Throttle Dead Spot?
 

I apologize, I looked around and tried searching but didn't know what terms to really look for :(

I brought my car in to Toyota on Wednesday night for an oil change, and was told there was an ECM update available as well. So, after waiting 90 minutes for them to do whatever, I was told they couldn't do the update for some reason. I didn't really care, I just wanted my car back so I could go get food.

But, when I got in the car, it was like the first half inch of my throttle's travel was dead. It used to be that I breathed on it the wrong way and the engine revved. Now when I tap it as I used to, the revs actually DROP for a second.

Anyone have any ideas as to what could be causing this? I was thinking of pulling the negative and letting the car sit over night, but I don't know if that's going to help or not :(

Hmm...

You might be on the right track; after flashing the ECM, the car may need to re-learn its basic functions. I understand it does that when its new. My system was odd when I first drove it, too, but that was when it was brand new and "un-driven." I don't know whether disconnecting the battery would make a difference, but I don't see how it could hurt. It may be unnecessary.

Check the owner's manual first, though, because I seem to recall reading something about resetting some things if the battery has been disconnected. You'll probably have to re-do the radio, NAV, etc. Can't recall...

I'd think, otherwise, that you just need to drive it for a while, an hour or so, maybe? I think I'd drive it briskly; "teach" it to go fast, you know? What the heck? :D Maybe do this first, then try disconnecting the battery if this fails to restore normal behavior.

Let us know how this works out, won't you, please? I'd be interested in hearing.

It's SO strange :( For a while I was thinking that maybe they put heavier oil in it, but the car doesn't feel anymore or less slugish. It's just that initial response that is for lack of a better word "numb".

This morning I tried it further by very slowly rolling on the throttle and it literally did NOTHING for the first 3/4" of pedal travel. That's just not right :/

Drive it around for a bit. Within 50 miles it should be back to normal. If not, battery disconnect and try again. I've seen that happen after flashing an aftermarket tune and then touching the accelerator before letting it idle for a bit.

The ECU is learning after a reset, that's all.

I'm curious as to why they couldn't flash the ECU though - you don't have an aftermarket tune on it do you?

That's what I was hoping for :) I'm trying to not let it get me down, it's just super-awkward pulling away from a stop now :( I've come closer to stalling these past two days than I have since I got the car in August >.<

I do NOT have a tune. Only mod is a Nameless Trackpipe. I'm planning to put a panel filter in it (Apex'i), so I figured worse comes to worse that would probably liven up the response a bit, but still, it was nice the way it was :( At this point, it's such a drastic departure from how it was, I feel like I don't know how to drive the damn thing anymore.

If the thing is actually bogging and stalling on you, I'd clear the ECU with the battery disconnect. Once you reconnect it, start the engine and stay off the gas pedal for a minute, then drive it for a while to have it learn.

Not saying that this is the right fix, but this is typically what we do with we flash an aftermarket tune, except there's no need to disconnect the battery since the reflash resets the ECU anyway.

That's strange, I know what you are experiencing. The wierd thing is that with the stock intake I never have any issues at all with dead pedal. The only time I ever have dead pedal is with an aftermarket intake. Check your intake to see if they were messing around with it, check the tubes and everything making sure it is tight and also check to see if your filter is seating properly because they may have opened it and not sealed it properly. You just never know..

If everything is good, just reset your ECU and drive it for a few hundred miles and you should be good to go.

You sir, made my day. :lol:

A man's gotta eat! :drool:

It never straight up stalled on me, but there is a definite bog. It just doesn't DO anything when I tap the throttle the way I always have, but I'm still clutching like normal; hence the near stall :(

I'll check it out :) I don't hear anything strange in terms of induction, but it can't hurt to check.

Foobar speaks not in riddle, but fact. I ate four bags of Combos while I was waiting >.<

I had the same experience. Couldn't do the reflash,ordered a new ECM and the throttle felt a bit dead for awhile. It came back after about 100 miles but doesn't seem normal until the engine is fully warmed up.

The car that I test drove at the dealership did this as well. It only had 16 miles on it, though. Actually stalled it pulling out of the parking lot when I had to stop on a slight hill. I'd imagine your problem should go away once the ECU goes through it's test/cycle etc.

Interesting. Your DID come back to normal though?

Cool :) I really hope so. I friggin' love the car, but it's just terrible feeling the way it does :(

It did come back to normal. The ECM upgrade had to do with the coolant system in order to make it warm up faster. Once the engine is warm it seems to run fine.

Update: The car either feels better, or I'm just getting used to it. It's hard to say :(

You know how when stuff like this happens, and you KNOW something is different, but you don't remember all of the symptoms BEFORE they were there?

I'm dealing and everything feels more natural than it did the other day, but I'd still swear that it's not snapping to life as quickly as it was :(