'05 Tacoma Engine Races on Startup

Mine does the same .I hate it draws some attention till it quites down too. I will grit my teath on the cold winter days to come :(

Kevin T

My 02 Tacoma does it, too. If you're using the right weight oil, as recommended in the manual, you'll be fine. If you have an auto transmission, you may also notice that for a minute or so after first driving it, it doesn't upshift past 2nd or 3rd. Just take it easy for that first minute. Mine does this until the ambient temp is above 55 degrees or so. Per the dealer, and more importantly, per my real mechanic, this is normal.

Normal. As others have said, use a good quality oil with proper viscosity for your region. Winter cold starts mean avoid using a heavy weight......if that applies to your area/region.

Stew '00 PreRunner / 2.7 4cyl

Thanks guys. I'll stop worrying. BTW, I live in on the coast in N. Cal. Average temp is 59.

Enjoy!

They may say it's normal - but - do you want a unlubricated, cold started engine racing up several thousand RPM? Common sense should tell you this will cause serious wear over time. Metal against metal for seconds (even fractions of a second) without pressure driven oil = friction and bearing wear. I would completely disregard anyone that tells you different.

If you're going to leave it this way, I recommend putting teflon additive in the oil or using full synthetic after break-in. Either of these will give you a measure of protection from cold-start engine wear.

My '82 Tercel did the same thing. At 238,000 miles, my mechanic checked compression and found everything within spec. He thought his equipment might be faulty, so he switched to "other". Same thing. I'm not a mechanic, so I can't explain why the high RPM starts didn't hurt anything. But....what else would you look for, in terms of wear?

I'd agree that the OP should consider a synthetic or a syn-blend just for peace of mind. Syn-blend seemed to cure my truck of cold-weather 'piston slap' after a few weeks. ( I bought the truck used with approx 30k on it).

Stew

Bearings, rings, valve guides all wear. What type of oil were you using? Oil change frequency? Any additives? Was the car started and run for 5 minutes at a time or started and run for 100 miles at a time?

I would be pleased for anyone showing normal compression at 238K miles. It would be relatively easy to accumulate that many highway, long distance miles. Wear should increase with the number of cold-starts-per-mile. Over the years I've seen a number of engines bite the dust - simply worn out......

The Tercel was typically started and then driven for about 30 minutes on the highway each day. Oil was 5W/30 Pennzoil, changed religiously every 3-4k. No additives of any kind. If I recall, Toyota allowed the use of 20W/50 at the time, but the mechanic recommended the lighter oil. Unfortunately, some rich asshole's drunk teenage kid decided to slam into the back of the car at 60+ mph. Otherwise, I suspect the car would've gone forever. It has no significant rust, except for a spot near the trunk where I drilled an antenna hole and didn't properly touch it up with paint or whatever.

A few months ago, I saw a 0W-40 oil - simply unbelieveable - ought to bring wear way, way down.....

If you are really worried about it, you may want to install an accumulator. Go here for info:

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