Do I Have An Ecm/ecu Problem? 2005 Corolla S, Help Please? - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

TrickyG · 07-03-2010, 06:00 PM

Hi there, first-time poster, though I've read this site a lot over time for entertainment and for helpful tips. This is the first time I've felt compelled to write myself though as I am perplexed with a problem with my car. This is probably going to be long, but please bare with me. :-)

I have a 2005 Corolla S, automatic, 1.8L with the 1ZZ-FE engine. I bought it used in May of 2009, and have never had a problem with it in the year-plus of having it until today. I was making a couple errand runs, and for whatever reason, when I was leaving my second stop of three different stores I needed to visit, the car would not start up. The key would turn, but the car wouldn't start... there were a couple red lights that showed up on my dash, but not all the lights, just a couple... I believe the oil and maybe the seatbelt lights were the two that would come up when I tried to turn the car over. It's July 3rd, and hot where I'm at, and with the electrical system apparently not working, I had open the driver side door to get some air since I have the automatic windows. After opening my door, I noticed the hands on the speedometer, RPM gauge, and gas gauge, all were flickering ever so slightly on their own, hovering above zero (or "E" in the case of the gas gauge). It did that only when I had my door open, as soon as I closed it, the hands stopped. Something else I noticed was I have a "security" button to the left of the steering wheel, though I don't have an alarm system installed. That light blinks red intermittently when the car is not started up and in gear... I noticed it was not blinking, like the engine wasn't turning, power locks weren't working, power windows weren't working, etc.

As luck would have it, I saw somebody I knew in the parking lot while I was trying to gather my thoughts, and we tried giving it a jump, thinking maybe the battery just needed some help. It did nothing, and my battery had plenty of juice to it, so that wasn't the problem. I tried again a few times, and again, the car wasn't turning over, not cranking, not making any noise except for a very subtle electric noise of some sort, that I had to listen closely to hear.

I was resigned that there was an electrical problem I couldn't fix, and even though I was only a few minutes from my house, I'd have to tow the car. I left the car alone, and didn't mess with it for maybe about five minutes, while making a call. While on the phone, I noticed that the aforementioned security red light WAS blinking again, and I thought maybe the car "reset" itself in the downtime, and would start if I tried since it was blinking.... and it did. Started up perfectly, like it has every other time I've ever started it in the past year, except for this incident today. I immediately drove it home. I turned it off, and started it back up a couple times after making it home, and it's started with no issues those times as well.

Here's where my thread title comes into play (finally!) After doing some research, I see that Corollas have had a lot of problems with the electrical control module/unit, though it tends to mostly be in the 2006 year cars, there have been some mentions of 2005 and 2007 as well. One thing I noticed though, is that in almost every case, there was a check engine light that came on, and people got it coded, and that's how they knew it was an ECM. I never had the check engine come up before, during, or since this incident... does this mean I don't have an ECM problem, or no?

I know this is REALLY long, and my deepest thanks for anyone who's taken the time to read this mumbo-jumbo. I just would like to have an idea with all the expertise and experience on this board, if anyone else has had a similar event. I've read that people have had experiences where their car SHUT OFF WHILE DRIVING, similar to mine did though luckily mine was just in the parking lot while I was inside. I drive 30 miles each day to work in high-speed and heavy-traffic areas, so this could be a nightmare. I have 62,000 miles on it, and I THINK there's an 80K mile warranty on issues like this with Toyota.

Any ideas if this is ECM-related, or has this problem popped up for anyone else?

Thanks so much!

***zythr*** · 07-04-2010, 06:17 PM

Hi: Could be heat related? Has this occurred only when the car/outside temp was hot?

TrickyG · 07-04-2010, 08:43 PM

It's hard to say, this was the only time it has happened but it was hot, outside temperature of around 92 or 93 degrees. The car itself was not running hot or anything.

TrickyG · 07-09-2010, 07:18 PM

bringing this back, because, I took the car to the dealer yesterday, and they replaced the ECU for me, thinking that was the problem since it had the symptoms. I got it back yesterday afternoon, took it to work, and home, and back to work today, with no issue, so I was feeling pretty good that the problem was fixed. And just now, I had the same issue as I did in the opening post... car won't turn over, acting like something's not clicking electronically, even though I just got the ECU replaced yesterday. What on earth could this be? Maybe some new eyes that see this will have an idea... just curious as I sit here, trying to figure out how I'm getting home tonight. hah.

wylee · 07-10-2010, 07:05 AM

Is the starter cranking and the engine won't start or is nothing happening at all when you turn the key? Does the car have a remote starter?

The red security light has nothing to do with whether the engine is running or not. The security light will go out if the key is close to the ignition and blink when the car doesn't sense the key.

Other than the gauges

flickering, I'd be inclined to look towards the ignition switch.

TrickyG · 07-10-2010, 11:20 AM

thanks for the response, wylee. The starter isn't cranking, and nothing is happening at all. With all I read about the ECU problems with these cars, I thought for sure this was it, but the service dept said they replaced the computer when I took it in, and within 24 hours, the same problem happened again. I put the key in, and it's nothing, and the flickering hands happened again with the tachometer, speedometer and gas and temperature hands. One other thing I noticed that was peculiar, I opened the door, and the little red door light indicating that your door is open, came on my dash, which is the only light that would light up... and when I hit my brake, something I just randomly did, I noticed that light went out... even with the door still open. When I let off the brake, the dash light for the door reappeared. Who knows what that is, something I just randomly did, but I it guess further indicates some kind of electrical problem. Weird stuff.

mikered30 · 07-10-2010, 11:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TrickyG

thanks for the response, wylee. The starter isn't cranking, and nothing is happening at all. With all I read about the ECU problems with these cars, I thought for sure this was it, but the service dept said they replaced the computer when I took it in, and within 24 hours, the same problem happened again. I put the key in, and it's nothing, and the flickering hands happened again with the tachometer, speedometer and gas and temperature hands. One other thing I noticed that was peculiar, I opened the door, and the little red door light indicating that your door is open, came on my dash, which is the only light that would light up... and when I hit my brake, something I just randomly did, I noticed that light went out... even with the door still open. When I let off the brake, the dash light for the door reappeared. Who knows what that is, something I just randomly did, but I it guess further indicates some kind of electrical problem. Weird stuff.

Did you happen to install LED tail lights?

TrickyG · 07-11-2010, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikered30

Did you happen to install LED tail lights?

No sir, everything is stock on this car. In a further update, I went back up to my work yesterday, and the car still wouldn't turn over, was acting like it was completely zapped, starter not cranking or anything. As an idea, I unhooked the battery cable thinking it might help the computer 'reset'. I left the cable off for about 15 minutes, reconnected, put the key in and..... it started. It did do the 1.5 second startup and die, that I'd heard a few people mention in relation to the ECU problem, but on the second turn it started right up and stayed on. I started a few more times during the course of the day, and it started up each time. Continues to sound like the symptoms of bad ECU, though I had it replaced Thursday. Such a strange situation.

don24mac · 07-11-2010, 03:50 PM

Check the battery connectors and the battery. When you put on the brakes and the door lights go out, that could be a very low battery or bad battery cable connection. (the brake lights draw the power away causing the dash lights not to light) You could disconnect the battery and make sure the battery posts and connectors are clean with no corrosion. Also, the stock battery on these cars usually has to be replaced after about five years.

TrickyG · 07-12-2010, 03:47 PM

thanks for the reply, don. I don't think there's a problem with the battery, but it does make sense in regards to the brakelights drawing power and why my door light may've been going off. Maybe there's a chance, by some freak occurence, that the ECU was fixed and the battery just happened to go bad the next day... probably an underlying electrical problem somewhere, but it's worth a look. I'll check it out and see what I can find.