Gas gauge stuck at zero after dealer flashed ECM

[pendragon]

Yesterday I brought my 2003 V8 4runner in to the dealer to have the cracked dash replaced under a recall. I told them specifically NOT to address the Smart Stop Update or the Floor Matt Mod recalls. Against my wishes, they attempted those two as well. After the fact, I complained and they told me that "the ECM flash was unsuccessful, so nothing had been changed". This was after the sales woman told me that "they had to do all recalls for safety", to which I replied that no they most certainly did not HAVE to do that, and that it was my vehicle not theirs, and therefore they didn't have a right to do that just because they wanted to.

So the next day while I was driving the 4Runner out to a local park, when I looked down and saw that the gas gauge was reading empty and the range display on the dash was saying 0 miles left. I thought I must have neglected to read the gas level so I turned around and went to a gas station (15 tense miles away), but I found I could only add 12 gals (20 gal capacity - I was still half full). Upon topping off the tank the gas gauge continued to read empty and the range 0 miles. After I drove another five miles or so, I sat idling at a store, at which point the fuel gauge slowly (over a few minutes) raised up until it displayed a full tank. I reset the range readout, but it still displayed 0 mi.

Could the dealership have messed something up with the bad flash? (And seriously, how pissed would you be if they ignored a direct request like that?) What could be wrong with the fuel level readout?

 

[BlackWorksInc]

What do they mean "Unsuccessful?" If that's the case, then it sounds like the recall was not performed correctly.

The only "bad flash" I have seen is when a coworker's laptop reset in the middle of flashing a new Tacoma. It bricked the ECU and we had a back and forth with Toyota over who covers the new very expensive ECU.

 

[catrains]

could be that the flash they had is the wrong one.
on the fuel gauge can be a wiring problem . they messed with the dash so they may have broken a wire.

 

[pendragon]

They said they "got an error message", that's all I know. My kid was puking at home and I had to run back there after the job.

I didn't think of a pinched wire, but that might be the case.

 

[pendragon]

Hm...it appears they blew a bulb or a connection in the multifunction display too. (Is that the proper name for it?)
The LCD is only half-lit and the fan speed and temp select wheels are only partially lit.

 

[AuSeeker]

You have 3 bulbs out, one on the display, and one on each of the 2 AC controls that aren't lit.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

They said they "got an error message", that's all I know. My kid was puking at home and I had to run back there after the job.

I didn't think of a pinched wire, but that might be the case.

Hmm... That's weird, I suppose it's possible they pinched a wire. But unlikely.

could be that the flash they had is the wrong one.
on the fuel gauge can be a wiring problem . they messed with the dash so they may have broken a wire.

They did have that in the earlier days, though as far as I am aware it's really hard to flash the wrong programming at the moment. You get a couple pop up boxes including one that will show the current flash, new flash, and then tell you if you're allowed to actually flash using the new flash. So I am not sure how easily you could bypass that and use a flash not approved by Toyota with their tool. The only ones that can be sort of mucked up at the moment I think are the older supercharger flashes for Tundras. But that's about it.

 

[sr5hi]

Yesterday I brought my 2003 V8 4runner in to the dealer to have the cracked dash replaced under a recall. I told them specifically NOT to address the Smart Stop Update or the Floor Matt Mod recalls. Against my wishes, they attempted those two as well. After the fact, I complained and they told me that "the ECM flash was unsuccessful, so nothing had been changed". This was after the sales woman told me that "they had to do all recalls for safety", to which I replied that no they most certainly did not HAVE to do that, and that it was my vehicle not theirs, and therefore they didn't have a right to do that just because they wanted to.

So the next day while I was driving the 4Runner out to a local park, when I looked down and saw that the gas gauge was reading empty and the range display on the dash was saying 0 miles left. I thought I must have neglected to read the gas level so I turned around and went to a gas station (15 tense miles away), but I found I could only add 12 gals (20 gal capacity - I was still half full). Upon topping off the tank the gas gauge continued to read empty and the range 0 miles. After I drove another five miles or so, I sat idling at a store, at which point the fuel gauge slowly (over a few minutes) raised up until it displayed a full tank. I reset the range readout, but it still displayed 0 mi.

Could the dealership have messed something up with the bad flash? (And seriously, how pissed would you be if they ignored a direct request like that?) What could be wrong with the fuel level readout?

Are the Toyota Dealers required by law to perform the Recall items like the Accelerator Pedal Modification and Smart Stop ECM update even if the vehicle owner dose not want it to be done?

 

[catrains]

Are the Toyota Dealers required by law to perform the Recall items like the Accelerator Pedal Modification and Smart Stop ECM update even if the vehicle owner dose not want it to be done?

my 2000 GM truck has the recall still listed concerning the front hub speed sensor rust issue. well I replaced those front hubs and I notified the dealership that the recall should not be still listed for my 2000 truck. they said that I would have to bring in truck to have it cleared.

so when you sell this vehicle , it does show up sometimes and the new owner will have to deal with it.

the recall on my truck was to remove the rust lifting the sensor off the hub a small amount this caused lower volts and NO braking @5MPH.

my hubs were replaced because GM used a grease seal that rusted completely which then caused the bearings to fail [growl sound].

the reason I refused to have GM do this is because the dealerships for some broke the rotors and other brake components some said the FREE recall cost them $1700............