I think it might be bad gas your neighbor gave you.

What are your options now? Leave it as is and let the engine suffer while you burn off the gas? This can potentially be catastrophic for the engine. Or have the gas tank pumped dry and refilled with good gas? That still leaves a bit of the bad stuff in the lines.

 

Nme7-

That is more less what I am leaning towards! I just took the positive wire off of the battery and gonna let it sit for a few min in hopes that maybe it will clear the computer (kinda just throwing punches in the dark to keep from having to spend $$$that I don’t have). I appreciate the reply and am really hoping it’s simple to fix because this car is the wife’s car and my vehicle is broke down ATM too so the struggle of trying to make a life happen with 3 kids who have school, a wife that works 5 days a week and myself that works a swing shift 6 days a week, it’s been overwhelming and so now I pray that this is something I can bandage up myself or else we are going to be in a world of hurt!

 

BTW, I apologize for venting...just stressed out lol

 

I agree with the bad gas as well.

Details say it started acting up after a block of driving. You were likely burn some original gas for a while unit the borrow got sucked in. If it idles ok let it burn it off. You got to the station so how much did you put in and how much was in the borrowed can???

 

Well I have really good news....



I took the positive cable off the battery for about 15 min. I just went out put the battery back into the ready position and then started the car.....AND.....wait for it.....BOOOMMM all codes are clear and the 2011 Toyota Highlander is now running...



My neighbor told me that he had just got the gas last week for his lawn mower so I couldn’t figure out why is was doing what it did unless for some reason I threw a code and it needed to be cleared!



Thank you guys for your replies! You are all saints and I pray you win the powerball jackpot

 

Well I have really good news....



I took the positive cable off the battery for about 15 min. I just went out put the battery back into the ready position and then started the car.....AND.....wait for it.....BOOOMMM all codes are clear and the 2011 Toyota Highlander is now running...



My neighbor told me that he had just got the gas last week for his lawn mower so I couldn’t figure out why is was doing what it did unless for some reason I threw a code and it needed to be cleared!



Thank you guys for your replies! You are all saints and I pray you win the powerball jackpot

You saved my day. My 2020 Camry Hybrid SE ran out of gas. so, I refueled 2 gallons of gas. When I attempted to start, all the accessories work fine on first power button press, then on 2nd power button press, there were 3 lights displayed on dashboard 1) Malfunction Indicator Lamp (Check Engine) 2) Electric Power Steering System Warning 3) Low Fuel. I just ignored these warning messages and tried to shift the lever to R/N/D, but I received the message "The Hybrid System Stopped. Shift into P". I tried to Power On/Off cycle couple of time but no luck. so, I called toyota customer service but not so useful - I was advised to tow the car to nearest dealership but I told them it's just 2 years old and never ran into issue for whatsoever reason. so, I just parked the car as it was late in the evening and came home. I just came across this post in the night and attempted to follow these instructions. the next morning, tried the power on/off cycle again but no luck. then I refueled another gallon of Gas and removed positive cable off from battery then after 15 minutes of wait and I put the positive cable back on. it just started working fine this time and all the warning lights cleared. I ran out of gas about 10 years ago in my 2004 Camry LE, it just started functioning after fueling 1/4 gallons of gas but this model took 4+ hrs to figure this out. I hope it helps for someone. thanks.

 

When you run out of gas (sputters and stall with tank empty)

- fuel line and fuel rail in the engine are more or less empty with air and some gas
- pump in the tank is sucking up what ever it can including crud if you have any accumulated.

Once you start it the air may still be in the line and or pump is not pumping properly as its got air in it. It depends on a lot.

Normally the fuel injection system needs to be primed (turning the key ON and OFF several cycle runs the pump for a few seconds each time. Don't try and start just on/off.

Also many OEM's use the gas for pump cooling as part of their engineering strategy so it can burn out be too low to long or often.

Good to hear it as fresh gas so no gunk to worry about.


Question? When you going to run below a 1/4 tank again?

 

You think eh...

A lot goes on at the bottom of the tank and running out...

Attendees of the School Of Hard Knock can understand.

 

If the issue continued I was going to suggest getting some gas drier additive and pour into the tank. The chance that water was in the neighbors gas can were pretty high, even if the gas were new. Anyway, glad that every thing has been resolved.

 

I ran out of gas today (first time in the 12 years I have been driving, and I was in my own driveway to boot), my neighbor had a gas can that had 3 gallons in it that he let me have. I emptied the borrowed gas van into my tank and made my way to the gas station.

Approximately 1 block from the gas station the rig began to struggle as if the timing was thrown and then died. I was going about 30MPH, and since the gas station was in sight, I put the transmission into neutral and coasted up to the pump. Put the car in park, turned the key off, then filled the tank.

This is where my question begins;

When I started the vehicle after filling up I noticed that the check engine light was flashing at me and the traction assist light was on...this is only on when the button is pushed to over ride and the light is illuminated to tell you that there is no assistance. The highlander is running extremely rough now and if I hammer down on the accelerator it plays hell trying to go!

Can anyone please explain to me what is going on?

To answer your original question: The flashing MIL was warning of severe misfire, which was happening due to either contaminants or air in the fuel supply/injectors.
The PCM/ECU turned off traction control, by design, because of the above identified problem. Or pretty much anything that turns on the MIL.

 

I have to agree with the bad gas folks.

Our 2008 Highlander was very low on fuel once, and a borrowed can of fuel to get us to a gas station (likely) had old stale fuel. Our engine also bucked and died suddenly, only 3 blocks going away from our home. Took multiple restarts just to limp it back home. Flashing lights (CEL, VSC, etc.) I found my 3 five gallon empty fuel cans, that are used only when hurricane season approaches and during, and filled them with non-ethanol fuel (@ WaWa). Once home, I added in 6 ounces of xylene to the tank, then poured in the fresh non-ethanol fuel. I cleared the codes from my Blue Driver OBD II scanner/iPhone.

I think after a few starts and short trips, I removed the negative cable for an hour, then replaced it. It was running much better each time, but I'd still get a random misfire here and there, never the same cylinder either. When tank fell below 3/4, I refilled with fresh non ethanol fuel only, no additives. 2 more times doing that and she ran like a champ. It has not hiccupped or had a single misfire show up in mode 6 data ever since, and that was over a year ago. I think even the slight injector ticking was reduced too. But ever since then it has been back on the typical 87 octane, 10% ethanol fuel. Still purrs... short term and long term fuel trims are great (well <5% added together for each bank)

I really like the 2GR-FE engines in my Highlander and Avalon. But I won't let any fuel in a can of unknown age anywhere neither of them.

 

I toss all my ol' generator/lawnmower/weedwacker fuel in my Highlander. Never had a problem. Some of it has been 3-4 years old since I keep 30 gallons in each shed at both of our houses. Generators and lawn tractor never have a problem with this ol' fuel either.

All my container fuel is ethanol free and treated with a fuel stabilizer, like Stabil Marine.
And yes, the chainsaw/trimmer or 2-strokers and means I've introduce some oil in the fuel and have had no issues.

Running out of fuel means the ecu needs to compensate for drastic changes in idle/o2 readings because the 'air' needs to be purged thru the fuel pump/lines/regulator and injectors. Once the air is gone, it should run just as well as it did before.

If you fear a bad container of watergas from your neighbors, then use a quality bottle of PEA based FI cleaner at your next fill up. Ethanol is a drygas. So, use the E10 without fear. All I use is E10 in my cars, unless feeling wasteful while filling up containers. The ethanol free is for long term storage and for my RV/boat, since they aren't used enough.

 

All these have IDOIT light alerting to low gas!!! How does on ignore that and not fill up somewhere. It takes some doing to even get that far and you'd have to run well below 1/4 tank regularly which is bad in itself.

 

My sienna 2018 ran out of gas. A call to AAA got a couple of gallons of gas in the tank. 3 on off cycles of the ignition and tried to start it twice. With a jump assist from AAA. It started. The check engine light was on. Got traction control cycling on and off. When for a gas station, the van sputtered the whole way. Added 12 gallons at station and it sputtered driving away. I search on line a and found this forum on same issues. I was going to attempt the code reset with battery terminal disconnect. I previously found a couldn't get the RPM over 2000. Third start after an hour brought the engine to life and I could rev the engine to 5000 RPM. A trip around the block showed no problems. Check engine still on. A read from auto zone showed for codes. P0083 pO171 p0174 p117B. Fuel system pressure low, system too lean left and right, and direct injector all relating to a fuel pump running dry.

All these have IDOIT light alerting to low gas!!! How does on ignore that and not fill up somewhere. It takes some doing to even get that far and you'd have to run well below 1/4 tank regularly which is bad in itself.

Daughter was lost and delirious ended up on side of road for more than a day and police took her to emergency room. Now do you see how this could happen.

 

I don't know how these engines react to low fuel. I avoid the situation. There are alerts as well as a gauge.