Intermittent Delayed Crank - 2015 GXR 120K miles - Fuel Injectors?

[bloc]

Could something really wonky have gone on with fuel the previous owner ran? Some strange additive? Or particulates? These engines only have a screen for a fuel filter IIRC.

It does seem odd that bad fuel run many thousands of miles ago would make the injectors die now.. this isn’t the high pressure fuel system on a diesel.

Anyway, long shot, but an idea.

 

[GXR]

Update...

Well, $1,776 later, I have new fuel injectors. It is starting and running great! Gas mileage is drastically better. It seems as though the injectors were definitely the issue.

I kept the original injectors since 4 of them were "good". I am thinking about sending them off and having them cleaned/tested/etc. so I can identify exactly what condition each is in. Is there any market for used/refurbished injectors? The new ones were $167.99 each. Surely the used/refurbished ones are worth something? Thoughts?

AND if you think you were having a crappy day, this will definitely make you feel a little better. Toyota gave us a loaner while the LC was being repaired. It was a brand new Limited 4Runner; it was nice. Anyways, we drove it from Friday until this morning when I turned it in. Upon check in, it was brought to my attention that there was a chip & crack in the windshield. YEP... New windshield in the loaner... My insurance deductible is $1,000 for comprehensive; I don't have any glass coverage. GUESS HOW MUCH AN OEM WINDSHIELD IS FOR A 4RUNNER??? $950 after installation, tax, etc. After a short conversation, they agreed to give me the glass at wholesale/cost. This saved me a couple hundred bucks, but it's still absurd. I am going to make a few calls tomorrow and see if any local glass companies can give me a better price; it has to be OEM glass though. Anybody have any advice on this?

Can't catch a break...

 

[DWSD]

That sucks!
I put a great windshield in my tundra for about $180. I found the installer on Craigslist.
Too bad you didn’t find that crack upfront. The you could have had a cheap windshield put in it. They’d never have known.

 

[TeCKis300]

Glad you were able to resolve the issue!!

Begs the question, what caused two sets of injectors to fail in the same manner? Is there some debris or contaminents within the fuel system that is clogging the injectors?

 

[bloc]

Glad you were able to resolve the issue!!

Begs the question, what caused two sets of injectors to fail in the same manner? Is there some debris or contaminents within the fuel system that is clogging the injectors?

I agree. These don’t have proper fuel filters so some trash in the system is plausible.

 

[fasteddie2015]

Do u have a code reader? I have a blue driver Bluetooth dongle and I’m pretty sure it reads fuel rail pressures on the fly as well as a lot of other things. I leave mine plugged in all the time.

Since this lc was in Houston, could it have been flooded?

 

[AnthonyLC]

Seems like a fuel filter add on is cheap insurance

 

[GXR]

Do u have a code reader? I have a blue driver Bluetooth dongle and I’m pretty sure it reads fuel rail pressures on the fly as well as a lot of other things. I leave mine plugged in all the time.

No. But it seems like it may be a good investment. I will have to look into that.

Since this lc was in Houston, could it have been flooded?

No. Or at least not from what I've seen. Carfax was clean. And I talked to the owner as well as the dealer he had it serviced at.

 

[GXR]

Seems like a fuel filter add on is cheap insurance

Yeah. I definitely need to look into this ASAP. Thanks!

I assume he had his routine of buying from the same station(s). He made several trips a week from Houston to Austin and I am hoping it was bad gas from one of his routine stations. It seems the injectors "failed" at the same interval. Hopefully putting good gas in it routinely and throwing some fuel injector cleaner in there periodically, this situation won't happen again.

 

[fasteddie2015]

Oh lord. I make that same trip and would love to know the stations to avoid. Stripes on 290 leads my list

 

[AnthonyLC]

I stick to Chevron/Shell/Exxon , the only games they play are 10% ethanol (10% reduced gas mileage) but at least we know it's not 10% diesel or water like I suspect some of the stations that allow the owners into the tanks

 

[bloc]

Yeah. I definitely need to look into this ASAP. Thanks!

I did some digging on this before, hoping for an OEM solution since I believe in Toyota's quality more than just about any aftermarket solutions.
Chinese market J200s came with a different fuel line that included a changeable filter.. but getting ahold of one to see if it would even fit our trucks would be an expensive proposition.. plus it seemed snaking it into the chassis might require lifting the body off the frame somewhat. Far too much work.

If you go anywhere with an additional fuel filter please post to the board.. while most of us seem to do fine for the hundreds of thousands of miles we pile on with the stock screen element, I bet a clean filter install would generate a lot of interest.

 

[TeCKis300]

If you do want to dig into this further...

Perhaps as @bloc suggesting, sending your now extra set of injectors off to be tested and cleaned may provide more insight? And provide a ready to go set in case you experience it again?

If monitoring for a developing or repeat situation via OBD-II, the telling parameter would be the Long Term Fuel trims. If the trims go up, it's telling you that the injector flow volume is getting compromised and the ECM is adding fuel to compensate to meeting Air/Fuel targets.