2008 4runner Serious Cold Start Issues

are you using 5w30 or 10w30 for oil? in that cold i would do 5w30, did u clean the maf sensor the right way? you spray down the 2 tiny wires in the hole, not the red one you see when you take it out. also a good throtle body cleaning should help, u did clean the back side of it too right?
 
Yes I use 5w30. I clean the 2 tiny wires both with maf cleaner and isopropyl alcohol and a sponge q-tip. I also did clean the throttle body front and back with throttle body cleaner....a whole can of it as a matter of fact.
 
from your explanation, I think your fuel pump is starting to fail. it will be intermittent problem when you have fuel pump problem.

zonianbrat said:
I'm subscribing to this also. I have the exact problem going on. It started last winter when it did it a couple of times. Then it got warm and went away. Then last week I let it sit in the garage for 2 days. It was around 0 degrees outside. I went to start it and it just turned over but never fired. Did it two auto cycles then it finally started but it didn't like it. Every start throughout the day after that was fine. It is a cold start issue. I cleaned the throttle body and Maf yesterday but they were clean as I cleaned them like 20K miles ago. I also disconnected the battery and reconnected and let the engine re-learn the idle. Then this morning my wife tried to start it and it did the same thing. Two full auto-start (just flicking the key and letting the starter run on it's own) cycles before it finally started. We went and filled it up with 91 octane and I put some seafoam in it and got it on the highway for a while to run fuel through the system. Hope this helps cause I am at a loss. Temp when we tried to start it today was 40 degrees in the garage so it isn't so much a temperature issue as a fuel pressure issue I think. I'm wondering if maybe the pump is losing it's "prime" when it sits overnight?
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I've had then same issues with my rig the past few weeks. I haven't had the time to deal with it, but I have let it sit for a few days at a time without a drive. My usual commute is usually about 3 miles. This is the first winter that I have had any starting issues. I haven't had the time to investigate much, as I am currently attending classes. It usually occurs on initial start up. If I get it up to temp and running and start it within an hour of being parked, usually there are no start-up issues.

The usual response of my starts:

1) Get in vehicle
2) Turn key and hear the automatic turning of the starter for about 5-6 sec.
3) Turn the key to the off position. After keeping it in the off position for a few seconds, then try it again. I let the starter try turning the engine over for about 5-6 more seconds and no start-up.
4) So I turn it off again for a few more seconds, then try starting again and the starter tries for about 2-3 seconds. Then the engine finely (sputters slowly) and finally comes up to full speed within about 10 seconds.

Note: This is occurring at temperatures around 35-55 degrees F. I also have all electronics off, air off, lights off during start up. It has been getting progressively worse, by a few seconds.
 
BlackWorksInc said:
Yeah I have been thinking about it [MENTION=43810]zon[/MENTION]iabrat and I am starting to suspect the fuel pump as well...
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I too am beginning to suspect the fuel pump. Is there an access door inside the back or does the tank need to be removed? How hard is it to replace? I'll do a search later but I am about to take my daughter to school and go for a jog.
 
Hey guys, I am starting to get a rough turnover after it sits for awhile in the heat too. It starts much quicker than with cold, but it is slow to start like when a battery is low. I put the brand new battery back in my car to see if that fixes the issue so will know hopefully by tomorrow. I get a Rahaaaaahhhha Rahaaaaaaaahhha rah rah rah rah start (vs normal rah rah rah rah start)

New update for stuff i have done:

1. Seafoamed the intake through the vacuum brake line and engine through the oil cap - I do have a better throttle response, but this didnt fix it

2. Tried to test fuel pressure and was unable to but I bought the right tools to do it and hopefully will be able to know this weekend what the fuel pressure is.

Question for you guys, both that have the issue and dont:

1. What does your throttle body sound like? (I really need to post a video or audio of it). When I open the hood, turn the key to "ON" and NOT start the engine, and hit the gas pedal I can hear the butterfly in the throttle body moving and it is VERY loud, the best way I can explain the noise is the way a spring under tension sound when it is stretched. kind of a grind/pull cord noise. Does your guys make any noise?

2. When I get out of my car after driving for awhile I can hear the fuel draining back into the tank by the rear driver side tire (where the fuel pump and tank are) I am not sure if this is normal or not, the car should maintain the pressure but maybe it is bleeding off the pressure right away?

All I can think is that the issue is somehow related to the fuel system:
1. Fuel Pressure Regulator
2. Fuel Pump
3. Throttle body sticking, not opening as it should, or computer and position are off sync. (eventhough I cleaned it)
4. Fuel Injectors

My next try is the fuel pressure test, that should tell me what it is. Thanks to all for contributing, lets get this one figured out!!!
 
zonianbrat said:
I too am beginning to suspect the fuel pump. Is there an access door inside the back or does the tank need to be removed? How hard is it to replace? I'll do a search later but I am about to take my daughter to school and go for a jog.
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Supposedly there is an access panel under the floor next to the driver side rear wheel-well, I havent checked this out yet but you should be able to remove it and install a new one through that panel.
 
Veritas said:
Supposedly there is an access panel under the floor next to the driver side rear wheel-well, I havent checked this out yet but you should be able to remove it and install a new one through that panel.
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I wasn't able to really find anything about actually replacing the fuel pump through the panel inside the vehicle. This thread the guy wants to clean the filter so he had to drop the whole tank to access the entire sending unit. It still does not appear to be too awfully involved. Let me know what your thoughts are. http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/104874-fuel-filter-replacement.html

Also to answer one of your questions I don't hear fuel running back into my fuel tank. I think that might be part of your issue because if that is the case then the system is not keeping pressure. If you were to very quickly try to start it then even a really strong pump would take maybe a few seconds to fill the line and pressure it up. I might be way off here but it is my thoughts. I agree we need to figure this out!!
 
zonianbrat said:
I wasn't able to really find anything about actually replacing the fuel pump through the panel inside the vehicle. This thread the guy wants to clean the filter so he had to drop the whole tank to access the entire sending unit. It still does not appear to be too awfully involved. Let me know what your thoughts are. http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/104874-fuel-filter-replacement.html

Also to answer one of your questions I don't hear fuel running back into my fuel tank. I think that might be part of your issue because if that is the case then the system is not keeping pressure. If you were to very quickly try to start it then even a really strong pump would take maybe a few seconds to fill the line and pressure it up. I might be way off here but it is my thoughts. I agree we need to figure this out!!
Click to expand...

Very interesting, there is no "fuel filter" to replace but removing it and checking for debris may be my project this weekend I didn't think about that.

It sucks but after putting in a brand new battery and doing the seafoam my car is now struggling every time to start per the noise I mentioned above, not a bunch of turnovers like the original issue now it is the slow to crank over issue. It has to be fuel pressure or throttle body related...
 
could this be an ethanol fuel problem? Ethanol fuel holds water/ condensation and that freezes so maybe the fuel lines are partially frozen... just an idea.
 
Veritas said:
Very interesting, there is no "fuel filter" to replace but removing it and checking for debris may be my project this weekend I didn't think about that.

It sucks but after putting in a brand new battery and doing the seafoam my car is now struggling every time to start per the noise I mentioned above, not a bunch of turnovers like the original issue now it is the slow to crank over issue. It has to be fuel pressure or throttle body related...
Click to expand...

If I had to guess I would say your fuel pump may be about to quit on you. What we talked about above where you can physically hear your fuel returning to the tank worries me. I do not have any schematics but I would have thought there would be a "check" valve or a non-return valve to keep fuel from moving backwards. Do you know where the fuel pressure regulator is? I hate to see you have to just throw parts at it. You would think there was a port on the fuel rail or some place to read fuel pressure. I put in 91 octane fuel and some O'reilly brand octane booster along with a can of seafoam. It sat for 11 hours and actually started a lot better. Still not instant like it used to but it is a lot warmer here in Craig. I'm not by any means convinced yet so I want to find a solution. I have had a fuel pump quit on me and it left me and my 3 kids stranded outside of Steamboat Springs. No bueno. Also if you do end up taking on the fuel pump or inspecting the basket for debris please take pics and do maybe a short write up? I wont be able to take this project on for a while as our power plant here is about to go into an outage so I will be extremely busy.
 
Have an update, solution still not found:

I did a fuel pressure test on my car and I got 44psi while running and after shutoff within an hour it dropped to 39psi which is completely normal and acceptable. So it does not appear to be a fuel system issue.

I called a Toyota mechanic and am gonna take my car in for them to check the throttle body and starter armature as those are the 2 next issues.

One interesting note is I switched to 91 octane fuel and the issue seems to go away...so maybe it was me using cheap fuel, not sure, still gonna try and figure this out.
 
zonianbrat said:
I wasn't able to really find anything about actually replacing the fuel pump through the panel inside the vehicle. This thread the guy wants to clean the filter so he had to drop the whole tank to access the entire sending unit. It still does not appear to be too awfully involved. Let me know what your thoughts are. http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/104874-fuel-filter-replacement.html

Also to answer one of your questions I don't hear fuel running back into my fuel tank. I think that might be part of your issue because if that is the case then the system is not keeping pressure. If you were to very quickly try to start it then even a really strong pump would take maybe a few seconds to fill the line and pressure it up. I might be way off here but it is my thoughts. I agree we need to figure this out!!
Click to expand...

When I had the carpet removed a while back in my 4th gen, I don't recall an access panel on the floor. Maybe I missed it since I wasn't looking for it.


Off topic but, good luck with your outage. We just came back online from a mini-outage last month and prior to that, had a major outage September to November. We're still working out the bugs but at least we are online again.
 
Thank you for the luck! At least this outage is a planned one. We have had 2 forced outages on our Unit 1 in the last 2 years. I suspect you know why!
 
did you fix this yet OP?

Veritas said:
Have an update, solution still not found:

I did a fuel pressure test on my car and I got 44psi while running and after shutoff within an hour it dropped to 39psi which is completely normal and acceptable. So it does not appear to be a fuel system issue.

I called a Toyota mechanic and am gonna take my car in for them to check the throttle body and starter armature as those are the 2 next issues.

One interesting note is I switched to 91 octane fuel and the issue seems to go away...so maybe it was me using cheap fuel, not sure, still gonna try and figure this out.
Click to expand...
 
Sure would be nice if folks would post the results so others could benefit. People ask for advice and gladly take it but some never seem to post how they resolved their problem. Kind of defeats the purpose of the forum.
 
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