Unfortunately I don't have a solution but I agree with BS diagnosis from the dealer. I've used my car many times for short periods of time without it causing problems. As far as the codes they say were found 0302 is misfire in #2 cylinder. 1604 I could not find and I tried various sources. I would suggest taking it to an auto parts store they has a free code reading service and see what they come up with.

 

Hey thanks for replying,

Code "1604" from my research is "Startability malfunction".

Something is defective IMO. Tomorrow I will pay them a visit once again and "escalate" this....

 

You already knew that without a computers help. Seems like a pretty useless code.
Let us know what else the dealer comes up with.

 

The P0302 would be the one for dealer to pay attention to. The P1604 may be triggered by the P0302.
Can you reproduce the fault easily? If so and P0302 keeps setting then tech should be able to isolate problem.

 

OK just came back from the dealership..

They scanned the engine computer, sure thing, same codes again. They maintain that it is caused by a "short run". In other words, from a cold engine, ignite it, let it run for 30-40 seconds, then stop it. Next time you try to start it, it will rattle like a flooded engine.

According to them, this is exactly what it is, a flooded engine. They explained that when the engine is cold started, the fuel mixture is richer than normal (controlled by computer). It burns richer for a period of time. If the engine is stopped before this period of time expires (and engine returns to normal mixture), there will be leftover fuel in the combustion chamber. Next time you gonna start the car, the computer will again send a rich mix in the engine hence flooding it.

They say this happens often to customers.

To be honest, I still call BS on their part, I have NEVER heard of anything like that before. I have owned 6 different cars, and nothing like that has ever happened.

But to be fair, a quick web search yielded an interesting forum post ending with this:

I have a 2009 Carolla, and late-model Carollas ARE prone to flooding. It has happened to me twice. This is when it happens:

1) We're cleaning out our garage, so we start the car and move it to the driveway to get it out of the way.

2) An hour or two later, we start the car and move it back to the garage.

3) Later that day, or the next morning, the car won't start.

Some other cars do this too. My mechanic told me one of his customers has an Audi that has done this several times.

The prevention is to remember that when we have to move the car a few feet for some reason, don't do more than one consecutive start without actually driving somewhere. If we do need to move the car a few feet and move it back, take a drive around the neighborhood before returning it to the garage.

Forum post available at

http://www.bba-reman.com/forums/Topic129523.aspx

Now I am very confused. Did you guys knew of this shortcoming on these cars????

 

I've never had this happen with my 09 . I've moved it in and out of the garage many, many times for such things as washing it or getting tools out of the garage. Ran for far less than 5 minutes and always started with no problem later.

 

I wonder if contacting Toyota directly would help. Also I may book an appointement with another dealership to see if they are even aware of this issue...

 

To test the over fueling theory, hold accelerator to floor while cranking. This should allow engine to start more easily by initially reducing amount of fuel injected.

Wonder why P0302 keeps reappearing if there isn't particular problem with that cylinder? Maybe a leaky injector, if over fueling.

 

Oh well... Classic end... After getting once again the same answer from my dealership, I decided to directly contact toyota to get some kind of confirmation about the "flooded engine" theory the dealership is so fond of.

They declined to provide any answers at all, and suggested that I speak to my "local service manager".

Some other forums on the web are suggesting that corolla's need a minimum 3 min runtime in order to minimize engine overfueling. This is apparently a known issue with these cars.

Im disappointed. Bought a brand new $26k car only to be stuck with the same issue as my former beat up car (nissan sentra) which had over half a million km on it..

 

If you are still getting P0302 ask dealer to fix that problem and it may take care of the over fueling.
If not then probably stuck with the flooding issue resulting from very short engine run times.

You do have a couple of work a rounds. Idle engine for a few minutes before shutting off or using the clear flood mode when starting.
Both are better then having starter cranking for extended period.

 

Some other forums on the web are suggesting that corolla's need a minimum 3 min runtime in order to minimize engine overfueling. This is apparently a known issue with these cars.

I've never heard anyone say that this was a common problem with 10th gen Corolla's. Do you mind showing me the posts to these forums that claim that this is a problem with Corolla's?

 

Hey there,

I have not found *many* references on the web but these two are pointing to this type of issue. Right now, without jumping to conclusions, I'd say this is perhaps a quirk with those cars?

Other forums were for other brands/models so I' have not refered to these here...

http://www.justanswer.com/toyota/3ef3o-2009-toyota-corolla-suddenly-wouldn-t-start-used.html

http://www.bba-reman.com/forums/Topic129523.aspx

 

With excessive fuel flooding, this can occur to a lot of fuel injected vehicles if you run it for a short amount of time without properly warming it up, not just Corolla's. Pretty much from what I understand is that, when you start a fuel injected car and drive it right away and turn it off, there is a certain amount of fuel that has already been injected and isn't yet burned (normal for the warm up cycle) which means it sits in the engine when it is turned off so it floods the engine with the extra gas. This would only happen if you drive a car right away and shut it off without letting it warm up. Generally, I give my car about 15-30 seconds to warm up before I move it. Even if I am going to move my car for a really short distance like out of a garage to the driveway, I will still give it a chance to warm up.

You should not just start your car and put it in gear right away because you aren't giving the engine a chance to properly warm up yet which causes the fuel flooding. Now, if you do just drive your car without letting it warm up and then turn it off once you've moved it and it won't start again because it's flooded, you must follow a certain procedure to have your car start up again. Before turning the key, you will have to fully depress the accelerator pedal since this sends a signal to the car to prevent any more fuel to be injected and then turn the key. The car should start up with the fuel already in the engine and the car may run rough at first since this is an unnatural process for the engine to work with.

That's the best way I can explain it. This is more of a thing with fuel injected cars rather than just a specific car fuel injected car. As long as you let your car warm up enough, then you shouldn't run into this problem. I've had to run my Corolla for under a minute or two a ton of times and I've let it warm up for at least 15-30 seconds and I've never had the engine flood on me.

 

Hey guys, I hope you guys can point me in the right direction!

So in January 2013 I purchased a brand new 2013 Corolla S. To give you a clear picture, here's what happened.

Last year (december 2015), I visited some family a few hours away from my place. When I arrived the car of course was hot. I parked the car on the street but later was asked to move the car. I started the car, moved it, then shut it off.

Next day, the car wouldn't start. The starter was working, the battery was tested OK, the engine was cranking, but wouldn't ignite. It took about 5 attempts before the engine ignited, and even after that, it ran rough for a while.

Naturally, first thing I did when coming back was to book an appointment with my local dealership. They looked at it, and told me that everything was "fine". According to them, this is what happens when you start the engine and dont run it for more than a few minutes (5 minutes+). They managed to get scan codes 0302 & 1604.

I called BS on their diagnosis. Is this even remotely possible??? My other cars were never that picky! I asked people (even toyota owners) and nobody has ever heard of this...

Unfortunately, today the same thing happened.

Two days ago, I came back from a 3 hour road trip, then parked the car. Yesterday, I moved the car to my garage (ran for about 30 seconds at most). This afternoon, I couldn't start it. Same again. Engine cranking until it gives up. It took 7 or 8 atempts until it managed to roughly idle, then I gave it a little bit of gas. One thing I noticed when I stopped the engine yesterday, was a slight engine hiccup just before it stopped.

Is there a defective sensor somewhere? Bad ignition system?

This is nerve racking as I no longer trust the car.... I hope someone can shed light on this ongoing issue. Is this normally covered by "powertrain" warranty?
Thanks guys!!!

im curious, what was the solution?