Mechanics- 07 Tundra starting problem

[shoot-straight]

Hey gang. I'm no mechanic, but I've tried my best to do more diy fix stuff around the house and such. Cars too.

My 07 tundra has 165k and has been having its share of age issues. Put a lot of $$$ into it in the last few years. I have another car I drive To try to keep the miles off of it. About 2 mos ago, she wouldn't start- actually wouldn't even turn over. Put the cables on her, same response. Took battery to get a load test. It was a year old and ok. Pulled relay out of panel and checked it with 12 v power to see if it was ok. Worked like it should.

I punted and towed it to my mechanic. He diagnosed new starter. Put a new Napa one in. Starter and solonoid are integral BTW. Started and ran fine just this week. Went to start today and nothing.

Just trying tk see what else I can Check before just going back. My gut is telling me it's a connection somewhere.

 

[jatoxico]

Ignition or possibly the shifter as first guesses. Tried starting in neutral (assuming its automatic)? If manual may have a clutch depression switch that will only let you start when its depressed.

 

[shoot-straight]

Ignition or possibly the shifter as first guesses. Tried starting in neutral (assuming its automatic)? If manual may have a clutch depression switch that will only let you start when its depressed.

I did Try that- no luck. Thanks

 

[peakbagger]

Bring the starter back and have it tested. Not the first time I have heard of starters dying soon after installation. Rarely are starters new, they normally are "rebuilt". In order to sell them at the price they do, there is not a lot of diagnostics of the core, they just clean them up with a bead blaster, hook it up to a diagnostic plug and replace parts that normally go bad. If the core was crap to begin with they may not last very long. Solenoids on occasion can test good but put them under load and they crap out. Back in high school we used to buy "lifetime" rebuilt starters and alternators" from a local parts chain, They at best might last a couple of months and would usually strand us. The chain would gladly replace them but the new ones were no better than the old ones. My friends mostly drove junkers so usually the cars would be scrapped fairly quickly so longevity with spare parts was not much of concern.

 

[shoot-straight]

If it is the starter, The starter is covered by a warranty, however it doesn't include labor which is a few hours.

Very frustrated.

 

[johneh]

If it is the starter, The starter is covered by a warranty, however it doesn't include labor which is a few hours.

Very frustrated.

Dam Here in Ontario the starter would be covered for 90 days including Labour
Then the starter for a year (rebuilt unit)

 

[jatoxico]

you should be able to see if your getting power to the starter with a multi meter. need a helper though.

 

[sloeffle]

Have you checked the positive cable to make sure it isn't grounded on something ? I'd also check the negative cable too. I'd hope your mechanic would of done that but you never know.

 

[shoot-straight]

Did a bit more reconnaissance this am. No way to get to the starter really. Toyota really screwed is with this design. Really hard to get to it. Gonna have to tow back. Napa starter is only for part, no labor. It's only been in the truck for 45 days- maybe 20 starts total. I'm going to ask for a refund from Napa and put a Toyota one in. It will be another 400$ labor and 100$ tow. I hope My mechanic works with me some, I'm not happy.

 

[shoot-straight]

Thanks for the comments guys.

 

[zrock]

Dam Here in Ontario the starter would be covered for 90 days including Labour
Then the starter for a year (rebuilt unit)

That is only if you buy and have the alternator installed by the same place... If you buy and install yourself or ant another shop then not covered..

Iv had nothing but issues with napa parts including their battery's. Their quality has went down over the years in order to compete with the bigger chains. I started dealing with a smaller family owned shop same price but have not had a part fail yet..

 

[shoot-straight]

there is a split wire coming off battery, one goes down , one grounds to frame right next to it. The frame ground looked a bit rusty so I took it off, cleaned it off and re attached.

Turned key to start, it sounded like it turned over then I heard something running- buzzing. I turned Key off. Still buzzing. I'm pretty sure it's the starter.... wouldn't shut off till I disconnected The battery. Wtf?

If I immediately Reconnect battery, it comes right back on. If I wait a few minutes it does not- like it's the relay that is resetting.

Clearly I have some sort of electrical gremlin in there. Or several.

 

[peakbagger]

If you can get to the terminals on the starter, disconnect the positive lead from the truck and then hook a jumper cable directly to the positive terminal and then hook the other and to the battery. Hook the negative lead to the negative terminal then jump to known ground on frame (unless you have sealed battery do not hook directly to the negative terminal. If the starter spins you know you have bad solenoid. If it does not spin then its probably bad windings or brusheds in the starter.

 

[shoot-straight]

The starter is buried- literally buried. Terrible design. Behind several things including exhaust manifold.

 

[peakbagger]

Time to go on You Tube and search for Toyota Tundra starter videos, maybe you will get lucky.

 

[SidecarFlip]

there is a split wire coming off battery, one goes down , one grounds to frame right next to it. The frame ground looked a bit rusty so I took it off, cleaned it off and re attached.

Turned key to start, it sounded like it turned over then I heard something running- buzzing. I turned Key off. Still buzzing. I'm pretty sure it's the starter.... wouldn't shut off till I disconnected The battery. Wtf?

If I immediately Reconnect battery, it comes right back on. If I wait a few minutes it does not- like it's the relay that is resetting.

Clearly I have some sort of electrical gremlin in there. Or several.

If you hear a buzzing, that is the starter running but the pinion isn't engaging the flywheel. Your Bendix is faulty, consequently, the starter is faulty. Needs replaced and warranted. Just because it's new, don't mean it's 'new'. Probably rebuilt.

 

[peakbagger]

FYI , Some of the Lexus V engines have the starter in the V of the engine under the intake manifold.

 

[festerw]

FYI , Some of the Lexus V engines have the starter in the V of the engine under the intake manifold.

The upside is they rarely fail being protected in there my 4.7 is over 200k on the original starter.

@shoot-straight unfortunately your new starter sounds bad and it's possible your original wasn't actually bad. The battery terminals are always the first check with a good cleaning. Battery is the second the Tundras seem to be very sensitive to low batteries.

I've had crap luck with reman starters and alternators and have just had to give into paying the cash for new. If you can find a Denso unit it'll be the same as Toyota but should save you a little money.

To make you feel a little better go look up the trade in value of your truck.

 

[shoot-straight]

Def considering a new(er) truck. All truck prices are insane- new or used. Trade in for mine is about 7k. Not that great.

 

[festerw]

Def considering a new(er) truck. All truck prices are insane- new or used. Trade in for mine is about 7k. Not that great.

You're right, new and used truck prices are crazy.

Guess I shouldn't have said trade in, around here even with that kind of mileage it's a 10-14k truck depending on the body style. I could turn around and sell my 04 DC for more than I paid 2 years ago in the market right now.

 

[shoot-straight]

These prices definitely make you reconsider high cost tepairs when in the past you would just punt and buy a new one.

Heck a later model Silverado with 100k is like 20k used. Insane. Won't buy another Toyota that's for sure.

 

[maple1]

That is only if you buy and have the alternator installed by the same place... If you buy and install yourself or ant another shop then not covered..

Iv had nothing but issues with napa parts including their battery's. Their quality has went down over the years in order to compete with the bigger chains. I started dealing with a smaller family owned shop same price but have not had a part fail yet..

Really?

I'm going to have to go buy some batteries (hefty ones) within a month or so, and was going to go to Napa first. I usually just go to Canadian Tire, but thought I would try Napa thinking the quality might be better.

 

[peakbagger]

I must admit, I buy the Walmart batteries for my daily runner and figure I get 4 winters on them. I run synthetic oil which really cuts down on starting load in winter. On the other hand I went with the AGM Optimas for the Unimogs. They are competitive with the regular lead acid truck batteries that weigh a ton and they don't spray acid mist all over the battery box and cables like lead acid. Not cheap but most folks get 6 to 7 years off of them.

 

[shoot-straight]

Update- the "new" starter failed. my Mechanic said Napa is stepping up and giving me a complete refund for the price of the starter (instead of an exchange) covering the tow and maybe some of the labor. I am Putting in a oem Toyota one.

 

[maple1]

Have you priced an OEM Toyota one yet? Just curious. The starter died suddenly, in our yard, on our '07 Pilot maybe 4 years ago? The price difference then was huge. Aftermarket was in the 300 area, OEM was over 1k. I went aftermarket, and have been kind of crossing my fingers since.