Truck shut off while driving

2007 Toyota Tundra SR5 4X4 quits while driving and doesn't give a code. We use the fob and click door locks and etc. like the book says in case it's the theft software. After about 15 minutes it will start back up and go. It may run 2 days and then do the same again. Changed the spare key in case the chip was it. But it still does it.
Had a person here half the day today with a high tech diagnostic machine. No codes of any kind.
He checked every plug. Went all over the vehicle and couldn't find anything wrong. And yes the truck was running the entire time. Last Friday it happened and after an hour waiting for it to start back up we had it towed to our home. Go out the next morning and it starts right up. Shut it off then the next morning do the same thing. And it starts right up. It's been sitting since last Friday and no one can figure out what the problem might be. We can't afford to just start taking things off and replacing so if someone has had this problem please let us know.

Anyone else?

 

Welcome from OKC! Loose ground connection maybe. Check all of the ground straps, on undercarriage too. How old is the fuel pump? Is it a flex fuel model? Does it have a telescopic steering column?

 

Battery and alternator old? Might be losing power when heat builds up. Materials expand and contract based on temperatures, and this can affect things. Not always easy to figure out.

 

No battery is new voltage 12.6.. alternator been checked voltage 13.9... Yes to steering column but, my husband set it and it's never been moved. The truck has about 120 thousand miles on it and never been in the woods. The man who was here most of the day went over the truck and checked all wires plugged and unplugged to see if anything on his diagnostic would show anything. Been in the business for 40 years and he said it may be a wiring harness. But he was stumped. We were told possible fuel pump. That is in the gas tank. So tank would have to be dropped and then part replaced. If that is not it then it would be a waste of time & money we don't have.
That is why I am asking to see if anyone has had this problem before.

 

Don't have specific experience with this on my 2008 Tundra, but to rule out the fuel pump you could try spraying starter fluid or similar into the intake when it won't start. If it starts for a few seconds and then shuts off you can be pretty sure it is a fuel problem.
My wife's old Ford Escape would sometimes not start if she stopped for a few minutes. Wait 15 minutes and it would start again. Eventually it stopped starting. Tried the starter fluid and it started right up for a few seconds and died. Replaced the fuel pump and she was good.

 

Reading through your 1st post here, I suspect a battery issue. I've been down this road partly. My first 3 years of ownership from 07-10 my truck would drop me off in the best of places. Living in the desert, battery issues are commonly encountered. Consider this, even if batteries are new, they sit in some counter for a year or more so they may lose some of its reliability, I went through 12 of them to test this I would take it to get charged and tested, if it's under warranty I would get a new 1 and restart from there. Also check the battery terminals, they can't be loose, if either one is loose it will die in the weirdest of places, next time it dies if you're still troubleshooting wiggle that ground or positive terminal and see if it comes back to life.

I'm starting to deal with a no start issue, but it may be my crankshaft position sensor, since I replaced it with an aftermarket one when my starter died, so I still have the original that I'm going to reinstall this weekend along with an oil change. When mine fails to start all lights dash and other components are still on, so I go and wiggle that ground wire and it usually starts right up. I'm assuming at this point its my ground wire that's ready to go. My terminals are old and I will be replacing them with a slightly smaller one since mine are all the way tighten and sits loose over the battery post.

 

So this weekend we dropped the gas tank and put in a fuel pump and cleaned the tank good. Drove around the yard and did fine. Then today we took it to town and did 2 appointments then came home. No problem. Husband goes out and drives down the road a mile or so and it quit again. So it wasn't the pump. Another thing eliminated.

 

When it “quits”, does the engine just stop running? Does the dash and electrical go dead? Will it ever immediately restart if you try? Have you checked the emergency fuel shutoff valve?

 

The engine quits and we coast to a safe side of the road. The lights on the dash flash and go crazy. We turn the key off and then try to start and no it turns over but won't crank. And no we have not checked the emergency valve. What would be the purpose of that part we have not flipped the vehicle over or had an accident. We filled the gas tank completely up today coming home. It had been sitting in the yard 2 hours after coming home before he cranked it and drove it down the road.

 

It turns over but doesn't fire and start? Crank usually refers to the starter motor engaging the flywheel and turning the engine over. Crank starting an old car from the early 1900's is probably where the phrase came from.

 

Sure sounds like an electrical circuit is opening when it shouldn't. Check the cabin filter and see if there's any "evidence" of rodents. You could have some chewed wiring that isn't easy to see. Often they will leave droppings in the cabin filter if they have been into the truck.
My next thought is the crank sensor, I have seen some of them malfunction intermittently while on their way out.

 

Check this out too
https://images.app.goo.gl/qF3Yz9RbfGNfQwyZ6

 

Ok. So I am back.

1. We have had the truck diagnosed by 3 different people and places and it shows NO codes of anything. Plus nothing is stored for a big issue. It showed the batteries in the tire stem needed replacing which shows low air which we already knew for years.

2. We have had the truck checked for crank shaft sensor. So was told they made 3 different ones for my year truck 2007. Took the VIN to auto parts and got the specific one. Put it in and it won't crank the vehicle. Even after turning the key off it keeps turning over. Tried several times. Then waited a day and tried again still won't work.
Called the Toyota place they say it doesn't have to be programmed for the vehicle. So we got a 2nd one thinking maybe it was not a good one. But it done the same thing.

3. We dropped the tank and bought a new fuel pump. That's not the problem check the last entry above about that.

4.Had the wires checked for ground everything ok.

5. After replacing the crank shaft sensor and trying to crank. My son heard a noise under the hood on the engine but could not tell where. I can't hear the noise inside the vehicle so I have no clue if this is something associated with it.

6. Read the shut off valve comment. Brother in law is mechanic and he says if it was that the vehicle will not crank and start at all.
But this one will then at any given time just stop running.


7. FYI for anyone reading the issues.. After speaking to a Toyota dealership many times we were told that Toyota coated their wires with a substance that was made with soy beans in it. They say that they are having lots of issues with squirrels, & rodents eating the wires because of it.
We have checked our wires and so far we are good on that.

We are stumped.. Toyota said if we bring it in diagnose with a machine which we have done 3 times. (170.00) If it told them nothing then they would have to go over everything one by one at the same price per hour. Being senior on fixed income I can't afford to pay thousands of dollars to play with it. I already have invested a lot of time and money to not find anything. And in the end who is to say if they can find it at what cost.

 

Sure seems to me like you have an electrical related problem. Possibly a faulty ignition switch. Does this truck get the steering column adjusted frequently? Doing so can lead to broken ignition wires. Has anyone checked and cleaned battery cable connections? You could have a severely corroded cable and/or connection . Keep in mind heating and cooling affects material physical sizes which can affect electrical connections. As you already know, there isn't a magic dust to fix it, just have to troubleshoot until you find it.

 

This is a 2007 with about 170,000 miles on it. For 2-3 years we very seldom drove it because we didn't want to put a lot of miles on it. It was bought brand new and ordered from the factory. We were hoping it would last us in our retirement years if we used it for church or other outings sparingly.

The steering wheel has never been adjusted other than setting it. My husband set it after getting it the first time and doesn't touch it. If I drive it I don't move it.

It's a new battery and connections are fine from previous comment above. If the truck is running down the road at 30-40 mph and just cuts off what would the ignition switch have to do with it?

When the 2 new crank shaft sensors didn't work then we put the old one back in it. It will crank and run until it decides to cut off again. Which is what's crazy to.

I read this article this morning. My brother in law says that the vehicle would not crank and run if this was the problem. I called the number on the article and the guy said he was sorry we were having the issue but, had no one in our area that could help then hung up on me..
https://www.yourmechanic.com/article/symptoms-of-a-bad-or-failing-fuel-pump-shut-off-switch

 

I saw your comment above about the column. Sorry, didn't read before I replied. A bad ignition switch can simply lose contact in the on position. Is the keyring weighted heavily with extras? That can ruin them. The truck sitting is far worse than driving it and there's a good chance of an electrical corrosion issue that will simply need to be located by a process of elimination. Might try to start it and not drive it to determine if it dies from heat build up through the system or from impact shock while in motion. Then start going through a process of elimination.

 

I also have a 2007 5.7 and my truck did something similar exactly one time. I started it and it ran for about 30 seconds then shut off. Then when I turned the key the engine just cranked and did not start running. I figured something had failed. While I waited for my wife to rescue me I browsed the internet and came across a thread about the issue and someone suggested disconnecting the batter for 30sec-1min, then trying to start it after reconnecting the battery. I did that and it started right up. Luckily for me this was the only time this has ever happened. The fact that this worked leads me to believe it may be a relay failing or even the computer. I know this doesn't help much, but that trick may get you off the side of the road. That were I found that advice. Maybe the fuel pump relay.

 

It seems that no one has tested the fuel line pressure when it does not start? Have it tested. If pressure is low/absent, there's a fuel pump control module by the side of the frame, check it out.

 

Every time the truck quits we have to disconnect battery, do the key fob lock & unlock all the stuff to reset it. It takes a while before you can try it to see if it starts. If it never starts like the day we had it towed we didn't try to crank it for 3 days. He goes out turns the key and it cranks right up. He may drive on our property for several days and it will quit again. We get the tractor and pull it back to our house.

We have nothing on the fob but, the key to the truck so no weight on it.

I read that the key itself has a chip and could go bad. Don't drop them, get them damaged & etc. So we got our spare key we have never used since we had the vehicle to see if that was the issue. It also died with the spare key so that theory didn't work either.

We had a guy drop and install the fuel filter and put it back. He also had a code machine testing he didn't find anything either. I'm not sure if he tested the pressure. But if this module is bad would it not show a code for it? We will check it out.

 

No, it's a dumb signal amplifier, basically.

Dying security chip would not cut the running engine, it would just prevent it from starting altogether.

 

At this point we are trying everything possible.

 

Let it idle without driving and see if it dies. if not you likely have a loose connection or broken wire somewhere that opens the circuit from shock impact while in motion.

 

It sits and idles just fine.
We have had the truck checked for crank shaft sensor. So was told they made 3 different ones for my year truck 2007. Took the VIN to auto parts and got the specific one. Put it in and it won't start the vehicle. Even after turning the key off it keeps turning over. Tried several times. Then waited a day and tried again still won't work.
Called the Toyota place they say it doesn't have to be programmed for the vehicle. So we got a 2nd one thinking maybe it was not a good one. But it done the same thing.
Had the truck sitting up for 3 weeks got in and tried to start it. It made a clicking noise and then flashed on the dash. Called the guy and he brought his machine and he got a code. He said Toyotas don't like any aftermarket parts. Even with the vin # the part didn't work before.
Ordered the original off of the internet. Son came Sunday and got it installed. It started the truck up so we thought YES it had fixed it because the other ones would not start it. I have drove it now 2 days and this morning it quit again. Had it towed to my home.
So back to it sitting in the yard again.

 

Is this a Toyota keyless fob, or aftermarket like the RS3200 that an 06 would have come with? Those units only last about 15 years then start to go haywire. They do have an ignition interrupt on them. Not sure they can kill the car while it’s driving though. Worth a look since you’re not getting any codes.

 

We had 2 that came with the truck (new). One has never been used and stored on a hook in our house.
The manual instructions tell us to reset to get the engine to work is to go through the steps of lock, unlock..... & etc. Waiting after to see if it clears depends on when it feels like starting. It could be 5 min or a day? Maybe not.

Today husband turned the key but did not try to start and the 4 wheel lo light was blinking on it. Don't know if that has anything to do with it? But we turned it on to see if we could hear the fuel filter make a sound and it didn't.

 

Fuel pump module should be high on list. Known issue for the pin in the connector to become loose and will intermittently drop power to the fuel pump. Find buddy with tester. Immediately after the truck dies, plug in tester and do an active test on the fuel pump. If you don’t hear it running, yup know where to look.

 

This issue with the truck cutting off started back in May 2024. The fuel tank was dropped and new fuel pump put in June 2024. If the fuel module was the problem then it should of been fixed when we replaced the pump. We have had 3 crank shaft sensors installed. Wires checked, battery checked. Had 3 different individuals check for code... Nothing. Then dealership check for code...Nothing. It's now at a different mechanic shop to be checked out. Hope somebody can figure this truck out. My husband is ready to set fire to it!!

 

Why would you say that? The fuel pump module is on the frame, a foot or two awat from the tank. Changing the fuel pump, you don't ever touch the module. The pins in the connector can loosen up and create intermittent loss of fuel pump activation. The module is really just a fancy relay.

I have no desire to argue with you. Was just trying to help.

 

No one is arguing with you. I am a female and have no clue about vehicles. I came on here looking for answers or if someone else had the same issue.The man who dropped the tank and put in the fuel pump checked all the lines and checked for ground wires and didn't find anything. I have forwarded this information to the mechanic who has the truck now. Thank you for this information.

 

Most cars dont have a fuel pump module, so your mechanic likely didn't know it was there and didn't check it. He nneds to be looking for female pins that have loosened up.