Help! Drove through water, fried ECU, car wont start

UPDATE! DO NOT DRIVE YOUR CAR IN WATER!

Well the mechanic got the ECU installed but could not program it correctly so I had to have the car towed to the dealership and they found all sorts of other problems:

-Program the ebay ECU- it works!
-Clear all of the error codes(it threw all the codes on the dash)
-Replace the 02 sensors-water killed em
-Make a new key(I got the car used with only the valet key apparently)
-The idler pulley bearings are bad from water intrustion

All said and done im gonna be in $1500 with a used ECU!!:mad2:

I think what happened is that water got above the doorsill and came inside the cab. It shorted out some wires and fried the ECU as well as destroying the bearings and o2 sensors.
 
trayscool said:
Long time lurker, first time poster, did a search and didn't find anything.

I went on a little off roading trip last weekend and had a great time but I did stupidly drive over a water crossing that ended up being too deep. Water came inside the cabin, soaked the carpet, but everything seemed fine and we made the 2 hour drive home without problems.

The next day I went to start the car and nothing, not even a click or turn over. I had the car towed to my mechanic and he said that the ECU was toast and the stealership would have to order an ECU and install and reprogram.

Now my question is can I get an ECU from ebay and pop it in there and be good? What do they mean reprogram? Im looking at $800 for the ECU + $250 to program instead of $160 from ebay.

What are my options here? The car has 140K miles on it, I really dont want to dump too much $ if I dont have to only because she isnt worth a whole lot.

Thanks in advance for the help!
Click to expand...

EXATLY THE STUFF I AM TALKING ABOUT. SEE MY THREAD!

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/170662-toyota-4runner-not-off-road-vehicle.html
 
chmura said:
That does not seem too deep. Usually pictures are deceiving though. When going through deep water the key is to go slow not fast.

I have had water up to the top of my hood once during a creek crossing. It was a short creek though and in my previous Tacoma.

Where did you go off roading? Azusa Canyon?
Click to expand...

Just because you didn't fry your ECU yet does not mean your truck is SAFE!
 
My cost:

$160 ECU from EBAY
$2 Connector from Junk yard
$112 Reprogramming by a dealer

BOATLOAD of time spent finding the problem, Reading though manuals. Familiarizing with security features that kill engine.

Wasted:
$30 Locksmith servicecall
$112 Dealer undo what locksmith did
 
This guy.... you do realize that ANY vehicle will have problems if you drive it in deep water right ? The idler pulleys are known for it, so are wheel bearings. So are transfer case actuators. I would also assume your differentials are full of water since you probably dont have the breathers extended. Thats why I try to avoid deep water. I dont care if you drive a 4runner a hummer or a jeep. Water will eventually screw up your truck.
 
lexusnut said:
My cost:

$160 ECU from EBAY
$2 Connector from Junk yard
$112 Reprogramming by a dealer

BOATLOAD of time spent finding the problem, Reading though manuals. Familiarizing with security features that kill engine.

Wasted:
$30 Locksmith servicecall
$112 Dealer undo what locksmith did
Click to expand...

Geez... do us all a favor, sell your T4R and go buy a Honda Element or something... sheesh.
 
preacher35 said:
Geez... do us all a favor, sell your T4R and go buy a Honda Element or something... sheesh.
Click to expand...

I like my 4Runner, it is fixed, and I know what went wrong with the system.
This ECM burnout problem will happen any time water enters cabin. 03-09 all affected. GX470 is affected too.
 
lexusnut said:
I like my 4Runner, it is fixed, and I know what went wrong with the system.
This ECM burnout problem will happen any time water enters cabin. 03-09 all affected. GX470 is affected too.
Click to expand...

If you get water in almost any car or truck, things will go wrong. If you really like your 4runner, stop bashing it on every post you can find. :thanks:
 
lexusnut said:
I like my 4Runner, it is fixed, and I know what went wrong with the system.
This ECM burnout problem will happen any time water enters cabin. 03-09 all affected. GX470 is affected too.
Click to expand...

That's unfair, you stated yourself the connector is over an inch and a half above the floor (a key length as you put it, my key is about 1.75"). That's not "anytime water enters the cabin," that's you flood the entire bottom of the vehicle. So far the only people who have had issues are those that have flooded their vehicles or power washed the inside of their vehicles. I've had no issue spilling water and snow in my 4Runner.

There's being frustrated with a questionable design choice and then trying to dramatize facts.
 
BlackWorksInc said:
That's unfair, you stated yourself the connector is over an inch and a half above the floor (a key length as you put it, my key is about 1.75"). That's not "anytime water enters the cabin," that's you flood the entire bottom of the vehicle. So far the only people who have had issues are those that have flooded their vehicles or power washed the inside of their vehicles. I've had no issue spilling water and snow in my 4Runner.

There's being frustrated with a questionable design choice and then trying to dramatize facts.
Click to expand...

Fair enough.
There seems to be a consensus that 1" of water in a cabin is your own fault and not a design flaw I rest my case.

No more posts.
 
lexusnut said:
No more posts.
Click to expand...

rejoicing.gif
 
I was wondering when he was going to drop in......

bad news about the water man, looks like it was fun! well the wheeling anyway.... glad you got it fixed.

not to fuel "nutty's" fire but it seems a good write up on how to move/seal these connectors could be useful. Maybe from someone who had fun while frying their stuff, not Mr. Clean on steroids.
 
I know this is old, but I just wanted to say thanks for this forum. Pretty much same exact thing happened to me. Off roading, deep water, fried ecu. My fault for going through too deep of water. I was able to drive few hours as well until the car wouldn't start.

I do have a concern though, I got a used ECU programmed and the car is running. But my heater is very weak now. Far left vent (driver side) works well, but passenger side blows cold air. Does the ECU play any role in the temperature control? Is it possible the ecu I purchased is faulty. Thank you.
 
Do some more researching on here. There's a controller for the climate control but I don't offhand remember where it is (possibly behind the dash controls). The little servo dampers that control the airflow to various areas (air mix hot/cold, defrost-vent-feet, recirculate) are pretty sensitive. Chances are in drowning the other stuff one of those finally went south.

Is yours a Limited? They have dual climate control zones so maybe one side died and the other is working more or less correctly??
 
IF it's your ECU it should be a simple process. I know it's not the same vehicle but I bought a preprogrammed ECU for my caravan and it was plug and play. 5 minute job
 
Thanks for the advice. [MENTION=157994]TowMeOut[/MENTION] I think you may be right. Oh yes I've done countless hours of researching. You know how it goes with forums, one thing leads to another and you end up reading nonstop. Mine is not limited, just v6 SR5 single climate control. From my reading I think the first culprit is that my heater core may be clogged. Maybe just a coincidence that this whole ecu issue and heater core clog happened around the same time. Car does have 206K miles (purchased at 190k) and although I have taken care of the cooling system, who knows how the previous owners did. I believe now that the heating issue isn't related to a new ECU. If the heater core back flush doesn't do it then I will have to dig deeper.

Yes the actual ECU replacement was fairly easy. Some tips for anybody in the future, the route I went with was this website www.partsmarket.com. They have accounts with junkyards/shops all over USA. Skeptical at first, but the purchase was smooth, no problems. I simply searched up the exact PN of my ECU and purchased one for about $100. Plugged everything in, had my friend from Toyota stop by and programmed the key for me. From my understanding the programming of an ECU is mainly for the engine immobilizer. Overall cost for this mistake wasn't too bad, but it was definitely stressful.
 
AuSeeker said:
Just out of curiosity what did that cost you, and I see he's located in Arizona, were you living there then?
Click to expand...

I mailed him my old one, he sent a new used one that had been flashed and reprogrammed. I want to say it was like $250.. That was like 10 years ago though
 
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