Long start only when warm after sitting a few hours?

BENLEE1199

MEMBER
2008 TOYOTA SEQUOIA
5.7L
V8
2WD
AUTOMATIC
145,000 MILES

Hello, my vehicle listed above has a long start issue that only occurs when the engine is warm after running and then sits for at least an hour or two.

If the car is re-started after it has been sitting for only 10 minutes or 30 minutes, for example, it re-starts perfectly. And when it sits for many hours or especially overnight, it re-starts perfectly every time.

It is only when the engine sits warm for an hour or just a few hours that the re-start is a long start.

Battery and starter are strong, and it runs very good.

Friday, April 4th, 2025 AT 12:25 PM

3 Replies

KEN L

MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
54,137 POSTS

I have seen a weak fuel pump, or bad engine coolant temperature sensor cause this problem, let go over this guide first to help us with the easy stuff then we will do a deep dive into the problem.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/engine-cranks-excessively-before-starting

When the engine is going to be a hard start let connect a scanner to see what the engine temperature is saying.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/checking-a-service-engine-soon-or-check-engine-light-on-or-flashing

Also, let me know if there are any codes. Can I ask if you have serviced the throttle body, this will cause a hard start as well, try opening the throttle slightly when cranking to see if anything changes.

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Saturday, April 5th, 2025 AT 12:00 PM

BENLEE1199

MEMBER
76 POSTS

Thanks for the guides. I will check the coolant temperature sensor.

No codes in it. This was a known issue when I first bought it about 5 months ago, and I have cleaned the throttle body since then, but it did not change the long start issue one way or the other.

When you say to open the throttle slightly when cranking, do you mean to remove intake boot and manually open the throttle plate by hand a little bit. Or do you mean to push on the accelerator pedal slight when cranking?

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Thursday, April 10th, 2025 AT 9:37 AM

KEN L

MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
54,137 POSTS

I would push on the accelerator pedal slight when cranking and see what happens. But since you serviced the throttle body this may not be the issue. I would pull the spark plugs to check for wear and the color, you may have one or more that is a dark color while the other are light, this is telling us you may have a fuel injector that is weaking, when the engine does start do you have black smoke from the exhaust pipe for a short time?

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Friday, April 11th, 2025 AT 9:59 AM