Starting Problem- LO4 flashing, Check Engine & Trac Control lights on.

[Mazperth Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Mazperth]

Hi all

Having a few issues with 2011 GX Prado.

Car has just reached 130k. Living in the East Pilbara.

Attached is are links to two videos of the issue, but for those who cant view it, the issue is as follows;

- Battery voltage has been dropping for the last 2 months and finally went down to 8.5v, however as i have dual batteries the isolator kicks in and cranks of the secondary.

- The other day the car started as per norm and was driven approximately 15kms. Engine off for about 10min, then attempted to start it.

- Engine would not crank at all. All that was heard was a single tick/ click. The display lit up with the LO4 flashing, and check engine and trac contriol stayed on solid.

- After hitting start another 4 times the car kicked over as per usual. But the all warning lights stayed on.

- I installed 2 new batteries and the issue ceased immediately.

However....

The same issue has reared its head after I tried to replicate the issue when i got the car home.

Attached are two vids. The first is the car running with the lights displayed. The second is the car failing to crank and associated warning lights.

Apart from getting a code reader and clearing the fault codes, does anyone know what the issue is, or have they had the issue rectified by Toyota. I've read a few threads with similar issues, but the general consensus was Toyota dont have an actual answer??

Appreciate the help !

Maz

Copy paste the links for the vids

https://youtu.be/9KmKOEvH3ao

https://youtu.be/Cjv1yFm79EA

[ADVTIME Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close ADVTIME]

Hi Mazpreth, I am currently having the exact same problem with mine (same model Prado as yours only done 50,000km). After talking to my brother who is a mechanic and used to work for Toyota he said it's likely to be one of three things.

1.) Alternator not charging (test by putting a multimeter on the main battery while the engine is running, should be getting around 13.5v, if much less than you have charging issues)

2.) Starter motor is on its way out, no proper way to test is other than check its getting good power supply to it when you push start, or have someone hit it repeatedly with a hammer when you push the start button and see if its more responsive.

3.) Battery has dropped a cell and not supplied enough cranking amps (test by swapping with a battery with one you know works properly or take it to an auto store for a battery test).

He said the 3 lights come on because they are triggered by a low voltage detection so usually when a massive draw has been put on the electrical system (can be brief like when struggling to start especially if you are having issues with one of the mentioned). The traction control and ABS require certain amount of constant volts to operate so when there's a voltage drop it trips a warning to let you know it may not be working properly, he said its more of a safety warning in this case than an actual problem with the items the lights are flashing for (but may have deactivated them from operating while the lights are flashing).

As for the engine light its a similar thing tripped due to a voltage drop, he said most likely the crank angle senor code comes up on the code as the computer looks for a voltage drop here to detect if it is having problems.

To get the lights to turn off you can disconnect the battery for a couple of minutes then reconnect or it will go off once the car has been off for a while provided the next time it starts there isn't another interruption in the starting due to another voltage drop or delay.

Hope that is of any help.

[Atherton Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Atherton]

^ Excellent advice.

If you're interested code readers can be had for a pretty trivial sum of money from ebay and a paid app on android call "Torque Pro" which isn't that expensive either. I like the ability to be able to diagnose random lights on the dash and it gives you more information to tell if it's a serious fault or not.

[ADVTIME Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close ADVTIME]

I have not found a solution to mine yet as I live remote and am flooded in so makes it hard to get the battery tested or try a different one. As this is the cheapest and easiest to swap along with the most likely in my case i'll wait to confirm this before swapping out the starter motor, and my alternator is putting out plenty of power shouldn't be that.

It does start a bit easier if I turn the aircon off and all other electrical components and wait about 5 seconds with the green light on the starter button (seems to allow the car some more time to prepare itself) before starting it.

Also if the car does not start after the first push, turn the car completely off and wait about 30 seconds before trying to start it again. If you keep pushing the start button straight after you have already tried unsuccessfully it is more likely to trip the lights to come back on. Had the problem for a couple of weeks now so am getting to know it pretty well haha.

[ADVTIME Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close ADVTIME]

+1 on Athertons advice. I got a budget scan tool off ebay to read and clear fault codes, well worth the investment. Unfortunately I have left mine in another vehicle which is stuck in another town so cant tell you exactly what codes is coming up with this problem at the moment

[BradleyJ Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close BradleyJ]

I was having the same thing and I changed the batteries didn't fix the problem. Worked out it was the starter motor and it was pretty easy to change and not had a problem since.
I will say there so low in the engine they must get full of eater of you do water crossings.

[Mazperth Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Mazperth]

Hi all.
I had the vehicle in at Toyota this week.

Diagnosis of the LO4 flashing, Check Engine & Trac Control lights on was the starter motor failing.

Starter has been replaced with a new one and it has fixed the problem. $1081.00 genuine part and $250.00 labour. (Covered by extended warranty)

In addition, I was told that their diagnostic machine had also returned a camshaft fail code. However was advised this is a code commonly seen when the starter fails. Starter was relplaced and camshaft fail code cleared.

[ADVTIME Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close ADVTIME]

Fixed the problem on mine as well also ended up being the starter motor. Bought an aftermarket starter motor for under $200 and took no longer than 30 minutes to replace. One of the easiest starter motors I've ever replaced, handy considering that one only lasted 50 000km. Coincidentally it did start playing up right after a few water crossings that came up onto the bonnet.