Tacoma 2007 V4 Cylinder 2 misfire

M

mando0721

Member
Hey all, I’m new to the Tacoma world. I finally purchased my own Tacoma. A 2007 v4 with 180,000 miles. Has had only one owner the whole time. The guy took it to get maintenance every 4 months, did a car fax report to confirm it.

Purchased it a month ago and about 2 weeks ago the engine light came on. Went to autozone and got a p0302, cylinder 2 misfire. To fix the problem, it told me to change the spark plugs or the ignition coil for cylinder 2, which I did. Seemed to have improve the situation but it continued with the problem. Went to the mechanic, and they did a compression test and cylinder 2 was fine. I changed out both oxygen sensors and still have the issue.

I decided to take it to a Toyota dealer and they’re charging $190 for a diagnostic charge. Took it in on Friday and they checked it out all day Friday and Saturday and are still troubleshooting.

Service advisor said that I might need a new short block engine and that either the crankshaft or camshaft has a small leak (not sure which one) but I highly doubt it. I’m thinking it’s an electrical problem or a bad gasket. Perhaps coolant leaking?

The misfire happens intermittently, not all the time. And at most, I can drive it at a low speed. It happens a lot when I’m going past 70 miles an hour but has happened at low speeds at times. So yeah, the truck is currently at the Toyota dealer. We’ll see what they tell me tomorrow. Any ideas what it could be?

Thank you in advance!
 
These trucks don't even have V4's. Last I knew they had the 2.7 inline 4, but to answer the question it does sound like bad spark plugs, or the plug ignition coils. Both are common to fail with that mileage if not replaced at one time.
 
Well.....I can see why its running poorly. Its missing 2 cylinders...... o_O

Do you have all the Service records. If so, take a study on them. Look for engine work on the ignition system. Not just oil changes......

At 180,000 miles, there should be 1-2 sparkplug changes, along with service on the trans, diff, xfer case, brake fluid and anti-freeze......there is a list of what is needed at what interval.

I know on my '06 4.0L V-6, the plug change interval is 30,000 miles. Sorry, I don't know for the Inline 4.
 
Sorry! I meant to say 2.7 inline 4. I don’t know much about trucks lol. And I changed the spark plugs, and ignition coils, plus the oxygen sensors and still have the misfire on cylinder 2
 
Just pulling your chain on the engine. We understand its the 2.7 4 popper.

Give me a few minutes. Maybe I can find a clue in the '06 Repair Manual.

Ok, My manual does not cover 2007. So, take the following with a grain of salt.
This is from the DTC for the '06 4 cylinder engine.
Capture.PNG
 
tacojoel said:
These trucks don't even have V4's. Last I knew they had the 2.7 inline 4, but to answer the question it does sound like bad spark plugs, or the plug ignition coils. Both are common to fail with that mileage if not replaced at one time.
Click to expand...
I've heard them called V4 B4!
 
Well at 180k miles it can be a number of issues. You have to begin with a compression test on all 4 cylinders to determine if the engine is healthy to begin with.
 
So I did alittle bit of investigating. Through the carfax report, I called the place the last time the truck was serviced, which was May 1, and they said the truck is good, everything with engine performance runs well, and they confirmed an electrical problem is causing the misfire, but they couldn’t figure it out. Makes sense why the older gentleman didn’t want to deal with the truck and sold it. I Wish he’d told me before I bought it.

So at least I was able to pin point it’s an electrical problem and apparently on the web is says it can cause a misfire. I called Toyota dealer to update them so as to not waste time on the engine and focus solely on the electrical issue. The real question is, what electrical issue is causing this?
 
Any service tech worth their weight isn't going to have the customer tell them what to look for, even if they're right. You'll just need to be patient, see what they find.
 
refer to the potential "Trouble Areas" in the post at 9:19 am, today. Many potential electrical sources.
 
Thank you, I will. I’m thinking about getting myself a short finder, like the ECT2000 to diagnose short or open circuits in case toyota dealer gives up or take it to an automotive that specializes in automotive electrical. Toyota has had my truck since Friday.
 
So I got the answer and they told me I have a leak on the crankshaft so it’s better off getting a new short block. Toyota quoted me $9200. I got the truck for $9000. I might get a second opinion. One place is telling me a leak on the crankshaft and another one an electrical problem.
 
Have them explain how a leak on the crankshaft will produce a misfire in cylinder #2.

Their solution does not make sense. No way should a leak of any kind need a new short block. Well, perhaps if the block is cracked.
 
Seems a bit wonky. Oil from the crankcase can only enter the cylinder by passing the oil control rings on the piston.

Compression test check the integrity of the valves and the compression rings on the piston.

The crankcase is not designed to hold pressure. That is one function of the PCV. As each piston moves up & down in the cylinder, it will pump air on both sides of the piston. Due to this motion the crankcase more or less breathes, commonly called windage

I'd pass on that shop to seek another diagnosis.

When you pulled plug #2, was it fouled with oil???
 
I don’t recall the spark plug being fouled with oil. Some of them did have some carbon build up, but I don’t recall spark plug on cylinder 2 having oil, perhaps alittle but oil, should have taken a picture.. I can take a picture of the current spark plug on cylinder 2 to see if it has oil. It should have oil if there is some sort of leak.
 
Brought the truck from the dealer to my house, perhaps a 15 minute drive and engine light is off. No issues. So the problem is intermittently and is not bad enough where I can’t drive it at all.
I’m thinking if it’s a bad gasket around cylinder 2..
 
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The way I see it, it's likely a head gasket. I guess it could be a cracked block, but not very common. The problem with these toyota iron blocks as they get old, they become real crusty, and in poor rebuildable condition requiring a new block. Maybe thats why they are recommending new.
 
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