2005 4Runner Won't Start Intermittently

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flcoasterguy2

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I have a 2005 4Runner limited 2wd v6 with 155,500 miles. I have maintained this vehicle to a t to all the Toyota recommendations and have it serviced every 3500 miles now.

2 days ago, after driving around all day, I stopped at a store for about 10 minutes and when I came out it wouldn't start. When I turned the key all the electronics came on, but when I turned to the start position nothing happened. No clicks from the engine compartment, just complete silence. I tried multiple times but it wouldn't start. Let it sit for about 45 minutes and when I tried again it started. Moved it to another parking spot and shut it off and it immediately wouldn't start again. Waited a couple minutes and it started. I left it running after this and arranged to take it to my mechanic.

Mechanic had it all day yesterday and said out of about 100 starts, it only failed 2 times. He said the battery checks out fine, the starter is fine and suspects it might be the neutral position switch but isn't sure because it wouldn't do it when he was ready to test it. I picked it up last night and drove it around, starting and stopping it about 12 times through the evening.

2 times it wouldn't start. Both times I moved the gear shift selector from park to neutral. In neutral it wouldn't start. Put it back in park and both times when I turned the key all the way to off and then back to start it started.

I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas of what to check could be the problem. I've searched on here and found a few people with similar problems, but none exactly like mine. Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks
 
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I had this problem with a different Toyota product than my Runner. It turned out to be a bad ground connection somewhere. It was intermittently making contact, once found and secured....the problem was gone.

It's an easy check around the engine bay. and a good trouble shooting start. Let's hope it's that easy for you.

Cheers :)
 
Minn3sota said:
I had this problem with a different Toyota product than my Runner. It turned out to be a bad ground connection somewhere. It was intermittently making contact, once found and secured....the problem was gone.

It's an easy check around the engine bay. and a good trouble shooting start. Let's hope it's that easy for you.

Cheers :)
Click to expand...

Second this. The factory ground wire off your battery is tiny and prone to breaking.
 
Had the same issue with an older tacoma. Traced the ground directly from the battery back to where it mounted on the block, cleaned it and reconnected it.
That was after I changed out a perfectly working starter.
I would start with the ground and work your way out.
Best of luck
 
Thank you

Thank you all for the replies. It's still at the shop, but I passed on your comments to the mechanic. Hopefully that will be the solution. I'll post back once we know the solution. If anyone else has any comments or other ideas, keep them coming!

Thanks again!
 
Update

The shop spent a good amount of time looking into the potential ground problem and said they couldn't find any issues. They are pretty sure it's the neutral safety switch and are going to replace it tomorrow. I'm hoping this is the solution to the problem, especially for the cost! Am I crazy to let them do this? They are a really good shop and have worked on my vehicle exclusively for 6 years.
 
You could try moving the shifter from park to neutral or just wiggle the shifter when it does not start to see if the switch makes contact or possible jumper the switch. If you rely on this vehicle to start and run everyday and do not want to be stranded then I would say it is worthwhile to have them change the switch if you do not want to fool with trying to do it yourself. I was thinking maybe the starter brushes were making intermittent contact and getting worn.
 
03_4x4Runner said:
You could try moving the shifter from park to neutral or just wiggle the shifter when it does not start to see if the switch makes contact or possible jumper the switch. If you rely on this vehicle to start and run everyday and do not want to be stranded then I would say it is worthwhile to have them change the switch if you do not want to fool with trying to do it yourself. I was thinking maybe the starter brushes were making intermittent contact and getting worn.
Click to expand...

Yea I was thinking the starter contacts were a culprit except I think he said there was no noise/click when the key turned. When my contacts were worn it would make one loud click when the key turned, that's it. Contacts are fairly easy to replace.
 
I had a 98 4Runner that had the contacts go bad in it and I remember it clicking when the problem started. It's correct that it didn't make any noise at all from the engine compartment this time.

I'm curious, if the ground is the problem, would I experience problems anywhere else? When the car won't start, all of the electronics still work like the radio, ac blower, windows go up and down, etc., it's just when I turn the key to the start position there is complete silence (except for the dinging that occurs when you put the key in). I don't recall if the electronics in the car turn off when I turn to the start position. It seems like they all stayed on as normal.

Ive had this vehicle for 9 years and this is the first time i've had a problem with it. I'm about 100 miles from home visiting family, but the shop that it's at is the one I bring it to for all my maintenance and service since having bad experiences at the local Toyota dealership. This shop only works on Toyota, Lexus and Scion.
 
Rocket61 said:
Yea I was thinking the starter contacts were a culprit except I think he said there was no noise/click when the key turned. When my contacts were worn it would make one loud click when the key turned, that's it. Contacts are fairly easy to replace.
Click to expand...

I did not so much mean the contacts in the solenoid (which could also be a problem) but the actual brushes that contact the armature on the starter motor. If brushes get worn or dirty they will not always make good contact.
 
So when the vehicle doesn't want to start you don't hear the vehicle turning over?

Can you get someone to tap on the starter when the vehicle is acting up and you're turning the key? It should be easy since you have a V6.
 
Yes, when it doesn't start absolutely nothing happens in the engine compartment, completely silent.

I haven't tried tapping on the starter. I'll see if the guys at the shop have tried it tomorrow. I remember doing that when I had problems with my 98 4Runner.
 
flcoasterguy2 said:
Yes, when it doesn't start absolutely nothing happens in the engine compartment, completely silent.

I haven't tried tapping on the starter. I'll see if the guys at the shop have tried it tomorrow. I remember doing that when I had problems with my 98 4Runner.
Click to expand...

I wonder if the shop has tried bypassing the ignition switch and jumping the starter directly?

Where as in a normal vehicle the starter relay is wired into the ignition switch, on the 4th gen it is merely sending a "Crank Signal" to the ECM. The ignition switch in the 4th gen sends a signal to the ECM which double checks with the Immobilizer unit before the ECM cranks the starter over.
 
Today they replaced the neutral position sensor and it didn't solve the problem. They found that when it won't start, if they push on the bundle of wires going into the box that contains the relay that it starts. On Monday that's what they're going to pursue looking into. They're not sure if it's a bad wire in the bundle or if it has something to do with the relay box. They're not going to charge me for the work they did on the neutral switch and they're going to put the old one back in on Monday. They're pretty confident they're getting close to the problem.
 
Sounds like a starter or the ST relay to me. Make sure that they know what they're doing if they jump the relay. The start hold function needs to be prohibited.
 
I have the car for the weekend and have been driving it around town without any starting issues until today. As I was driving at about 60mph the car just cut off. Luckily I was able to get over to the side of the road. It wouldn't start up again for a few minutes. All the electronics still worked inside. After a few minutes it started again and drove about 6 miles and it cut off again. I was able to start it again and drove to a parking lot and it's there now. This is the first it's done this and I imagine it's all related somehow. Just thought is give an update to my situation.
 
There's another thread on here by a guy who had similar problems and it turned out to be a bad EFI fuse. I checked that fuse and though it wasn't burned out, it has some kind of corrosion on it. With the fuse out the car won't start just like the past few days. With a new fuse it has started right up. Going to take it for a drive and see what happens. I think I've included a picture of what the fuse looked like. If it shows up it's the fuse on the right in the picture.
 

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I have driven the car over 100 miles and started it about 30 times since replacing the fuse. So far it is working normally now. I'll be taking it back to the shop today and I'm hoping they can confirm the fuse was the problem.
 
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