HARD WARM START AND OTHER ISSUES. PLEASE HELP

[Lunaseda]

95 LE S/C. 150.000 miles. Engine starts fine when cold. Will crank but wont start when engine is normal operating temperature. There is a strong fuel odor when this occurs. It may start after a wait period of 15 minutes, but sometimes the wait has been 3 to 5 hours. I've only owned van for 2 weeks. Dont know much about it when purchased on 10/1 But after researching its KBB value and owner reviews for $1200 i couldn't pass it up.
Here are some quirks I've noticed in the 2 weeks and 300 miles that ive driven it.1 The warm start issue. (Does it 9 outta 10 warm starts)
2 transmission will seldom jump from drive 3 to OD, back and forth. Usually shifts fine but has happened twice.
3 At first cold start it runs and will idle great. 45 seconds after start up I hear a single click/chirp and engine idles poorly and will stall out if not I'm not there to feather the throttle. As soon as throttle is pushed it idles fine only to repeat the problem 1 minute
later.
4 Occasinally it will idle up on its own. (Has done this twice)
5 getting terrible fuel mileage.
6 Check engine light is not on and does not illuminate when key is in on position. I have never seen it come on. Passed emissions on 10/4/2014.
I read that if the check engine light does not turn on for at lease 2 seconds when key is in on position its a possible bad or faulty ECU, or there's a no power issue to ECU.
Van has New fuel pump and filter. New "stock" air filter. New plugs, wires, rotor and cap. Oil change, Coolant changed and Throttle body has been cleaned.
Aside from these "hopefully" minor issues everything works like it should. And Is Extremely fast with plenty of power.
Any suggestions will be appreciated.
Thanks for your Time.

[timsrv]

Hi & welcome to TVT! Sorry for the long wait for a response, I've been working double shifts and simply too tired (if I sit down for more than a couple minutes I fall asleep :bored:........kinda like what's starting to happen now :wnk:.

My experience with Previas is limited to 91 - 93 N/A models only, so I may be off a bit regarding advice on anything newer than 93 and SC models (but I'll give it a try).

1. This could be a number of things, but the 1st thing to check would be your fusible links located on the + battery terminal. Here is a thread that gives more information on this issue: http://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/showthread.php?395-Intermittent-Starting-Problems-amp-Check-Engine-Light!!!-91-Previa-LE-AWD. Not starting & smelling fuel could also be flooding due to a leaky injector. If the fusible links check out okay, then I'd pull injectors and have them tested by an injector shop (look for a Dr. Injector in your area).

2. TPS wire harness is a known issue with the Previa. The wires inside the insulation will fracture and this can make the electronic shifting transmission spaz-out at times. Toyota made a repair kit for this (Toyota part #82989-28090) but it sells for over $100. On mine I simply identified the wire that wasn't making connection and ran a new one between the ECU and the TPS (cost me nothing).

3. Sounds like the AC compressor is kicking in. Chirps are almost always the result of a belt that needs adjustment or replacement. There is supposed to be an "Idle Up" VSV to compensate for RPM drop due to the load of the AC compressor, but you may have a fault with that system. This could explain the low idle and dying. Make sure your AC is OFF. If the problem is still happening, I would open the hood and observe the drive belts (see if you can determine which one is chirping & make sure the AC compressor clutch isn't engaging/disengaging). What you see/hear will likely lead you in the right direction. Post a reply based on what you see.

4. Possibly related to item #3

5. I'm a little iffy on this one as 95 is very close to the year when diagnostics went from OBDI to OBDII (I'm not sure which one you have). You will need a factory service manual and follow the procedure for reading trouble codes. If there is a code recorded, this should help point you in the right direction. Poor fuel mileage can also be caused by a leaky fuel injector (this typically won't throw a code). One more reason to pull and have your injectors evaluated. BTW: Previas were never known for good fuel mileage. Being an SC model isn't helping things. I'm guessing you should be getting 16 - 18 mpg.

6. This one could be a burned out or missing bulb in the cluster. I'd recommend pulling the cluster and checking this. I'm not sure how much things changed on 94 & newer Previas, but here's a thread that shows how to remove the cluster on a 93: http://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/showthread.php?145-How-to-disassemble-the-dash-on-a-Previa. Here's a link to a thread where another member had a similar issue: http://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/showthread.php?157-Battery-Fuse-Box.

Good luck! Tim