driven it very easily, most of the time shifting around 2k RPM and lately I'm wondering if that could actually be a source of the problem.

 

Maybe it's Carbon build up or dirty injectors. If my pinging does come back like before pre-reflash I may do a top end clean (carbon clean up)

 

Yeap, mid grade it runs ok with slight pinging at low rpms. I was hopeful that when I changed the plugs that it would clear up but no dice.

 

I've ran a couple tanks of Lucas top end engine cleaner and a can of seafoam through the intake manifold and I think I may have fixed the pinging. I think it was carbon deposits that built up from me driving the truck so easy.

 

blow that bitch out!!!

best cleaning method for injectors is a good full duty cycle at max pressure, then being shut of completely then back to full duty cycle..... ie rev limit

but seriously though, a good WOT run through 1st and 2nd (auto) to 65ish to get on the freeway once a week or so is a good thing to do.

 

Studies show that a WOT run is not only beneficial for your truck's engine, but also good for your soul.

 

Keep us posted on this, as I wot frequently enough that carbon buildup shouldn't be an issue I got a new camera and I'm due for a fill up, so tomorrow I'll fill up with 87 and record the before and after.

 

That's ridiculous

 

How many miles prior to the Seafoam? How goes Seafoam affects the spark plugs?

 

I was finishing up my 40,000 mile service last night, and I noticed that the dealer DID stick a decal under my hood referring to this TSB. Check out the picture below...

 

At this point, I have driven over 8,500 miles since this TSB was performed. Warmer weather is returning to Central California. I am now running 265/75-16 All-Terrain tires, which could arguably increase load on the engine, and still no pinging under load in warm weather.

 

no negative issues here.

Hard to say about MPG's cus i got it done when it was bitter cold here in so cal and is finally warming up. I did just do a 19.19 mpg tank last tank and thats on the much higher end then what i average... but there were some much warmer days during that tank.

 

I would hazard a guess that the piezo device gets "tired" over time. And the knocks / pings fail to excite it enough to generate a voltage large enough to get the ECU's attention. Probably this refresh just tweaks the sensitivity that the ECU needs to begin to retard the spark. You might think that a solid state device never fails, but they actually do. Just not very frequently.

Another equally probable explanation is that the ECU programming was simply too conservative from the get-go, and the piezo-pulses were just not enough to let it recognize early signs of pre-ignition. Some were probably just barely good enough and some were not. This might well just lower the threshold to make it react to a weaker signal.

I doubt Toyota will ever tell.