Hoping someone can shed some light on this before I take it to my local Yota dealer: Was driving around the city this evening and everything with my T seemed fine, when suddenly my engine started shaking, shuttering like, under power when I gave it gas, then the CEL came on. It felt as if someone pulled a spark plug wire or two off. It will idle smooth, then rough, then smooth, rough. When I give it gas while in park you can hear it kind of sputtering on and off, but if you revv up slowly it is not as noticeable.

engine temp gauge is normal, charging system gauge normal, oil pressure normal. No other warning lights.

I checked for a loose vacuum hose, none found. Exhaust pipe, nothing but good old stinky exhaust coming out.

Checked oil, looks clean & full (Mobil1 Synthetic only).

Motor/truck have only 113K on it, orig. motor & tranny, everything is OEM, no after-market parts except a K&N air filter.

I was afraid to keep driving it that way for fear of hurting the motor so I dropped it off at a friends house, fortunately close by the Yota dealer. I'm hoping it's something simple, like the 02 sensor.

I appreciate whatever feedback you all can send me.

 

Did you check what code it threw? 96 is OBDII so you should get sort of a clue at least...

 

Git a ODBII reader and pull the code.

Could be a lot of different things. TPS, spark plugs, coil, spark plug wires, bad fuel pump, clogged fuel filter, bad wiring harness, bad grounds, bad battery, bad air intake hose, dirty MAF, etc...

You should look into gitting something like the Ultra-gauge...

 

Well, I limped it to the local Toyota dealer yesterday morning. They gave some BS about not having an appointment and having only one mechanic on duty but eventually got me in anyway. They put the scanner on and it showed #6 cylinder was misfiring. Told me that they needed to put new plugs & wires on it to eliminate that but had no genuine Yota wires in stock, have to wait until next Tues. I asked them if they could got out and get some aftermarket ones but the Service Mgr. stated they do not like to deviate from genuine OEM wires because of problems they have seen, but they did it anyway but would not guarantee the work...whatever that means.

Voila! it worked, my T is fine. If I had known that I would have done it myself since I did the tune up on it about 25K ago. NOW, here's the REALLY bad part: The Total: $347.16 parts+labor! Can you believe that bullsh)*!&^!t?! $347 for a diag scan, six plugs & wires, + labor. Labor was <1hr.

I tacitly expressed my displeasure with them for ripping me off requesting a re-calc, but they would have none of it. So I sent a diplomatic communication up the food chain to the GM. I may hear from them Monday but I'm not holding my breath.

WORD UP: If you live in Central Virginia, stay away from Berglund Toyota or any other Berglund branded auto dealer. They will rip you off with a smile on their face.

 

Hence, the reason why we diagnose, ask questions, use OBDII scanners to read codes, and do the work ourselves using Toyota parts.

 

I know I know I know! I wish I had more time to work on it myself. I am getting a scanner for xmas. Like I stated earlier, I did most of the work on my T including a full tune up. Lately though my job schedule and family responsibilities left me w/no time to work on it myself and I needed the truck back & running quickly and I was stranded in the city. If I could have taken it to my own mechanic he would charged me < 1/2 that, but I would have needed a tow to get it there.