Yay 1st post, bah first real issue

J

Joseph_Conrad

New member
Hello all, I've had my 2007 v6 4runner for almost a year now and have visited this site nearly every day. It's a great community and I've learned a lot. Today I had my first real issue that I'm not sure about and would love some input. The truck has about 88k miles, my wife and I bought it with 72k. It's run great with no issues up until this point.

Last monday I had the oil changed at the dealer, drove back and forth to work all week about 15 minutes each way. Friday went out to dinner, drove an hour north and then an hour back south. No issues. Yesterday, nicest day in MN, started 4runner and pulled it out of garage just to clean up the garage. Pulled back in garage later. No issues. Today, go to start truck and cranks normal and stutters and starts running meekly. I shut it off and try that again. Crank, stutter, no start. Again, crank stutter, start, rough running, sounded funny, smelled bad. Shut off. Took 2002 tundra to run errands.

Got back to house, started 4runner again, rough start, lotsa exhaust (looks white to me...i think?), running rough, then smoothed out, pulled it out of garage. Drove down street a little and took it out of 4hi and then back to house. Exhaust not normal.

I'm not exactly sure when the spark plugs were last replaced, was going to do that in 2k miles.

I haven't read of any bad head gaskets on 2007. Never noticed any coolant issues, looks like correct level. No cel on yet or since we've owned it. Truck is stock except for floor mats, front window tint, cigarette lighter, and headlight bulb upgrade :)

I need to buy a code reader.

Any and all help is much appreciated, thanks folks...
 
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Also, the oil appears to be a bit high on the dipstick. I'm calling the dealer tomorrow to see when I can get it in. I'll probably have it towed just to be safe and I have aaa so I might as well.

Was planning on driving it down to Florida starting Tuesday night too, at least this didn't start during the trip.
 
Does it appear to be milky? The oil is high but you said the coolant is at the right level, so doesn't seem like that's the issue. Lets hope they didn't overfill it too much.. That could be a bad day, but you did drive it a week without issue?
 
jonesmw10 said:
Does it appear to be milky? The oil is high but you said the coolant is at the right level, so doesn't seem like that's the issue. Lets hope they didn't overfill it too much.. That could be a bad day, but you did drive it a week without issue?
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Nope, not milky from what I can tell, just pink (seems like the '03-'05 head gasket failures usually present themselves with a cel or misfire on a cylinder (have to see what the dealer says if it goes that direction)). And yes, drove it all week and everything seemed normal, probably drove a total of about 120 miles. I've been researching oil overfill and everything else I can think of...spark plugs, injectors, etc... of course your mind always goes to the worst thing (head gasket). thanks for the response!
 
Found a recent thread that might be similar to my issue, http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/185042-trouble-cold-starts.html

The poster says their 2004 had a hard start and putrid exhaust smell. I would say mine was 'putrid' as well, didn't seem sweet smelling. They also said this, "The only two times it had rough starts the truck was previously driven two short distance trips and never had time to warm up. Explained this to the tech and he agreed could have been condensation, especially because no engine codes were thrown and exhaust smell was putrid not sweet smelling."

Yesterday I did pull my truck out of the garage into the driveway and then later back into the garage. Obviously it didn't get to temperature. Condensation would be a fine answer for me...haven't read about this being much of an issue before that I remember...
 
Well, ended up driving it to the dealership. Started up ok this morning, a little rougher than normal , and exhaust was noticibly stinky. My wife was following me and she said going up a hill it stunk pretty bad and let out a big pUff of exhaust. Made it 15 minutes to dealer and no cel. They said they probably can't get to it until tomorrow afternoon, so we'll see what they find. Hopefully a resolution.
 
Dealer called and said they got to it today and haven't found anything, no codes. So maybe a weird condensation issue from not warming it up the previous time I drove?

Gonna have them change the plugs and fluids while it's there, might as well...almost at 90k.
 
I have two toyotas and they both do the same thing -- if you start them cold, run them for a very short period of time then shut them off. The next time you start, they're all what we used to call in carbie land "loaded up".

I think what happens is the FI is on some sort of cold start enrichment cycle when they start cold and they inject more fuel than would be "normal" for regular running or a warm start. When you shut it off 10 seconds later, it is still in this cold start mode and not all the cold-start fuel has burnt off. Then when you start it again, cough cough, snort, rough start and running for a bit and then they finally get going.

Sorry, no science here. Just personal experience.
 
emoore924 said:
I have two toyotas and they both do the same thing -- if you start them cold, run them for a very short period of time then shut them off. The next time you start, they're all what we used to call in carbie land "loaded up".

I think what happens is the FI is on some sort of cold start enrichment cycle when they start cold and they inject more fuel than would be "normal" for regular running or a warm start. When you shut it off 10 seconds later, it is still in this cold start mode and not all the cold-start fuel has burnt off. Then when you start it again, cough cough, snort, rough start and running for a bit and then they finally get going.

Sorry, no science here. Just personal experience.
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Thanks, I appreciate your response. Glad to hear of others with a similar situation and makes me feel better. I think for the time being, I'm going to also attribute this to my first year in Minnesota, and the coldest craziest weather I've experienced, my 4runner was probably just expressing its feelings towards warmer weather in a weird way.
 
Here she is, picked her up today, fresh plugs and fluids. We'll see if the issue presents itself again...taking her to Florida this week after all.

exwX6Cdhj
 
Back from road trip to Florida. Truck started great every time, no further issues there. I do realize I'm going to have to do something about my brakes, they feel more warped than I thought. Slowing down from 85 on a downhill offramp I'm getting some serious vibration in the steering wheel. Around home I don't usually drive so fast so it's not nearly as bad. From Mn to Fl my avg speed was about 80 the whole way and I avg ed about 18.something mpg. I did the calculations on my calculator. Mpgs on dash say 20.1.
 
Just a quick heads up on the shaking under braking, when the calipers on these trucks drag on the rotor, they heat the rotor up a *lot* on an interstate trip, hence the shaking -- because the rotor warps. You ride along and all is well. You come to your exit and step on the brake and woba woba woba through the brake pedal. Short trips, probably not so much or maybe none at all.

Check for sticking/dragging front rotors, a known problem on these vehicles.
 
emoore924 said:
Just a quick heads up on the shaking under braking, when the calipers on these trucks drag on the rotor, they heat the rotor up a *lot* on an interstate trip, hence the shaking -- because the rotor warps. You ride along and all is well. You come to your exit and step on the brake and woba woba woba through the brake pedal. Short trips, probably not so much or maybe none at all.

Check for sticking/dragging front rotors, a known problem
on these vehicles.
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Yup, unfortunately I've read quite a bit about this issue, I just need to decide what I want to do about it. I'm looking for a good indy around here to use instead of the dealer and I've yet to come across the perfect solution for the brake issues these trucks have.
 
If you search around I think you'll find that there's an upgrade to a larger caliper and rotor the does the trick. If you have to replace the calipers/rotors anyway..., why not make the change.
 
Did you ever think you might have some bad gas? These days there is a lot of gas being switched, and with the nasty alcohol in some gas you never know what you might be putting in your truck.
I have made it a major habit to just buy real gas from places in my city I trust. Costs me a little more but I feel it's worth it.
 
Ralph Blake said:
Did you ever think you might have some bad gas? These days there is a lot of gas being switched, and with the nasty alcohol in some gas you never know what you might be putting in your truck.
I have made it a major habit to just buy real gas from places in my city I trust. Costs me a little more but I feel it's worth it.
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Yup, I'm still not sure but yes I did consider that. I even called the place where I had filled up and they hadn't had any reports of bad gas.

In further news, a couple days ago I had my front rotors and pads replaced due to bad warping and the 4runner feels like a whole new truck. It stops like it should, nice and even and controlled. At the same time I also had my power steering fluid changed out just as a preventative and the steering feels better too, slightly firmer and smoother I guess is how I can describe it.
 
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