Truck is acting weird

Not sure what’s going on with the truck. This past Friday, went to crank it up and it completely died. A few minutes later it started no problem and then shut off again. Tried a third time and it acted normal.

No issues all weekend.

Today it did the same thing. Went to start the truck and all power was gone. Tried a second time it cranked but then shut down. Third time it acted normal again, but was re-booting the audio system, mpg calculator, etc.

Idk what’s going on with it, I’m no mechanic. Anyone experience a similar issue or know what to check? Any help would be appreciated. It’s a 2010 Platinum with about 186k miles.

 

Step 1: Clean the battery terminals, and have the battery load tested.

 

I did check the connections and made sure they were clean, etc. I will need to get it load tested. Thanks.

 

So my truck was having random starting issues as well, similar to yours not starting randomly. Thought it was the starter, then immobilizer then key.. Even bought an OEM starter to replace.

But turned out to be a really bad corroded negative battery cable that was causing the problem.

I would certainly check your battery terminal, battery, and check all your grounds to the truck. Make sure the aren't corroded/oxidized. And heck I would even take the ground wires of the bolts, and clean the connection with wire brush properly and the re-bolt them as well just to be sure. Good luck.

 

Come to think of after cleaning the battery stuff and grounds. 3 other thing I would check is

1. Check if the Alternator is going bad (need to have >13.6v-14.5 iirc (forget the lower and upper limits to the voltage so please check) at the battery when the car is running)
2. Check immobilizer
3. Fuel sending unit/computer is working as expected. (this may not be it as your symptoms seem like they are electrical in nature pointing to the alternator, wiring, or immobilizer

 

^ I would make the same suggestions. Battery terminals and battery. Try a second key if you have it. Check that you have fuel pressure.

 

So this morning when I went to leave for work everything was completely dead. Jumped the truck and went to work. Cranked up fine at the end of the day.

Left work and went by Costco and they just straight up replaced the battery for free since it was still within their warranty period. I installed it and it fired right up, then shut back off within a few seconds. Turned the key again and no issue the rest of the evening.

Going to start checking those other times y’all have mentioned and see what comes up.

 

Also, a week before this all started I had it at my local Toyota dealer for oil change / service. The tech that performed all of this told me he noticed the “water pump was leaking but not in bad shape.” I wonder if they could have done something to contribute to this issue?

Service was done on the 19th. Issue was first noticed on the 26th, water pump was replaced by a local mechanic on the 29th (truck was acting fine when he had it).

 

See if it repeats the issue now before chasing anything else. It’s common for these engines to die once or twice after a battery disconnect / replacement.

 

Good to know. Thanks for the info, this forum is great and you guys are helpful.

 

I concur. When I ran primary wire for my amps years ago, I disconnected the battery for a while, ran all the wiring, put the inline fuse in place, then hooked the battery back up. Cranked the truck over to take it for a spin and it caught, ran for a two seconds and shut down. I thought for sure that I had buggered something up. Definitely not my first audio install but I was sure worried for a hot minute. Cranked it a second time and it ran fine.

 

If your battery is good then it should be your alternator that needs to be replaced.