Find Your Make and Model

Also, please notice that two posts were made with the same question (probably because the site was lagging) and this can cause confusion and delay your repair. I'm leaving this response at both but you might wish to respond to just one and stick with it.

Post back with more info or questions. We'll be glad to help. Thanks.

I'm planning to replace my

Submitted by Edgar0325 on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 09:48.

I'm planning to replace my stater. I know I have to removed
the battery in order to have more room to work on. One time I change
My battery, I lost the car memory settings and I have to bring the car to
Toyota dealer to reinstall the memory. My question is, if I remove the battery,
the memory settings of the car will not be erased?

Edgar, I agree with

Submitted by Big Block 409 on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 04:10.

Edgar,

I agree with drivability. Don't respond or post anymore information at this thread. Let's stay with your first thread?

Edgar, Guess we'll use this

Submitted by drivability on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 12:36.

Edgar,

Guess we'll use this post.

Yes you can lose some memory (adaptive strategy if you will) but it should relearn with out the need for a dealer. Did your car stall (not idle properly) the last time you removed the battery? Explain the problems you had.

Yes. That is exactly what

Submitted by Edgar0325 on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 22:21.

Yes. That is exactly what happen. No idle. When you stop, the engine dies.

Edgar, A vehicle's computer

Submitted by drivability on Fri, 01/27/2012 - 00:13.

Edgar,

A vehicle's computer can adapt and compensate (or attempt to) for many things. Atmospheric pressure, driver's habits, vacuum leaks, detonation problems, "MECHANICS" THINKING THEY KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING AND TWEAKING ADJUSTMENTS THAT AREN'T SUPPOSED TO BE TWEAKED, etc. In your case the vehicle might have adapted and compensated for an idle problem. Many things can cause this but debris around the throttle plate and IAC (idle air control) valve is probably the most common. When you disconnected the battery the computer probably lost it's marbles (so to speak) and was temporarily unable to compensate. Even under the best of circumstances, the computer will have to relearn. This can usually be done by driving the vehicle normally. I prefer mixing it up. Some highway driving, city driving, aggresive driving, idling, etc. Keep in mind the dangers of driving a vehicle that may stall on you.

There is more to come but first I would like to know:

How long did you drive your vehicle (if at all) before you took it to the dealer?

What did the dealer charge and what did they say that they did to fix it? This isn't really important but I'm curious.

Had you performed an induction service within the last 15-30k mi?

Post back with more info or questions. Thanks.

Drive, Those marbles that you

Submitted by Big Block 409 on Fri, 01/27/2012 - 07:41.

Drive,

Those marbles that you said were lost? well I found them on ASE Master’s kitchen counter. They were in a glass filled with Jim Beam because he thought they were ice cubes.

Edgar,

(You Said) I'm planning to replace my stater.

Why does the starter need to be replaced? Describe in detail the tests you did to come to the conclusion that the starter is defective and needs to be replaced.

(You Said) I know I have to removed the battery in order to have more room to work on.

That’s not true. Yeah you’re gonna have a little bit more room for working, by removing the battery, but removing is not necessary to remove the starter. What is necessary is to remove the negative battery cable from the battery terminal before you start the job.

(You said) One time I change My battery, I lost the car memory settings and I have to bring the car to Toyota dealer to reinstall the memory.

That’s too bad. How many hundreds of dollars were you ripped off for by the dealer? For future reference, anytime the battery in your car is replaced, or one or both cables are disconnected for any reason, you can accomplish the same thing that the dealer did, for free and by doin it yourself. All you gotta do is simply drive the car for about 40 minutes at different speeds. Yeah it’s gonna stall, hesitate, idle rough and maybe even backfire, but just keep drivin it, and in time you’ll see the cars performance and drivability go back to normal. It’s called the “Idle Relearn Process”.

(You Asked) My question is, if I remove the battery,
the memory settings of the car will not be erased?

They don’t get erased; just think of it as a short period of hibernation. In other words the PCM memory settings are there but they are sleeping. The idle relearn process mentioned above, and driving the car around as described above wakes the PCM (settings) back up.