No Fuel? Bad Fuel Pump? Bad Fuel? Aliens? Gremlins?

Let me start this off by saying: Yes. I did a search. No. I did not find my answer. Had my 4Runner been a 2nd or 3rd gen, I found plenty of threads on this, but none came up for the 5th gen.

I have a 2015 Trail Premium with 106,000 miles on it. It goes everywhere. It does everything. I have experienced ZERO problems until today.

After work, I went to the garage to start my 4Runner and head home. I typically remote start my truck via my CompuStar alarm system to get it warmed up before getting in and performing the take-over (insert key, turn to on, press on brake). This time I got to the truck and everything was on - except the engine.

Okay, no problem. I got in and tried starting it via the key. Engine turns over. Everything sounds good except there was no ignition. Okay... I have over 1/4 tank of fuel. It ran fine coming in this morning. Fuel Pump? Engine Immobilizer? Pinched fuel line? (I might need skid plates - oops)

So, I started down the electrical path. First the fuses: IGN, FPUMP, EFI, ...blinker fluid fuse. :noidea: Ugh... no luck. Okay. Disconnect the battery. Let it sit for 10 minutes. Then I reconnected everything and tried starting her one more time.

...still no luck...

So, I called my wife to let her know. I told her that I was going to pull the fuel line. If the line didn't spit out fuel with the ignition switch on, we needed to order a fuel pump. Got off the phone with her and thought "man... I really don't want to pull a fuel line in the garage at work." So, I tried one. last. time.

BOOM! She started up like she was waiting on me. W T F :brick:
I drove her 36 miles home. Frustrated. Calling my friends. Getting different answers...



So... now I turn to the internet: Anyone else experience something like this?

Ive had a similar issue a couple times. I would use the remote start and walk out to my truck still trying to get fully started. It would try, fail, wait a few seconds then try to start up again. Each time this has happened its been fixed with a couple presses of the gas pedal. More often than not this happened when my truck (black) was in direct sunlight on a warmer day for an extended period of time.

FamousAv8er said:

Ive had a similar issue a couple times. I would use the remote start and walk out to my truck still trying to get fully started. It would try, fail, wait a few seconds then try to start up again. Each time this has happened its been fixed with a couple presses of the gas pedal. More often than not this happened when my truck (black) was in direct sunlight on a warmer day for an extended period of time.

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This was parked in the cool garage at my office, and I have never had a problem like this with any of my Toyota Trucks (all 1GR-FE engines).

I do know one of my neighbors with an older 5th Gen limited was stranded on the highway with bad fuel pump. I spoke to him before buying my 2018 this year and he said that was the only problem he has ever had with the truck.

That never happened in any of my 4runners. But my Honda Accord had issues just like yours. It was main relay. $40 part and DIY that could cost me hundreds in diagnosis and unnecessary repairs if I would of taken it to mechanic. I never heard that relay going bad on 4Runner but it's worth to check. GL

urd markets an aftermarket fuel pump
https://www.urdusa.com/urd-2010-toyota-4runner-fuel-pumpfilter-upgrade-kit/

read what he writes about the oem one.

YelloLab said:

I do know one of my neighbors with an older 5th Gen limited was stranded on the highway with bad fuel pump. I spoke to him before buying my 2018 this year and he said that was the only problem he has ever had with the truck.

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My buddy that is a mechanic said that it is possible for the fuel pump to develop flat spot in the gearing that can cause intermittent problems such as these, but his wholesale price for the pump is over $300.
:wow2:

<<<< said:

That never happened in any of my 4runners. But my Honda Accord had issues just like yours. It was main relay. $40 part and DIY that could cost me hundreds in diagnosis and unnecessary repairs if I would of taken it to mechanic. I never heard that relay going bad on 4Runner but it's worth to check. GL

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I know exactly what you are talking about. I had an 89' Accord that had the same problem. Fixed it in the parking lot of my dorm in college. :thumb:

rayofsi said:

urd markets an aftermarket fuel pump
https://www.urdusa.com/urd-2010-toyota-4runner-fuel-pumpfilter-upgrade-kit/

read what he writes about the oem one.

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If this problem happens again, I will definitely be ordering one of these. I've had excellent experiences with URD on my Tacomas and my old 4Runner.

So far, I have put another 100 miles on her without another issue. Quick Story: I had a coworker walking by while I was in the garage trying to get her started last week. My coworker said, "sounds like your fuel pump is out". To which I said, "it was bound to be something at 100,000+ miles"... her jaw dropped. "WHAT?!?" she said. "...I had mine go out at 45,000 miles on my last car!"

That, Ladies and Gentlemen, is why we drive 4Runners.

Im leaning towards the fuel pump. I had to replace my fuel level sensor at 111k had i in now about the URD pump i would have done that at the same time.

my guess is compustar alarm system , not toyota .

good ""idea"" on spending hundreds of $$$ on toyota parts then find out the idiot that installed this alarm did not properly install the wiring connections or defective alarm components.

catrains said:

my guess is compustar alarm system , not toyota .

good ""idea"" on spending hundreds of $$$ on toyota parts then find out the idiot that installed this alarm did not properly install the wiring connections or defective alarm components.

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Well, that idiot would be me. ...and it has been installed for over a year without any other issues. So, I don't think I did that bad a job. :shrug:

So, it has been a week of driving into San Antonio from home and back.

Zero Problems

I am beginning to think this was a fluke/gremlin/airbubble/whatchamacallit. I will update this thread if it happens again, but for now we will just call this a weird mishap...

007Tacoma said:

So, it has been a week of driving into San Antonio from home and back.

Zero Problems

I am beginning to think this was a fluke/gremlin/airbubble/whatchamacallit. I will update this thread if it happens again, but for now we will just call this a weird mishap...

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Thank you for circling back around on this and providing an update. I really did not want to add "emergency fuel line removal" to my skill set.

alphabeast said:

Thank you for circling back around on this and providing an update. I really did not want to add "emergency fuel line removal" to my skill set.

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:rofl:

RIGHT?!?! Trust me. I feel the same way!