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

How long ago did you get your TSB done? Mine has been a bit over a year, and I can hear occasional pinging, but nothing near what it was before. There are others in this thread that have the same thing going on.

 

Any updates for the 2011 that has the same thing???

 

January this year.

um, it is reprogrammed. there is nothing going to change it back.
the old mapping is no longer part of the code or in memory. it is replaced.

there is nothing for it to 'revert back to' except maybe limp mode and I'd have MIL flashing

if I lost this reprogram the truck would not be able to start
as the entire ecu would be fried.

yours is either broken, or they never actually reprogrammed it, or they loaded the wrong update

 

Well immediately the trans shifted smoother, and the pinging stopped after I took it in. So now when it starts to ping for split second, the timing adjusts and it stops. You might just not picking up on your truck doing it, I could hear a cockroach fart, and can hear it. It really only does this when it is really hot, and with the a/c on with the outside temp over 90 degrees. I'll ask about it next time I go to the dealer.

 

Mine has been doing the same thing the last couple weeks as the temps have been in the 80's and 90's here. I just filled up with 89 instead of 87 gas and it seems to be better. I guess I may have to use 89 gas in the summer. I should try to get Toyota to pay for my gas bill increase for falsely advertising their truck to run on 87.

 

^ This

 

I have a ton of short steep hills where it would ping always for a short time at the same place
and also accelerating...now all that is gone

I swear I heard one ping once since Jan. none of that 'chuggle' it used to do

always 87 octane

truck and tranny is basically feels new again and works like it should

 

For those that have had the pinging issue return, have you taken the truck back to the dealer to show them the issue?

 

I have a 2013 DCSB 4.0 auto with 12,000 on the odometer. I live in South Florida so it's pretty much 80 degrees plus most of the year. I do not need hills to make it ping. It started pinging or I noticed the pinging at around 10,500. I have only run 87 in it. I had a URD CAI and the MAF calibrator on it (installed at 7k after first service). For troubleshooting purposes I ran a tank of 89 and the pinging was gone or at the least reduced to where I cannot hear it over the exhaust. I removed them both (MAF & CAI) to see if they were causing the pinging. Pinging persisted when I put 87 back in it. At that point I did not know this was such a widespread issue with these trucks. Shame on me should have researched it on TW first. I did run another tank of 89 through it after the mods were removed and it seemed to be better as described above. I am pretty confident that the MAF and CAI were not causing any issues. Now that the truck is stock and I have 87 in it now, the pinging is mild but there. I do drive it mellow for MPG purposes, but run it to WOT on a somewhat regular basis. I never have been able to get anywhere near 16-17 MPG's city even when I baby it. I have always been in the 14-15 range. This was one of the reasons I put, the CAI ,catback exhaust, and a bed cover on it to try and improve MPG's. The mods did zero for the MPG's. The butt dyno tells me they worked. I have always noticed that when I baby the truck and the the auto tranny shifts at are around 1500 rpm's that the engine lugs or even seems to bog slightly when I get into 4th or 5th gear. The lugging or bogging that I described is VERY minor. I just figured that is how the Tacoma's run when you baby them. The engine is smooth when I give it a little more throttle and the shifts are between 1800-2000 rpm. The pinging is as most have described, giving it about 30% throttle it pings in that 2000-3000 RPM range. I am in the early stages of troubleshooting and may just bring it in for the TSB and be done with it. It seems most posters are happy with their truck after the TSB. Did any of you who had the TSB done notice a major dip in performance. I know my truck is not a pro-stock funny car but I feel the truck is already border lining on being under powered and I do not want to make my slow truck slower. I am also curious if I decide to go the TSB route if the MAF or CAI will cause any problems after the re-flash of the ECU if I re-install them. I know the MAF calibrator was tuned for my truck with the URD CAI and catback exhaust. Not sure if the ECU re-flash will affect the MAF's preloaded tune. May have to run that by Gadget at URD. If I would have been told that I was going to have to run 89+ and STRUGGLE to get 14-15 MPG's I would have bought a V8 Tundra.

 

yup

ecu reprogramming assumes the truck is stock as shipped.

your changes nullify that

don't bother trying to get the tsb done unless you put it back to 100% stock in engine management

 

Truck is now stock, except for exhaust. My brother from another mother works at my local stealership and he is real tight with the master mechanic on premises. He told me he would do the TSB with the mods on. I removed them just to make sure they were not causing the issue. Which they were not. Kinda of funny that the friend mentioned above is a die hard Toyota guy. He persuaded me to buy the Tacoma and was giving me never ending amount of shit about my complaints about my truck pinging. Kept telling me I am crazy and hearing things. So as Karma would have it his truck started pinging this weekend. He blames me for making him turn the radio off to listen for it and sure enough his pings, worse than mine. HA HA. His is same truck, but a year newer 2014 with 15k on the odo. He is getiing the TSB done as I type this reply. Will post his opinion on the results after a day or two of driving. Might take mine in on Monday after I get his feedback on the results after a few days of driving his truck after the TSB

 

I got mine done last November when I was around 3k miles I think. It drove awesome, like a completely different truck when I first left the dealership. I'm just over 11k now, and over time it seems like it has gotten back to its old self. I'm not sure if I've just gotten used to it or what, but it still has a chugging, almost misfire feeling when going up hills unless I hammer down and make it downshift. I agree with you 100% that these trucks feel underpowered. I've been thinking about trading mine in for a V8, but with plans to get out of the military next year, probably not the best financial decision.

 

I plan on going to the dealer next week, so I'll post an update after I find out more about the pinging/trans issue.

 

Welllllll, i wish i could say the reflash worked for me, but i wasn't so lucky. I noticed the pinging again about 3 weeks after the reflash. I've been running 89 octane and that seems to help a bit. I still hear it from time to time, but now its in the ~2300 rpm range. Im over it. I just turn up the radio now. LOL.

 

I think it would be a good idea to show the service department that the pinging noises returned. This will help your case if there happens to be a future issue with the engine. Document, document, document! Chances are that your truck will be fine.

 

Update on my buddies ECU re-flash. The pinging is gone, but he has been running 89 octance since the TSB was performed. He feels the truck drives better,especially on the highway. It has been real hot the last few days and my truck was constently pinging so I had the TSB done to mine today. I drove around 40 miles around town and the truck is no longer pinging and otherwise feels the same. I don't know if it's placebo effect but the truck does not seem to lug or bog as bad when I baby it during acceleration. I cannot tell if there was any power loss after the ECU re-flash. The truck has felt slower since I removed the URD MAF and CAI. So far so good I will post in a few weeks after a tank or 2 of gas.

 

Thanks for your helpful input. Myself & others included had a similar sense that our trucks did not lug/bog as bad as before when going easy on acceleration. We're still not sure if this behavior is connected to the battery being disconnected during reflash = long enough for the transmission ECU to "reset" so it can "relearn" your driving habits.

 

Got mine done about two weeks ago. It got hot again (90ish) up here in the N.E. Pinging is basically gone. It'll just start to ping and then stop. I don't feel any difference in power and it's too early to tell if MPGs are affected.

 

FYI i was in 115* weather ALL weekend in the desert off roading and never heard any pining on 87.... but i have never had the issue before so take that with a grain of sand.

 

I'm having all of these issues as well and I am making an appointment to have the TSB done as we speak. Thanks for all the input guys!