Toyota Starters

[brelandt]

Looking for a replacement starter on my Single cab PreRunner. I have enough experience to have seen the reliability of the aftermarket. Therefore I am choosing to go with a Denso from Toyota just like the one that came factory.
The starter is still working but is 9 years old and I just want a new one on my shelf for the day it goes out, so I have time to research this first.
My question is this.
There are 2 starters listed under my truck. A 1.4KW and a 2KW. both are the same price $182. Not sure which one I have now, but if I had to guess I would say it's the 1.4KW version. So would a 2KW be better for me as I only use the truck for getting to work and home (not restarting the engine a dozen or more times each day). Or will it just drain the battery faster?
Can some shed some light on this issue for me as I am not an electrician by any means, more of a suspension guy.

 

[mattd]

call your local dealer with your VIN # and they will be able to tell you everything you need to know about the starter. They will even give you a part number if you ask.

FWIW, i have never seen a starter fail on one of those trucks.

 

[brelandt]

I know of only 1. A friend with the 3.4 engine has gone through 6 of them in 2 years! Don't know why the first one was changed...sure he told me...anyhow, it's been changed so many times he has lost count. Aftermarket starters......

 

[LeakySeals]

When the starter on my 02 Camry went I wasn't in a position to shop around so I went to the local autozone and bought the one they sell for $150. Says Mexico on it. Two years later running great.

 

[Tegger]

Toyota starters normally go bad through failure of the contacts. The contacts are cheap and easy to replace. Next are the brushes, also cheap and easy to replace.

Otherwise these starters are very robust and last for ages, usually the life of the car. Replacing one is often the worst thing you can do.

 

[JHZR2]

The big question is why did it go bad? I've never had a starter go bad despite plenty of stop a d go and city use.

If the mating and connection points are the same, I'd consider the 2kW over the 1.4. The final check must be the a laxity of the cabling from battery to starter. The wires may be undersized if your truck came torn the 1.4.

Just because you have a 1.4 or 2 kw starter doesn't mean that it will pull that much.

 

[btanchors]

I just had a starter fail on my 2003 Lexus GS430. It cost me about $1400 to have the dealer replace it. The reason is that on many of the Toyota V8s, the starter is located under the intake manifold!

 

[bepperb]

I'm not sure if Toyota was still doing it in 04, but they used to sell a cold weather package with a bigger starter on a lot of vehicles.

 

[JustinC25]

If your in California, it's probably the 1.4kw, however you can use the upgraded one if you want. However there is no reason to have a whole new starter. The only thing that ever goes bad in these things are the contacts in the solenoid. They cost about 10-15 bucks,and take 5 minutes to change once you remove the starter. Aftermarket starters are another story. Do everything you can to keep that OEM Denso starter. My last Camry still has the original starter in it from 1995 with 280,000 miles on it.
The contacts went bad in it about 8 years ago, and I changed them out. It has been perfectly fine ever since. The OEM starters are also made in the US by Denso Tennessee.
Why spend the extra money ?? I'd just keep a set of contacts on hand.

 

[LeakySeals]

I usually go Denso everything for the quality. Prices are reasonable except for alternators and starters. Even the refurbs are fairly expensive. I dug up the link to the starter I bought in the emergency your trying to prevent. Here is a link for your vehicle. $144.99 Brand new, lifetime warranty.

Duralast Gold Starter

Starter is 2 years old now, lots of city starting and stopping, winter cranking. No problems at all. Coincidentally I'm using a Autozone Duralast Gold top battery which is in its 4th year going strong. Both Duralast Gold purchases have been good so far.

 

[LeakySeals]

Some more info. My OE Denso lasted 10 years. Gave me warnings for a couple weeks off and on that simulated a bad battery (slow turn over). First suspected the Autozone battery. They checked it, was fine. Starter failed 2 days later while I was on the road (my luck). Turn the key, nothing.

 

[cjcride]

My 2001 Corolla did same thing. 3 or 4 days warning then nothing not even a Clic, Clic.

 

[brelandt]

I think I'll just get the contacts then. BTW could not find them on the diagram on a dealers website fore parts. The search will continue.

 

[zzyzzx]

I also have never ever had a starter go, but then again, I don't own a Toyota. If you want a backup get one from a junkyard and swap it in while you repair your existing one.