Intermittent stuttering start after getting stuck in the snow.

S

subdued76

Member
To start; Hello, I have been on this forum for along time reading all the great info. My 4Runner is a 2007 V6 Sport 4x4.

So on February 24th 2019 I got my 4Runner stuck really bad in a snow bank during a blizzard. It had to be towed out it was stuck so bad. Later that day I went to leave the house again (roughly 4-5 hours later) and I had a really rough start. It took about 5-6 seconds to start.

Ever since then the car starts with a little hesitation in the morning, but starts the worse when it has sit for 4-6 hours. It sounds like its not getting enough gas fast enough. I do turn the key to the 1 position and let it sit for a few seconds before attempting to start it. The starting problem is very inconsistent, so I imagine would be hard to diagnose.

Maintenance I have done;
The plugs were changed about 6 months ago.
The throttle body has been cleaned since I suspected this was the problem, but it didn't help.

The check engine light doesn't come on, but I want to get it figured out. I have talked to a few mechanics who swear getting stuck has nothing to do with it, but it seems like too much of a coincidence. Tell me I'm crazy.
 
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Have somebody crank it while you watch the exhaust pipe. Any dark puff of smoke when it starts after the long crank time?
 
subdued76 said:
To start; Hello, I have been on this forum for along time reading all the great info. My 4Runner is a 2007 V6 Sport 4x4.

So on February 24th 2019 I got my 4Runner stuck really bad in a snow bank during a blizzard. It had to be towed out it was stuck so bad. Later that day I went to leave the house again (roughly 4-5 hours later) and I had a really rough start. It took about 5-6 seconds to start.

Ever since then the car starts with a little hesitation in the morning, but starts the worse when it has sit for 4-6 hours. It sounds like its not getting enough gas fast enough. I do turn the key to the 1 position and let it sit for a few seconds before attempting to start it. The starting problem is very inconsistent, so I imagine would be hard to diagnose.

Maintenance I have done;
The plugs were changed about 6 months ago.
The throttle body has been cleaned since I suspected this was the problem, but it didn't help.

The check engine light doesn't come on, but I want to get it figured out. I have talked to a few mechanics who swear getting stuck has nothing to do with it, but it seems like too much of a coincidence. Tell me I'm crazy.
Click to expand...

I don't think it has to do with being stuck in the snow, I had a similar experience recently, which I will expand on below.

But how old is your battery?

I ask because as mentioned above I had a similar issue, for about a month or so my T4R would start OK and other times it would take a few more revolutions of the starter for it to start, and a few times I had to try a second time to get it to start, and also at times it seem to have less power until it warmed up, it was the battery, I replaced the battery and now it starts quickly and runs perfectly.

I would suggest getting your battery properly tested, by that I mean to make sure it has a "Load Test" performed to know for sure the condition of the battery.
 
I had my battery tested at two different locations;
Once at O'Reilly's and it said it failed, and once at Advance Auto Parts with a complete load test that said the battery needed to be charged reading at 529 out of 700. I honestly don't know if the guy at O'Reily's did it right, it took about 5 seconds, and he seemed confused about the difference between a Rav4 and a 4Runner asking what the difference was.
 
subdued76 said:
I had my battery tested at two different locations;
Once at O'Reilly's and it said it failed, and once at Advance Auto Parts with a complete load test that said the battery needed to be charged reading at 529 out of 700. I honestly don't know if the guy at O'Reily's did it right, it took about 5 seconds, and he seemed confused about the difference between a Rav4 and a 4Runner asking what the difference was.
Click to expand...

No smoke out the tailpipe rules out injector leakage, which is good news. It's time for a new battery. I'd recommend East Penn manufacture, made in the US and very good performance, usually found at NAPA for ours.
 
subdued76 said:
I had my battery tested at two different locations;
Once at O'Reilly's and it said it failed, and once at Advance Auto Parts with a complete load test that said the battery needed to be charged reading at 529 out of 700. I honestly don't know if the guy at O'Reily's did it right, it took about 5 seconds, and he seemed confused about the difference between a Rav4 and a 4Runner asking what the difference was.
Click to expand...

Well you can get it tested again at another place if you think you need a third diagnosis ...but it does indeed seem that your battery is on it's last leg if not already there and needs to be replaced, and hopefully that will solve your issues, but if not it appears that it needs to be done anyway.

Our T4Rs don't act or perform very well with a bad battery.
 
Thank you everyone!
I'm probably gonna get one more test from my shop I use since they'll be open tomorrow.
I have always bought Interstate batteries in the past, do people still think good of them? Its been a while since I have bought one. Does anyone put a bigger size battery in theirs?
 
If battery wont fix it. I would check fuel pressure overnight. It may be a failing check valve inside the fuel pump. That would explain long cranking/rough running after sitting for 5-6h.

Sent from my Redmi 4 using Tapatalk
 
subdued76 said:
Thank you everyone!
I'm probably gonna get one more test from my shop I use since they'll be open tomorrow.
I have always bought Interstate batteries in the past, do people still think good of them? Its been a while since I have bought one. Does anyone put a bigger size battery in theirs?
Click to expand...

Were you able to figure out what your issue was?

If so, please post it for those who might face this same issue in the future
 
twa318 said:
Were you able to figure out what your issue was?

If so, please post it for those who might face this same issue in the future
Click to expand...

Sorry I didn't update this sooner. I ended up replacing the battery that I was told was OK by a few different shops. I found the date on it and it was from 2014. I ended up with a Interstate and have been happy with it and the issue has not shown back up (crossing my fingers).
 
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