V6 Cold Start problems?

I have noticed a similar problem. Lately my 07 has stuttered before starting. My truck goes in for service every 5K miles and its due for a 25K mile service.

Last night in sacramento was the coldest it has been all season and when i went to start my car at 11:30 am to leave for school it would not start. I was like WTF... So luckily I had my work car to drive. I hope when i go home it starts up.. Any ideas?

 

If it just cranks but doesn't fire after you've tried a couple of times, hold the gas to the floor and crank it. It may have flooded itself out, holding the pedal to the floor shuts injectors off and clears it out.

 

yeah, it's still under the new car warranty, so i hope when i get home it starts and will take it into Toyota. Thanks for the response

 

come to find out i had a dead battery. I jumped the car and it started the car, but it still stuttered when I started it. I went to kragen and picked up a new battery. So $95 later i'm back in action.

 

It's surprising your battery only lasted 2 years. I expect at least 4.

 

i think my battery died early because i used the plug in the back of my truck a little to much. I would power my DJ speaker while tailgating, so maybe that killed it early? So the new battery has a 2 year warranty so if it happens again, I will get a new one!

 

I started my truck after 5 days of heavy snow here in Colorado. I had to spend 10 min to dig it out of the snow. It did exaclt like you explained but started within 2 seconds. It does bother me that it doesnt start instantly.

 

I would think it would have been covered under the 36 month warranty.

 

Mine has no problems...started right up today at 1 F.

cold weather problems are usually the result of one or more of three possibilities...

1)your oil has thickened in the cold and it is more difficult to get your engine spinning...try a lighter, less viscous oil.

2)your gasoline is less volatile and therefore doesn't ignite as easily since only the vapor is combustible...try gas additives that increase its volatility (ether??)

3)your batteries electrochemical reactions are slowed, providing fewer electrons...warm, charge or replace your battery

 

I tried your suggestion today after it had been parked for 8 hours in around 38*F temps all day; and it started right up. The next few days are going to be cold as well I'll keep trying that!

Good Tip! Thanks!

 

You can't just crank it over, fuel pump has to prime. You're trying to start a fire with no fuel.

 

Really? I thought gas pedal has absolutely no effect on starting since its EFI. Do you have a reference for this information? Good info to know if its true... never heard that before.

 

If you're gonna do that a lot, you might want to consider springing for something like an Optima Yellow Top. They can run around $180, but it's a sealed deep cycle battery so it won't need any service and it'll still push good cranking amps when somewhat discharged.

My manual says the engine's gotta be running to use the inverter, so I wouldn't have thought it'd be easy to drain the battery too much that way.

 

yeah when i was at kragen I saw those batteries but the said they had only 1 that would work for my truck. My roommate mentioned getting a battery like that as well. I needed my truck up for the next day therefore I just went with what they had.

The last time i used my speaker with my truck, i did have it running, but the cold weather and how many times i used it probably killed it.

Thanks bmgreene for the suggestion. That's why I am getting more involved with this forum because someone has a an idea or fix to your solution.

 

Its actually not Taco specific, any fuel injected vehicle reacts the same. Pedal on floor=shuts off injectors. I picked it up working at a carlot for years. I googled and it seems like there are a couple references on the net about it. I believe full throttle is the only position on an efi vehicle that matters when starting. On another note when I'm far from my HQ, sometimes I do it in the patrol car to piss my partner off so he thinks we broke down-works every time.

 

x2 here in metro atlanta. tried taking her out during lunch and encountered in
52 degree weather. took two cranks. I'll try the priming part. mine's 3 weeks old.

 

That is exactly what happens to mine. I'll come out and it's around 40 out and I'll have a slow start like the battery charge is running down. I'll try leaving the key in for a few seconds before starting today.

 

It appears to me you need to prime fuel pump. It worked each time I started after sitting in cold for hours.

 

Krazie,

I was gonna bitch about it being -8 degrees by me today, BUT after seeing your post I will refrain. THAT COLD SUCKS!!! Hope you survive buddy.....

 

my last 3 mornings before heading to work:

-13, -9, -3...

It hasn't been above freezing for almost a week...

No block heater (thinking of adding one to aid in quicker heat)

starts everytime...

My heated wet okoles are invalueble in the winter here in CO...