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I have a 2000 Toyota Tacoma that has stalled 3 times in the past 6 months.

The engine will turn off while exiting the freeway, admittedly at a faster pace than normal, and following the off-ramp as it cloverleafs to the right. After it stalls, I am able to start it back up, but the engine wont maintain an idle. If i want to slow down AND keep my engine running, I am required to shift the automatic transmission to neutral and use the brake with my left as i keep the engine running with my right. So far I have been lucky and havent need to travel further than a stop sign in this condition, but i dont want to rely on luck to get where i am going.

This weekend I cleaned the Idle Air Control valve of all the soot that has built up over the 260k mile lifetime of the vehicle and am hoping that will fix this issue. The current malady reminds me of a previous issue where the engine would stutter when I started it up hot (fix: replacing 2/3 ignition coils).

I find it strange that I can start my car the next day and the issue is gone. It only seems to happen when slowing on an off-ramp after an extended time on the freeway with no traffic. If i start it up before it has cooled completely, it wont idle, it just dies.

If anyone has a repair suggestion or another symptom to be aware of, please let me know what to look for

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  • Clean the Throttle Body with an approved TB cleaner.
    – Moab
    Commented May 9, 2016 at 18:41
  • 1
    You cleaned the IACV, but are you sure it is working?
    – rpmerf
    Commented May 9, 2016 at 19:23
  • Just a thought how's the transmission fluid?
    – Ben
    Commented May 9, 2016 at 20:35
  • @Moab what would cleaning the throttle body accomplish, could you elaborate?
    – I have no idea what I'm doing
    Commented May 10, 2016 at 7:42
  • @Ben - Transmission fluid is at a good level, but its been a while since I changed it, kinda a darkish pink
    – Josh
    Commented May 10, 2016 at 17:01

1 Answer 1

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Typically, when a car is having issues with idling or stalling the Idle Air Control Valve (IACV) is at fault. There are typically 1 of 2 issues.

1 - The port is dirty. Pull off your air cleaner hoses so you can see the throttle body. There should be a port on the side. This is for the IACV. Spray carb cleaner into this hole to remove deposits. Reassemble and test.

2 - The valve is failing. Cover the TB partially with your hand, not enough to choke it out. This will cause the IACV to open. Unplug the IACV, remove your hand, and the idle should be high (2,000 RPM+). Plug the IACV back in and the idle should drop to normal. OR pull a vacuum line to close the IACV, unplug, reconnect vacuum line, idle should be low, reconnect and idle should raise to normal. If the idle does not react as described, the IACV itself is likely at fault.

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