New, for me, Tundra; little help from above requested

Greetings all,

I had acquired my first Toyota truck, a 2005 Tundra.

Just six months ago, the previous owner had maintenance done: new shocks and coils, new drive-train and engine fluids, new tires, new battery, new timing belt and associated items - water pump, pulleys, tensioners, so all I will have to do is to keep the maintenance.

The interior is in a very nice condition; the exterior needs some TLC: the moldings/trim is de-attached at places, there were some rattles - missing screws holding the front bumper, lose outside mirror, slightly pushed in rear passenger quarter panel, and the like. I have most of them fixed, or I have a (false) impression that I know how to fix them, except to items.

Tail gate

The tail gate came without the inside (plastic?) cover and the left and right latch rods, connecting the left and right latch to the central opening latch. Doing search I have found the separate latch rods for any generation except the 1st generation. They also come with a warning that they do not fit the 1st generation. It appears that the 1st generation latch rods cannot be purchased separately, but only with the left and right latches.

If this is correct, I am reluctant to do so due to the (i) price ($80 vs $12 per unit) and (ii) having perfectly working OEM latches (cleaned and lubricated). So, I was wondering if anyone found a solution, e.g., by the other generations latch rods fitting or being modifiable, or do I have to buy the complete rod/latch units?

Odometer

The odometer has apparently not been working for awhile. When the previous owner was buying the car, the seller had to push on the cover of the instrument cluster (!?) to have the LCD to display the mileage, and the current owner has been doing the same.

I disassembled the instrument cluster and verified that all the signals for the LCD functionality are present, but the stress damaged the liquid crystal layer of the LCD, I can read the letters/digits by carefully apply selective pressure along the LCD.

However, I was unable to located either the LCD or a part number thereof. So, I wonder if it is even for sale as a separate unit. I think that it might be as the LCD is not even soldered into the PCB, there is a specific connector for it.

If the LCD cannot be purchased, it appears that my only option is to purchase the entire instrument cluster, which I am again reluctant to do due to (i) the price, (ii) the uncertainty of the age and thus potential soon-to-fail LCD, (iii) the discrepancy between the mileages - as my search appears to suggest, the mileage is stored in an EEPROM on the instrument cluster and would need reprogramming.

Any advise regarding these two issues would be greatly appreciated.

Kindest regards,

M

 

Wrecking yards are great source of small parts. To repair your instrument cluster you might try circuit board medics in Greenville, SC 800-547-2049.
What brand of timing belt - anything other than OEM or AISIN is danger. Also probably want to replace LBJs with OEM.

 

The LCD is not available separate, but used units can be purchased. Do keep in mind that there are a few different part numbers and you'll need to find an exact match if you go used. Unfortunately, the mileage is stored in the cluster. The LCD can be swapped out to retain current miles. See the threads below for assistance.
https://www.tundras.com/threads/tacoed-tundra-project.130491/page-5#post-3350713
https://www.tundras.com/threads/tacoed-tundra-project.130491/page-8#post-3412148

 

Hey hey, new member!

A lot of the info many people need to know is in this thread, if you haven't already found it: https://www.tundras.com/threads/so-you-wanna-buy-just-bought-a-1st-gen-tundra-eh.115928/

Not true. You've missed two of the biggest killers of our trucks:

• Radiator (Use Denso brand)
• Aftermarket lower ball joints (this is a very serious matter, replace every 125k, only use OEM, always use new mounting bolts, four per side)

And really, the timing belt ... **IF** you use OEM equipment (Toyota brand or Aisin brand) ... is good for another 100k/10yrs. If aftermarket, you can expect half that. Gates is a very popular brand to use, we've had two complaints of Gates belts snapping in less than 60k miles. This is one place to always use one of the two brands I mention.

Parts lookup info is in the "sticky thread" list at the top of the 1st gen forum.

You cannot buy latch rods for 1st gens. Junkyard is your best bet, or install temporary braided metal cables. You are in new territory if you try to adapt from another generation.

As you'll see from the exploded diagram below, the LCD alone is not able to be purchased. It's curious why the LCD is touchable, and how it was broken in the first place. It should have a lens protecting it, covering the front of the cluster.

If the odometer isn't rolling, that's a problem. Are there any codes currently set, using an OBDII code reader? I ask because it sounds like someone has been tampering with the cluster, and has potentially disabled the check engine light LED, which is soldered to the board. That possibly damaged the LCD. The only way you'll know for sure, is to go to any auto parts store and scan for codes, if you don't have your own code scanner.

We have had at least one member with a new truck that had someone do this to the gauge cluster, tamper with the LED so the check engine light won't display.

Correct on all counts, but the price of aftermarket cluster is not very bad. It must be taken from a 2005-2006 Tundra to be compatible, the 2005-2006 design is heavily updated with new design, surface-mount LED lighting, etc. And you can potentially find one with close to the same mileage out there. But a repair at a gauge/cluster place may be feasible.

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Both threads you linked are for the 2000-2004 year trucks.

OP cannot use those clusters in his truck, and the cluster design is completely different for 2005-2006 trucks.

 

I'll go back to my hole now

 

It's cool, I often totally overlook the little stuff like this from time to time also.

There's way too much stuff to remember about these trucks, and we most-easily identify with the things that apply to our own years, respectively.

 

Greetings all,

thank you very much for all the replies.

@bfunke,

I have all the equipment to work on PCBs including any parts (through hole or surface mount), but none of that is at issue. The only problem is the broken LCD and, as I mentioned, it is not even soldered in.

@Shifty,

Thank you for the additional parts to check. I have the entire list of repairs that had been done, but neither the seller nor I can read them. The seller is taking the list to his mechanic to have him "translate" it.

Maybe I did not expressed myself correctly. The previous owners had been pressing on the front cover of the cluster, reporting a significant force (yeah, what a surprise), to make the LCD to be readable. Such a force application can easily damage the rather fragile LCD, either the glass, the LC layer, or the electrode layer below.

The LCD is currently touchable as I had disassembled the entire cluster to diagnose the problem.

And no, no engine related codes, only indication of the front left ABS sensor malfunction and failure to read the tires' pressure.

Regarding junk-yards, I have two about 2 hours away, however, I had never had any luck with parts for older Toyota trucks/SUV, the rumor has it that they alert their friends, who remove the "desirable" parts, and sell them privately. This seems to have been corroborated by a warning I received on another forums, that the seller's parts were not as advertised.

I guess, I am on my own regarding the latch rods.

Again, thank you all for your generosity replying to my inquiry.

Kindest regards,

M

 

Welcome from NY.

 

Is it tied to board with ribbon cable, and double-sided taped? Just curious, I've seen pics of an open 2006 cluster a fellow member was sanding out to get white gauge numbers, but I don't recall the layout.

That's wild!

There's a process to connect to the TPMS ECU and clear out the codes, if you don't intend to replace the sensor - it'll stop the light from flashing. I can post more details, happily.

Just know, there is also a process to reset the TPMS system, it's in the Owner's Manual (which you can download from Toyota, at their site). If you ever follow that process to clear out the TPMS codes, note: You must follow Toyota's directions, and go on a 10-15 minute drive immediately after performing the reset procedure. This is probably the #1 mistake owners and tire shops make when replacing or diagnosing the system. In the 10-15 minute period after you perform the reset button sequence using the button under the dash, below the steering column, the TPMS ECU starts trying to listen for all sensors programmed into it, and will stop after the 10-15min period. If it doesn't "hear" the programmed sensor IDs broadcasting out in that 10-15 min period, it sets codes, and the light starts flashing.

Have you tried finding smaller yards using www.carp-part.com ?

If you buy the latches, the rods come with the latch. But you'll need to buy left and right latches. You can get them as low as $175 last I looked it up for someone. See parts diagram below for example - the latch and rod come as a single unit.

You may also want to hop on Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist and search for "Tundra parts truck", I typically find a lot of private individuals parting out trucks that way. You may also find a tailgate shell, wrecked truck, or whatever, you can buy the shit shell and grab the bits you need.

But also know, there are options. Something like this is a workable solution to get you by for now, but if I were you, I'd use crimped cable ferrules, they're sold at Home Depot, Ace, and others. Search for "cable ferrules" on their site, you should find them quickly. @Nimitz_ is a pretty clever dude.

Everyone is good like that here. You've found yourself a solid community of enthusiasts. A thousand times better than any Facebook group, and generally more traffic/less BS than the other Tundra forums out there.

 

Hi @Shifty,

thank you again for your time to answer.

No, it is not. The LCD has a multiple leads bent at 90 deg, which mate to a connector soldered to the PCB. The idea of a tape to put a pressure on the LCD was my initial thought, but unfortunately it appears that either the LC layer or the electrode layer is damaged, as the glass is intact.

Ha, ha, yes. we were poring about it, it have several notes of what the seller remembered, but I want to know all the details. The mechanic and the seller are good friends, and the seller is well-off, so I do not believe that quality of the components are at issue. But, we'll see.

Yes, I found several (rather different) description of youtube, but none of them worked. But again, none had mentioned the need to drive the vehicle after reset. I am not concerned about monitoring the tires' pressure, I am rather good at checking the pressure, but I would like to not have the warning light on, as it bothers me.

On a warning light topic, I also have the "Maintenance Required" warning light on, my understanding is that it comes on at the earlier of six months of 5,000 miles. I had tried to turn it off, but my understanding is that the odometer needs to be in the odometer reading, not tripa or B, and since I do not see the LCD, I have no idea in which mode it is.

Thank you for the information, I did not know that.

No, apparently there are a lot of things that I do not know. Thank you for the information.

If I were a great mind, I would say that great mind think alike; I looked at the tail-gate yesterday with a friend, and this was a solution we contemplated. It actually seems like a more clever way as the path between the latches is straight. We were also thinking about incorporating turnbuckle, but perhaps the wire will not stretch. But, then again the Toyota designers are rather smart, so we were not sure, whether a push action of the latch rod is not necessary.

The ferrules are brilliant idea, I was little concerned about the screw-un connection loosening.

I know that I sound like a broken clock, but I really appreciate the help.

Kindest regards,

M

 

The Owner's Manual have very clear instructions on the TPMS reset procedure. Download a copy from Toyota here, if you don't have the physical copy: https://www.toyota.com/owners/warranty-owners-manuals/vehicle/tundra/2005/

See starting at page 204, the TPMS reset procedure. The confusing part is, they tell you "Initialization is completed over for more than 20 minute" instead of saying, "Go drive around for 10-20 minutes while TPMS listens for programmed ID transmissions. It's a very critical part of the process, and I wish they would've explained it better.

If the light is still flashing after that, it's quite possible one of the TPMS transmitters is dead. If so, any competent shop should be able to:

• View how many sensors are programmed into the TPMS ECU and print out their ID#
• Use a sensor reader to figure out which one is dead and/or doesn't have a matching ID to the list that's currently programmed in
• If a sensor is dead, clone that dead sensor's ID to a new sensor, so no reprogramming is required
• Reset the TPMS ECU as you drive off into the sunset and your system hopefully 'rights' itself.

It could very well be something extremely stupid. Like, a previous owner swapped out the spare wheel because it was rusted to shit, but they didn't swap the sensor to the replacement OR they replaced it w/o a wheel that has TPMS sensor and didn't wipe that (now-missing) sensor's ID from the TPMS ECU.

Resetting "maintenance required" light which, as you smartly noticed, is solely mileage based, you hold the ODO reset button, turn the key to ON (not start), and wait for all the zeros to clear (this guy Piotr has an amazing Toyota channel, even though he got punked in this video b/c his cam wasn't recording):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QZchR_ZQIY​

 

Hi @Shifty,

I re-checked the TPMS related codes. The codes C2122, C2123, C2124, C2125, indicate no signal from transmitter assigned IDs 2, 3, 4, and 5. The description is ambiguous in that it is unclear whether the transmitter or the receiver is malfunctioning. I checked that the spare tire also has a transmitter, so it appears that at least one transmitter is working. I do not know, how much does it matters that I cannot associate the ID with a particular tire, as the tires were changed and I just rotated them.

I also have code C2142 with transmitter ID 2 error. Again the less than clear description indicated malfunction of sensor assigned ID 2.

I guess, I will not worry about it and just ignore the warning light.

Kindest regards,

M

 

Do you know the age of the TPMS units? The batteries only last for about a decade or so.

For your maintenance light. If you disconnect the instrument cluster or the battery, it will default to the odometer reading when powered back up. At least on the earlier models and every other vehicle I've worked on it will default to the odometer. Hopefully if you try that you can reset that warning light.

 

Ok, if you clear the codes, it should stop flashing until you reset.

When I had two dead sensors, my codes were C2122, C2123 I believe. I suspect, since you have four codes, the spare tire sensor is still transmitting, but one of two things is wrong:

1. Someone updated the four main wheels/tires, but (A) didn't bother reprogramming TPMS or switching the sensors, or (B) didn't install any sensors in the wheels, or (C) didn't program the new sensor IDs into the wire or (D) left incompatible sensors from other tires
2. The sensors in your four regular tires have dead batteries.

You can pretty quickly, visibly tell if you have TPMS sensors in your wheels. They look different from a regular valve stem. TPMS is usually a metal body (left), non-TPMS is usually straight-up rubber (right). May answer your question really quickly. Does the truck have original wheels on it? Are aftermarket?

Scanning to get the TPMS ID's is really easy, as is programming in. The handheld tool is expensive though. Most tire stores I've been to charge $30-60 to reprogram all four.

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Oh, and it if helps, this spare tire is the original from the factory. This is the original TPMS sensor installed. That's what your wheels would've come with from the factory. Factory batteries typically last 12-15yrs based on what others here have seen. Mine started dying around the 17yr mark. I only have ~75k original miles when they died, after all those years though.

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And another from my factory wheels:

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Hi @Upshot Knothole,

thank you for your reply.

No, I do not know the age, but judging by the age of the truck, you might be correct in that the batteries in the sensors are dead.

Ah, that is a great information, thank you. I will try that.

Hi @Shifty,

Thank you for your reply.

Yes, I initially searched for the difference between the sensor/non-sensor valves,and indeed all five of mine are as shown in your pictures.

Coincidentally, my spare tire has the same rim as in your first picture above, but my other wheels are as in your second picture above.

I will likely replace the sensors upon buying new tires, which will hopefully not be soon as they have only about 8,000 miles on.

Kindest regards,

M

 

Pro-tip when you buy the new tires.

Denso brand, Continental brand, and Bosch are all known to work with out truck's TPMS ECU. Most major chain tire shops carry the Continental brand. I actually have a full set here at the house, I had them in my spare wheel set, they're sitting in a box in my shop.

People have had problems with the Autel brand sensors, especially the Autel MX, which some of the cheaper shops seem to love to use.

 

Hi @Shifty,

thank you for the information. I am actually making a document with all these valuable information so that I have a reference to prevent me asking the same question(s) over.

Kindest regards,

M

 

Not to thread jack, but I have a related question. I'm in process of wheels,tires,tpms. My tpms have been dead for a few years now. Denso tpms on rock auto 5500103 lists alloy wheels. I have aftermarket alloys and original steel spare. Do I order 5x of those sensors or does the spare need a different one? Don't see another denso option. I'm sure it's related to wall thickness differences. I'm sure 2 different wheel styles is pretty common...

 

It's explained here, I had to look it up also: https://www.tundras.com/threads/tpms-different-05-to-06.132065/#post-3357738

This is for the "0103" part number, realizing there's an 0101, 0102, 0104

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You da man, as always. Thanks!