Another check engine/VSC off/VSC trac lights adventure in process

[El Perro Grande]

Greetings! I've read some of the other threads with the same dash lights popping on and it appears these lights are on for one general reason... to try and get you to the dealership. So here's what's happening with me.

I have a 2007 with 133,000 mi.

The trio of lights came on... and nothing seemed to be immediately wrong with the truck. Tried the 'tighten gas cap' thing, even bought a new one hoping for a slick fix, no luck. I after driving a few miles, I noticed a pretty big lack of punch in the acceleration. 0-10 or 0-15 was fine, but if I was merging onto a busy street and needed some extra juice to get up to 40 or 45 in a hurry, it just wasn't there. It felt like the engine was working on half power. So, I disconnected the battery waited a couple of minutes, put it back on. Nice! No dash lights and acceleration was back in full force. Then.... after about 15 minutes of driving, did it all over again. Lights came on, lost some power, disconnected the battery, lights stayed off, got the power back, repeat. Once I drove around all day with no dash lights but when I started it up the next day, there were the lights and lack of power. The head scratcher for me is... the truck could be hot or cold, if I disconnect the battery, I'm at full power and everything is fine when I hook it back up every time.

I went to Auto Zone and had them pull some codes. What I got was:

P0418 Air Injection System - Air Pump Malfunction
P2445 Secondary AIR Injection System Pump Stuck Off - Bank 1
P0418 AIR Injection System - AIR Pump malfunction
P2445 Secondary AIR Injection System Pump Stuck Off - Bank 1

So my questions are; has anybody had experience with this? Before I start replacing parts, is there a wire I should jiggle or is there something I can hit with a hammer? Is the part about the battery disconnect only working temporarily making any sense? Thanks!

 

[DirtDawg]

Sounds like your having air induction system issues.
06/07 Air Induction Pump Failure & Bypass

 

[TexasCrane]

Sounds like your having air induction system issues.
06/07 Air Induction Pump Failure & Bypass

This. It's going to be $150-200 to bypass the system or $3k+ to replace it at a dealer.

 

[El Perro Grande]

Thank you very much for that link. Looks like that's what I got, right down to the limp mode.

Next question is... does anybody know the breakdown in the $3K the dealers are asking for to "replace the system"? I'm not surprised in the least that it's that much. Last year I bought a generic alternator at Autozone for less than $200 and installed it myself, while my buddy paid over a grand to have his alternator replaced at a dealership. Is over 50% of that $3K labor costs?

Getting to my actual question; why would I buy the bypass for $179 here...
Toyota 4.7L Air Induction Pump Bypass Kit & Exhaust Port Plates - NO CUTTING !

..when I could buy the actual pump that's getting the error message for $103 here:
Secondary Air Injection Pump Smog Pump fits for Toyota Lexus V8 17610-0C010

 

[TexasCrane]

Thank you very much for that link. Looks like that's what I got, right down to the limp mode.

Next question is... does anybody know the breakdown in the $3K the dealers are asking for to "replace the system"? I'm not surprised in the least that it's that much. Last year I bought a generic alternator at Autozone for less than $200 and installed it myself, while my buddy paid over a grand to have his alternator replaced at a dealership. Is over 50% of that $3K labor costs?

Getting to my actual question; why would I buy the bypass for $179 here...
Toyota 4.7L Air Induction Pump Bypass Kit & Exhaust Port Plates - NO CUTTING !

..when I could buy the actual pump that's getting the error message for $103 here:
Secondary Air Injection Pump Smog Pump fits for Toyota Lexus V8 17610-0C010

A couple of reasons. First, I would verify that it's the actual Toyota part. It's a roughly $400 part even from the online discount toyota parts houses. It's possible that it's the same exact part without the Toyota label on it. Or it could be a cheap replacement part that will fail on you in 6 months.

Also, while you're in there, it probably makes sense to swap the valves - a failing pump might have sent debris into them and they just haven't triggered anything yet.

Mostly though, the issue is that the pump sits down in the valley of the engine which means the entire intake manifold has to come off. It's not a huge job, but it's not trivial either. You've also probably got about $100 worth of gaskets that have to be replaced as well because you're pulling the manifold.

So for something that has no impact on the engine, it's easier to throw on a plug in module than replace $800 worth of parts and half a day or more of your time. And if you do decide to replace it, there's nothing preventing water or debris ingestion in the future, causing you to have to start the whole process all over again.

 

[TeeTee]

The two valves were approx $1,100 for installation on my LX. The pump itself makes up the difference. Get the bypass. Now that it is plug and play (no splicing of wires), it cannot be easier. A really clever solution to a terribly designed system.

Good Luck

Tim

 

[El Perro Grande]

Thanks! That's the stuff I needed to hear. That all makes perfect sense. Ordering the bypass now.

 

[Texas Sun Power]

I know this is an old thread, but if anyone has done the bypass and has some advice on how to get the exhaust block out plates installed I'd appreciate it. I can't get a 10mm in there to the one closest to the fender, let alone the one closest to the engine.

 

[TexasCrane]

I know this is an old thread, but if anyone has done the bypass and has some advice on how to get the exhaust block out plates installed I'd appreciate it. I can't get a 10mm in there to the one closest to the fender, let alone the one closest to the engine.

Come in from underneath. Remove the plastic skid plate and you should be able to squeeze a wrench in there. It's tight, but doable.

 

[Texas Sun Power]

Yep, I dug into the linked thread and found you'd said that previously. Now I'm going to get one of those tiny rachets at O'Reilly and rig a 10mm on it.