starting issue

4Evr4RunN3R

New member
Quick question for you guys. My 4runner on occasions wont start. It will turn over and idle for a second and then die. It will do it two or three times and then start up no problem. it drives fine after that. Any ideas on what could be happening? might i need a new battery , starter, connections maybe? any input would be great.
 
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96runner4x4 said:
Quick question for you guys. My 4runner on occasions wont start. It will turn over and idle for a second and then die. It will do it two or three times and then start up no problem. it drives fine after that. Any ideas on what could be happening? might i need a new battery , starter, connections maybe? any input would be great.


Hmm... Any clicking or tapping sounds when you try to start it?
Check TPS (Throttle Position Sensor), MAF (Mass Air Flow) sensor, and fuel filter...

Any Chk. Eng. lights on?
 
nope no clicking sounds and no check engine light on. ill check those areas you suggested. i'm not a master mechanic but in order to start an engine, don't you need air, fuel, and spark? maybe i'm lacking one of these and its causing the engine to die. either way ill have to start somewhere.
 
I had a problem with the same thing happening to mine, but it would only happen when I drove for a while and turned the truck off and then tried to start it again, mostly when stopped to I put gas in the truck...

It turned out to be a vacuum issue somewhere in th engine...
 
beat me to it, its more than likely a vacuum seal leak. check all vacuum seals on the intake as that's most likely where your problem is. make sure the heads are still cushiony and not brittle, sometimes they promote air leaks and can kill a car at idle. let us know what you find
 
kregg said:
I had a problem with the same thing happening to mine, but it would only happen when I drove for a while and turned the truck off and then tried to start it again, mostly when stopped to I put gas in the truck...

that's were it happens the majority of the time. it happens at the gas station right when i get off the highway to fuel up. ill keep you guys posted on whatever i can find. ill check for vacuum leaks also. thanks for the tips
 
I'm having a somewhat similar problem. If I've been driving a while, turn off the truck and then start it again, it will stutter a bit then start. The RPMs kind of drop down when starting, but then it'll run. Sounds like it might be a vacuum leak or some sort.

How does one look for a vacuum leak? Any tips?
 
I have a similar problem right now but when i turn the key i have to hold it in the start position for like 3-5 seconds.
 
well, me and my mechanic checked out my 4runner this past weekend and couldn't find anything wrong. No vacuum leaks, fuel problems, nothing. I just cleaned up the MAF a to see if it made a difference and it still did it. stopped at the gas station, filled up, tried to start up, turns over and just dies. i will try and keep searching and hopefully find an answer. ill keep you guys posted.
 
I'm having a similar issue although when I go to turn the key over instead of the engine starting it just acts like the battery is dead and nothing happens. I have to turn the key back and then go and try it again. Sometimes it takes 2-3 tries to get the engine to finally start. Any ideas? I just installed a Valentine1 radar and some accessories so I'm using a bit of power from the 12v outlet, maybe that's taking power away from the car starting?
 
david_ray320 said:
I'm having a similar issue although when I go to turn the key over instead of the engine starting it just acts like the battery is dead and nothing happens. I have to turn the key back and then go and try it again. Sometimes it takes 2-3 tries to get the engine to finally start. Any ideas? I just installed a Valentine1 radar and some accessories so I'm using a bit of power from the 12v outlet, maybe that's taking power away from the car starting?

dunno? at this point im still stumped. im waiting till this weekend to use my buddies garage to work on my truck.
 
david_ray320 said:
I'm having a similar issue although when I go to turn the key over instead of the engine starting it just acts like the battery is dead and nothing happens. I have to turn the key back and then go and try it again. Sometimes it takes 2-3 tries to get the engine to finally start. Any ideas? I just installed a Valentine1 radar and some accessories so I'm using a bit of power from the 12v outlet, maybe that's taking power away from the car starting?

I had a similar issue with a Honda Civic. It was the main relay. That sends power to the starter, fuel pump and fuel injectors.

What was happening was that when the cabin warmed up (either sitting with the windows closed or driving for a while and then stopping at a gas station) some of the solder joints expanded and a current couldn't get through them. In the case of the Civic, the signal to the fuel injectors wasn't getting through. So you could hear the fuel pump prime, and the engine would crank, but the fuel injectors wouldn't get a signal.

So that's something to at least look into. The relay just might be bad, it may not be heat related.
 
I am having the same issue it would seem. Just like someone above, it only happens when the engine is warm.

For example, when I run into the gas station to grab a soda and there is no line to hold me up. If it sits for five minutes, it'll fire up everytime. If it sits for less than that, it'll sputter and die.

I called the local Toyota dealer today and they suggested cleaning the throttle body, because there may be gunk in there that is sticky when the engine is warm.

I have to change my spark plugs this week, so when I have the intake removed I'll give that a try.

My mechanic also suggested that it could be the fuel pump, but he said it was unlikely since the issue only occurs when the engine is warm.


Stock '99 4Runner SR5 Sport 3.4 V6 170,000 miles
 
UPDATE

well i decided to take out my k+n intake out and put my stock box back on to see if there is a change. well, there was a change and the start up issue went away. but another issue arose. i was on the way to my girlfriends when i noticed at a stop light my truck was shaking like it was about to shut off. at the next light, it shut off as soon as i hit the brake. and from there on, every time i hit the brake the truck would completely shut off. my idle was so low that the tiniest bit off the gas it would die. so to make it to her house i had to keep one foot on the gas and the other on the brake to keep it on. made it to her house and parked it. called my mechanic to come and check it out and when he gets there, its running completely fine (go figure).

i drove it to the garage from there to take a look at it. we adjusted the idle so it case it dropped, it wouldn't drop to low and shut the truck off. I made a suggestion that maybe the ecu might have adjusted to the intake and screwed something up. so to test my theory the next day i ordered an ecu cheap off eBay and installed it as soon as it came in. worked fine and the truck seemed to run good but the check engine light went on. i get the code pulled and from what i remember it was "manufacturer specific error". my mechanic told me it had to do something with a back up battery which i didn't understand. so i was like whatever, changed it out today and put my stock ecu back and its running fine so far (knock on wood). the lowest the idle has been at 600 rpm's in "Drive
" and about 750 -800 in park. this weekend I'm getting my timing belt done and having the 4runner looked at for any possible flaws. I'm going down to new york for thanksgiving and i need my 4runner to be reliable. man with all these little problems, i feel like giving up my truck and getting something else but Ive put to much work into it to just get rid of it. hopefully it all works out though. wish me luck guys.
 
96runner4x4 said:
UPDATE

well i decided to take out my k+n intake out and put my stock box back on to see if there is a change. well, there was a change and the start up issue went away. but another issue arose. i was on the way to my girlfriends when i noticed at a stop light my truck was shaking like it was about to shut off. at the next light, it shut off as soon as i hit the brake. and from there on, every time i hit the brake the truck would completely shut off. my idle was so low that the tiniest bit off the gas it would die. so to make it to her house i had to keep one foot on the gas and the other on the brake to keep it on. made it to her house and parked it. called my mechanic to come and check it out and when he gets there, its running completely fine (go figure).

i drove it to the garage from there to take a look at it. we adjusted the idle so it case it dropped, it wouldn't drop to low and shut the truck off. I made a suggestion that maybe the ecu might have adjusted to the intake and screwed something up. so to test my theory the next day i ordered an ecu cheap off eBay and installed it as soon as it came in. worked fine and the truck seemed to run good but the check engine light went on. i get the code pulled and from what i remember it was "manufacturer specific error". my mechanic told me it had to do something with a back up battery which i didn't understand. so i was like whatever, changed it out today and put my stock ecu back and its running fine so far (knock on wood). the lowest the idle has been at 600 rpm's in "Drive
" and about 750 -800 in park. this weekend I'm getting my timing belt done and having the 4runner looked at for any possible flaws. I'm going down to new york for thanksgiving and i need my 4runner to be reliable. man with all these little problems, i feel like giving up my truck and getting something else but Ive put to much work into it to just get rid of it. hopefully it all works out though. wish me luck guys.
Have you checked the power brake vacuum booster?
 
A stopped up fuel filter had me worried once too... My truck did the same deal except it wouldn't start after it died... Ithought it was the timing belt, turned out to be just the fuel filter...
 
had a similar issue with my sc300. troubleshooted for a month, tried everything (i.e. tune up, clean the maf, check fuel pump, check relays, check vacuum leak). on a longshot, we finally decided to swap out the ecu and the car worked fine. we diagnosed the ecu and found out hte fuel module on the ecu had burnt out and need to be replaced. if you tried all other options, you may want to consider this. hope this helps.
 

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