2017 Toyota Tacoma: sudden loss of power

Filed Jun 4, 2026 · Engine, Fuel system · CA

Truck has 116k miles, started losing power and acceleration diminished. CEL and Trac Off light came on. Pulled over twice after experiencing same issue. Took to mechanic and diagnostic code P0301 (cylinder 1 misfire). Replaced 6 spark plugs to be safe, and replaced broken coil in cylinder 1. Drove less than a mile and CEL came back on. Brought to dealership this time and they found a leak in the head gasket and noticed warping in cylinder 1, along with code P0301 still present. They reported back to me stating it needed a machinist to resurface the the cylinder head, that the repair is mechanical. Even outside of warranty this fix should not be costing $13,000. The truck has been properly maintained for the past 9 years, all oil services and replacing any wear and tear items. Mechanical (warping) is manufacturing issues.

Filed Nov 21, 2025 · Engine, Transmission · IN

I was driving on the highway when my vehicle suddenly lost power. The engine light and traction control light came on, and I lost power, and the engine started sputtering. I had to pull off to the side and put on hazards. My Tacoma would only drive about 25 MPH after this happened. Based on a quick search, this is a very common problem in 3rd-generation Tacomas!

Filed May 19, 2024 · Engine, Fuel system · CA

2017 Toyota Tacoma double cab-V6 with 62K approx miles. On or around April 29th 2024, I was traveling in this truck when there was a sudden and complete loss of power, two check engine lights came on-The "trac off" light and the check engine light came on. I needed to pull over immediately for safety. I ended up driving the vehicle to the Toyota dealership in limp mode. The vehicle has sat at Tustin Toyota now for weeks with the Toyota dealership initially suggesting that a ACIS Flap broke off inside the intake manifold of the car. This was replaced and the vehicle is still providing the same alarms and still in limp mode. The initial fix(whihc did not fix the problem was a full replacement of the intake manifold). Now the dealer is suggesting that a piece(s) broke off the intake manifold and ended up inside the engine so now dealer is recommending and entire engine break down to attempt to further diagnose the situation. Again it looks to be a complete failuure of the ACIS system and the intake manifold. This problem has presented a EXTREME safety issue due to comp[lete loss for power initially then truck sits in LIMP Mode. Very dangerous!

Filed Jul 9, 2019 · Transmission · 15,000 miles · CA

While entering the freeway, pressing the accelerator to merge, the truck stumbled as if lost all power for a full 4 to 5 seconds causing me to miss my chance to merge and pull over to the shoulder and wait for a clearing. It has done this several times but not this bad and this time I had my kids in the truck. There is a technical bulletin for this but my dealership will not perform it if they can't duplicate it.

Filed Feb 26, 2018 · Suspension, Transmission · 2,000 miles · CA

The truck shifts into too high of a gear when attempting to accelerate between 20-30 MPH., causing engine to rev up to and beyond redline (5500rpm to 6000rpm), which is extremely damaging to a new engine. This results in a 3 or more second delay or stall while the transmission finds an appropriate gear for the current speed. Most of the time, when it finally does find a gear, it is often too low, resulting in extreme engine revving followed by complete loss of power. This delay or stall almost left me in a serious accident as I pulled out into the intersection (under normal circumstances), the cross traffic did not yield to the red light. I had to accelerate quickly from about 20 MPH, meanwhile, the truck's transmission stalled and would not respond. I narrowly avoided being hit. I have taken the truck in no less than four times in the last 12 months to report the same complaint I have documentation but continue to be told that the transmission is performing at manufactured specifications. Not sure what those specs are but nothing has been done to address the transmission issue the truck is unstable when driving with heavy load in the bed (never exceeding 1000lbs.). When loaded with 10- 90lb. Bags of concrete (900lbs.), the truck feels extremely unstable. I won't drive it on the freeway under such weight. The manufacturer stated weight limit is ton (1000lbs.) and yet when filled with only 900lbs of concrete the leaf springs arch, fully inverted upside down, leaving the truck highly unstable and unresponsive. Of all three of the toyota trucks that I have owned, including the 4 runner, I have never seen this occur in the leaf springs nor had stability problems carrying this type of weight. I don't feel comfortable driving this vehicle due to transmission and weight concerns, and feel it is not only a safety hazard to myself as well as others.

Filed Nov 28, 2017 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · 28,000 miles · CO

I was pulling accross a busy intersection and my truck completey lost power when trying to accelerate. I got a message 'brake and accelerator depressed simultaneously' but they were not. I took it to the dealership and they couldn't figure out what was wrong.

Filed Oct 10, 2017 · Brakes, Engine · 600 miles · SC

When decelerating at any given time vehicle loses compression at he brake pedals and feels as if though vehicle is thrusting and losing power to engine. And also when slowing down when speed reaches 20 MPH, vehicle can be felt almost wanting stall.

Filed Apr 9, 2017 · Engine · 2,500 miles · CA

While driving my tacoma at freeway speed, I accidentally hit the gearshift forward into neutral. This caused the engine to shut off, losing power assist to the steering, braking, etc. Every warning light on the dash began to flash including low oil pressure, high trans temp, etc. I also recreated this problem at a later time (after I figured out what had happened) and it was the same result--the trucks motor died when shifted into neutral causing a very dangerous situation for an inexperienced driver.