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Originally Posted by file014
My glovebox doesnt have a light. Im pretty sure the door was closed because I always check if the cargo light goes off. The accessories all worked fine when I couldnt start the truck. It wouldnt turn over properly and made the loud click click click during several starting attempts. I hope its just the battery but if it is a starter then it should be under warranty. Even if its the battery Ill make them give me a new one, the truck is only 8 months old.
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Unless the dealer can replicate the problem they aren't going to replace the starter or the battery. Even if you have had the problem.
When my limited v-8 was 8,000 miles old once a month (maybe less) it would "click, click, click" on startup. Turn off, turn on and it would start fine then. Then over time it got progressively worse until I told the dealer I wanted the starter changed as I had to turn it off and on 3 or more times (95% of the time it worked fine first turn). There is no way this should happen at under 30,000 miles!!!
Three times I brought it in for "normal stuff" and complained and they finally replicated it and changed the starter. Of course, they checked the battery. (FYI, I have 80 watt bulbs for fog and driving and those do bleed off quite a bit of energy on startup *if* you leave the lights on when shutting down. They go on immediately when you turn the key vs a "normal" delay during crank up like on other vehicles. I still don't know if this is part of my particular issue. But even when I shut of the lights it would still happen occasionally.)
Guess what - 4,000 miles after the starter change it started it again.........
Damn, how could I have two bad starters? They checked the battery of course and said it was fine but I was suspicious of it (or a relay).
I actually put up with this occasional "mis-starting" until this winter. The battery is "okay" but the voltage was only in the 12.5 range sometimes a little lower like 12.3. On a "normal" vehicle this is okay, but it seems the toyota starter needs 12.4 or more volts - better to be in the 12.6 range. If you're lower due to battery drain (time drain or accessories) it will "click" on you.
I finally put in the largest optima battery I could find and the thing actually spins up so fast now that the rpms drop down significantly once the engine actually starts and I let go of the key. It leaps to life.
I've not had any of the "click, click" stuff since. I wish I had gotten the optima battery years ago.
On paper the heavy duty Toyota battery looks great, but in practice it's only "okay" to questionable . I wouldn't be surprised if the issue is your battery.
I'd also tell anyone - dealer warrantee or not - replace the factory battery with an optima or AGM type battery. They are about 70% more than a "normal" battery (about $160 for the biggest and baddest), but they work sooooooo much better. They are MUCH more resistant to battery drain from lack of use. Compared to the performance they are the cheapest battery in the long run.
You could leave your truck for 3+ months and it will start like you'd started it last the night before. It will even still start after 6 months. Try doing that with the factory battery.
You could try to "get some running time" out of the factory battery to make you "feel good", but I'd say the best thing is to put in an optima.
And in reality the factory battery shouldn't go "marginal" that fast but if you put in an optima you won't ever have to worry and can even put it in your next vehicle. Especially if you put in a D31M. That thing is a tank!
Alan
Tundra wouldnt Start !?!
Linear Mode
