2001 Tundra lost all power on hwy and coasted to a stop

Welp. Ol Goldenrod w 214k miles broke down on the hwy last night after a long day huntin w a client up north. I was going about 60 in the rt lane n just lost all power. Stomped on gas pedal n it seemed just to rev high and then I coasted to a stop. When I turn key it tries to turn over but can’t. Is that fuel filter issue, alternator…or what??
It got towed to a mechanic on …..which is a whole other issue….I dropped it off there Thursday to fix a squeak near the LCA…he called n said it was upper control arm….& replaced that….$360 bucks….well….after driving it all day yesterday the squeak is back but not as squeaky. Almost like they lubed it but knew it wud come back so I had to spend more $ on it!!
And it’s kind of strange truck breaks down the following day….cud they have sabotaged it in anyway to get more $ out of me??!!

 

Check engine light come on? Battery light?

 

Check engine light been on for about 6 years. Battery light is on too. Oil light on too. May be timing Belt. I had DEAD blasting but what sound would I have heard for belt??

 

What codes specifically are on the truck NOW?

When was the last time the timing belt was changed, and did you check if the belt is intact by loosening and peeking behind the cover?

Have you checked the if the crank position sensor wire harness is nicked?

fuel pump … sure, it could be, you need to test fuel pressure to the rail to verify. but there’s a few other things that would result in this condition which you wouldn’t even factor in unless you saw the fuel circuit PDF floating around on here. You may try bypassing the fuel pump relay, for example, or the fuel resistor. But before that effort, I would verify you have fuel pressure to the rail.

First things first, pull all the damn codes and confirm the timing belt is intact. We can’t speculate adequately with this many questions.

 

Wow!! Thanks for the info! Way above my pay grade though. I am not in any way a mechanic….I just dropped it off at the mechanic who recently replaced UCA. I will mention all this to him though!! Really appreciate it!! As for timing belt…it was done around 100k. I think that may be the issue….music was high but they may have been a sound that sounded like a brief spinning of something….but why wudnt it start? Timing belt won’t allow it to start?

 

As long as he used OEM parts with belt change, you might've gotten away with 114k miles.

Pulling codes only takes a second. I keep a wireless diagnostic thingy in my truck, just plug it in under the dash, open your smartphone and connect ... and you have codes. It's something to have on-hand, even if you're not mechanically inclined.

Hindsight is 20/20, keep us posted on what it is.

 

Gotchya!! Will do!! Thanks Shifty!!

 

Mechanic called and said the timing belt is hanging. He mentioned he is guna research more if there is some type of “interference” something….& mentioned some vehicles have irreversible damage sometimes. It’s almost as if I have to have the timing belt job done and then see if there are any issues w the engine….$800-$1000 gamble. Ugh. Double Ugh!!

 

Yes, the 2UZ-FE (V8) in our trucks is a low-interference engine. Some members here have snapped a timing belt here and been alright. Others had a boat anchor on their hands. I think a lot of it depends on how many RPM you were at when snapping, but who knows.

I don't understand the phrase "timing belt is hanging". And I don't know if I would trust anyone who says something like that.

But yes, that is the normal price. And timing belt should be changed every 9yr/90k per Toyota, ideally using OEM (Toyota/Aisin) parts. If that's what it ends up being, that's an expensive lesson for you.

If the current mechanic isn't a Toyota specialist, I'd be towing it to a mechanic who is one ASAP to have them diagnose.

 

Gotchya!! Thank you!!

 

RPMs were probably just shy of 2k because I was going 60 mph….is that high RPM while the belt busted?

 

It's about what @thefish712 had when his snapped : https://www.tundras.com/threads/potentially-snapped-timing-belt.90981/

But not every case is alike. It's not like it's a notoriously high-interference engine, we've just got anecdotal evidence from other members who snapped their belt in places like, right at startup, or in a parking lot, whose engines were fine.

The mechanic should be able to easily say if the timing belt is intact or not.

If intact, they should be able to easily and quickly do a compression/leakdown test and give you some reasonable assurance whether the engine is OK or not.

 

Ask him for some pics

 

Gotchya!! Thanks!!

 

If they can't send you pics of the timing belt being intact, and can't do a leakdown test for some reason, I'd love to hear their reasoning, b/c they may be bullshitting you.

 

His was also an 05. Everyone claims the ones with VVTI are more likely to destroy the engine. No clue why.

@Adventundra , keep us posted on the outcome.

 

Keep u posted on that!! Thanks!!

 

Mechanic said truck is toast with broken timing belt. Got a pal who may buy it for parts/scrap/possibly new motor. Other pal said not worth the $ to put a new belt in….. to find out that valves are shot. Brutal lesson to learn….I been waiting for the perfect truck to upgrade to…& waited too long. Shuda done another belt cuz the truck ran great. So pissed at myself. Loved that truck!! Cud have sold it for $3-4k as a beach truck here in NJ.

Maybe things happen for reasons cuz I was blessed to buy this beautiful LB…exactly what I was looking for!! 2016 46k miles $33k

thanks to @shifty` and @FirstGenVol with all the information you provided

next up is to get timing belts on wife’s 2015 Honda Pilot w 104.5k miles….& my sons 2000 Tundra w 220k miles….hope things don’t happen in 3’s!!!

 

Well thanks for the transparency even though that it was difficult to hear as we all know what a broken timing belt means. At least your story can help others learn from it and prevent any more from happening. Shoot your story makes me want to change mine now even tho I’m still due for another 30 k miles



Does anyone know the best way to find a Toyota certified mechanic? Y’all keep mentioning it and wasn’t sure if your talking about the dealership or know something I don’t. I feel like any mom and pop shop I call and ask if they are knowledgeable in Toyotas they gonna say yes….

 

It’s mind blowing how there is no back up system, sensor alarm, etc to assist w a belt failure from becoming a funeral to great trucks. Just do it every 100k or a lil sooner is all u can hope for I guess.

here’s the Ol girl that had to be brought out to pasture. Just cleaned her out. Sad day in Toms River, NJ. So many good times!! So many huntin n fishin trips!! Friggen belt failure took her out….really??!!?! I Shuda took better care of her!!!

 

I tend to think of the timing belts and lbjs as the Achilles heel of what is a great built truck. Yea unfortunately this falls upon where the only real fix is for it to never happen, which is from preventive maintenance and records. If you followed the forums long enough, every post towards a new member/truck purchase includes questions about the timing belt status. Like shifty and others said, chances are unless you specifically asked for OEM/aizin timing belts, the one you gotten coulda been different one that’s lower quality. Sometimes you can tell if there’s an aizin sticker with the mileage it got done, although technically anyone can just buy and put a sticker on there.

p.s. the camper should be able to get you some bucks as they are always in demand, and I’m sure if you put a post up someone on this site is looking for the exact color/dimension

 

You're just assuming it's a belt failure. You won't know until you look. Besides, you were able to rev the engine while it was coasting to a stop. Something makes me think that's not the case.

 

I wish you were closer, I'd give you $400-500 for the camper shell if it had no cracks and those rails were installed correctly.

Sorry about the shit luck. But this is a great message for others to see. Toyota recommends what it recommends for a reason. While people may make it farther on their factory/OEM belt, it's never wise to think twice about what brand the previous owner may have installed parts-wise OR to trust whether the work was actually done by the mechanic they hired in the first place.

 

OP confirmed it was a timing belt and that his engines toast

 

No he didn't. His mechanic said that but didn't actually check the valves. I'm not convinced.

There have been multiple people that reported their belt broke but the engine was not damaged. That's on 00-04 Tundras. I would not scrap the truck until I was positive.

 

Somehow I missed that at post #8. I need my coffee.

 

I'm not sure but when it comes to the timing belt I'll probably just suck it up and have the Toyota dealership do it. There are also a few independent shops in town that specialize in Japanese vehicles that might trust but I'm not sure if the "certified Toyota" has any real value.

 

I don't know that anyone actually keeps up with "certification" outside of the dealership environment.

I'll take the uncertified guy that's been working explicitly on Toyota for 10 years over anyone with certification that's working at a dealership, to be honest. That includes mobile mechs also, as long as they can back up their claim. The reality is, a long-standing brick-and-mortar that specializes in Toyota is your best bet.

 

Yeah I feel the same way… it’s not like you can request the dealership to use their most certified dude, luck of the draw if you get the 18 year old newbie.

that’s where I’m hitting the hurdle, I mean I’m trying to figure out a way to find a Toyota specialist/shop to go to regularly without relying on word of mouth since barely no one in these forums live up here. Simply googling Toyota certified/specialist does not help other than pulling up stealerships.

I been going to my regular for my other cars, but once the mechanic started getting really confused about me mentioning surface shield undercoating and whipped out his can of rustoleum black rubber coating, I knew I should take this one elsewhere.

 

I know. I told myself there shud be some hope. She ran great! I will give hope to any chance I can get….how wud i check the valves without doing another belt??