Un-Hacking The Hacked Up Toyota Camry
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Date: 2025-06-18
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Comments and reviews: 20
crautoguy8384
Oh man I feel your pain isn't it nice to explain to a customer that the other shop just didn't know what they were doing and charged you every step along the way To fire the parts cannon. Doug Mueller was a local teacher that would teach Classes sponsored by Parts Plus university for automotive shops in my area when I was A kid. And Ran a tech helpline in the early 2000s And the sticker said engage brain before hands. I specialize in Toyota and the one thing I love about them is they usually do not have fundamental screwed up wiring issues it's not a Ford it's not a gm it's a Toyota. Although an upstate New York I do feel for you. You have to be a God Dang good technician to work work and fight away through the green crust of death hats off To you brother. I just had a customer than went to a shop When I was on vacation With her Ford F150 3 valve junkCrank no start they put a reman computer and 2 fuel pumps in it. tryed to tell The customer that the computer fried the first fuel pump and I told my Customer to ask them to check the 20 amp feul pump fuse you know the one over the radiator that Burns all the plastic out around it. And check the fuel pump control model. She picked it up and she and towed it back next day same problem and the guy told her it was just a fuse. So she got charged $1900 4 2 fuel pumps in a computer. What the look out for that reason I know is cause I got burned by it. I actually made myself a tool from the incorrectly diagnosed Fuel pump. But I incorrectly diagnosed and I cut the top off the fuel Pump Though I can plug and play the connector and stick a test Light in an and check for power and ground. My favorite part my customer ask me to call this shop which I usually don't like doing but the guy had all kind of excuses. End of story customer sign the repair order $1900 4 2 fuel pumps in a reman computer for a bad field on fuse. I did get him to discount her 4 1 of the fuel pumps he put in. Just check your basics I don't charge your customers for your f ups That's my Wisdom For today. Moral of the story is 5 put apart in a customer's car now wasn't the problem I put the partner inventory and I eat it and I don't charge the customer for my f ups
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Oh man I feel your pain isn't it nice to explain to a customer that the other shop just didn't know what they were doing and charged you every step along the way To fire the parts cannon. Doug Mueller was a local teacher that would teach Classes sponsored by Parts Plus university for automotive shops in my area when I was A kid. And Ran a tech helpline in the early 2000s And the sticker said engage brain before hands. I specialize in Toyota and the one thing I love about them is they usually do not have fundamental screwed up wiring issues it's not a Ford it's not a gm it's a Toyota. Although an upstate New York I do feel for you. You have to be a God Dang good technician to work work and fight away through the green crust of death hats off To you brother. I just had a customer than went to a shop When I was on vacation With her Ford F150 3 valve junkCrank no start they put a reman computer and 2 fuel pumps in it. tryed to tell The customer that the computer fried the first fuel pump and I told my Customer to ask them to check the 20 amp feul pump fuse you know the one over the radiator that Burns all the plastic out around it. And check the fuel pump control model. She picked it up and she and towed it back next day same problem and the guy told her it was just a fuse. So she got charged $1900 4 2 fuel pumps in a computer. What the look out for that reason I know is cause I got burned by it. I actually made myself a tool from the incorrectly diagnosed Fuel pump. But I incorrectly diagnosed and I cut the top off the fuel Pump Though I can plug and play the connector and stick a test Light in an and check for power and ground. My favorite part my customer ask me to call this shop which I usually don't like doing but the guy had all kind of excuses. End of story customer sign the repair order $1900 4 2 fuel pumps in a reman computer for a bad field on fuse. I did get him to discount her 4 1 of the fuel pumps he put in. Just check your basics I don't charge your customers for your f ups That's my Wisdom For today. Moral of the story is 5 put apart in a customer's car now wasn't the problem I put the partner inventory and I eat it and I don't charge the customer for my f ups
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randomfootages9120
I need your expert opinion on my 2020 Toyota Prius AWD (366, 000 km.
For the first time ever in this car’s life, I decided to use fuel system cleaners. Here’s exactly what I did:
At 350, 000 km, I used Gumout Regane Complete Fuel System Cleaner
At 355, 000 km, I added Gumout Multi-System Tune-Up
At 357, 000 km, I followed up with Gumout All-In-One Fuel System Cleaner
This was my first-ever use of fuel additives since owning the car.
Since then, I’ve noticed a clear drop in fuel economy. I used to average around 4. 14. 4L/100km in summer, but now I’m stuck at 6. 05. 3L/100km, even with similar driving habits and routes. I usually only saw those numbers in winter.
Here’s some extra context:
I recently replaced the spark plugs
There are no warning lights, and the car runs smooth overall but the MPG just won’t come back down
The MAF sensor and PCV valve are original and uncleaned
Could this be a temporary side effect of the cleaning process
Or is it time to check/replace the MAF sensor and possibly clean or replace the PCV valve too
I’d really appreciate your thoughts on whether these components could be affecting fuel efficiency at this mileage.
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I need your expert opinion on my 2020 Toyota Prius AWD (366, 000 km.
For the first time ever in this car’s life, I decided to use fuel system cleaners. Here’s exactly what I did:
At 350, 000 km, I used Gumout Regane Complete Fuel System Cleaner
At 355, 000 km, I added Gumout Multi-System Tune-Up
At 357, 000 km, I followed up with Gumout All-In-One Fuel System Cleaner
This was my first-ever use of fuel additives since owning the car.
Since then, I’ve noticed a clear drop in fuel economy. I used to average around 4. 14. 4L/100km in summer, but now I’m stuck at 6. 05. 3L/100km, even with similar driving habits and routes. I usually only saw those numbers in winter.
Here’s some extra context:
I recently replaced the spark plugs
There are no warning lights, and the car runs smooth overall but the MPG just won’t come back down
The MAF sensor and PCV valve are original and uncleaned
Could this be a temporary side effect of the cleaning process
Or is it time to check/replace the MAF sensor and possibly clean or replace the PCV valve too
I’d really appreciate your thoughts on whether these components could be affecting fuel efficiency at this mileage.
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psdaengr911
As your experience with other shops' work has shown age isn't as much of a factor as having a sound procedure for trouble shooting and doing work. You'll forget your name before you forget a life-long work habit because habits have causes and effects and are reinforced by experience, names aren't.
I'm not a mechanic, but an old college-trained general engineer. I got into computers a decade later by accident. Without training or knowledge beyond being able to use one and a methodical approach to problems I was able to troubleshoot network systems as a connected bunch of black boxes. Icould solve problems faster than certified specialists.
I'm not unusually smart; I just work methodically, and clean up messes as I proceed just as you did here. The only time I take anything to a shop for repair is when it's something that I can't access and take apart with hand tools, or I'm far from home. Method applied to knowing the fundamentals of how things work is 90% of diagnosis and repair. The physical work doesn't require as much intellect as having a plan and following it. If I can do it - anyone with a little patience who cares about the quality of their work can do it.
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As your experience with other shops' work has shown age isn't as much of a factor as having a sound procedure for trouble shooting and doing work. You'll forget your name before you forget a life-long work habit because habits have causes and effects and are reinforced by experience, names aren't.
I'm not a mechanic, but an old college-trained general engineer. I got into computers a decade later by accident. Without training or knowledge beyond being able to use one and a methodical approach to problems I was able to troubleshoot network systems as a connected bunch of black boxes. Icould solve problems faster than certified specialists.
I'm not unusually smart; I just work methodically, and clean up messes as I proceed just as you did here. The only time I take anything to a shop for repair is when it's something that I can't access and take apart with hand tools, or I'm far from home. Method applied to knowing the fundamentals of how things work is 90% of diagnosis and repair. The physical work doesn't require as much intellect as having a plan and following it. If I can do it - anyone with a little patience who cares about the quality of their work can do it.
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autorepair
Re: dashcam wiringon every Kia I've owned, there's been a spare fuse location that's wired for hot-at-all-times and one that's wired for ignition-on power. Makes it easy to add a dashcam: use fuse taps in those slots. You don't touch the factory wiring, there's no actual load you're sharing on those slots, and you can put in a low-amperage fuse to protect your wiring. And if you bring it to the shop, all they've got to do to eliminate your aftermarket wiring from the equation is yank those two fuse taps.
(And just because of you, Eric, my dashcams have wiring that's carefully routed to not be in the way, wrapped like a factory loom, and there's a factory-style wiring diagram for it tucked in the glove box so I can put it on the seat for the mechanic if I think he'll need to touch the fuse box. it may still be aftermarket crap but it's at least as non-crappy as I can make it)
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Re: dashcam wiringon every Kia I've owned, there's been a spare fuse location that's wired for hot-at-all-times and one that's wired for ignition-on power. Makes it easy to add a dashcam: use fuse taps in those slots. You don't touch the factory wiring, there's no actual load you're sharing on those slots, and you can put in a low-amperage fuse to protect your wiring. And if you bring it to the shop, all they've got to do to eliminate your aftermarket wiring from the equation is yank those two fuse taps.
(And just because of you, Eric, my dashcams have wiring that's carefully routed to not be in the way, wrapped like a factory loom, and there's a factory-style wiring diagram for it tucked in the glove box so I can put it on the seat for the mechanic if I think he'll need to touch the fuse box. it may still be aftermarket crap but it's at least as non-crappy as I can make it)
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Vanuatoo
My approach: never go the shop after the problem appears. Try to investigate first. I had battery drain, associated with Radio being reset. I investigated little, could not find anything. it's an old car, fuse was fine but contacts had brown varnish. I just changed the fuse and it fixed the issue: . Second case: car would crank once but could not start, it could have been many things including starter, but I just wiggled Neutral Safety Switch relay (could not take it off) and it seemed to fixed the issue. Third case: car would accelerate and cut off the rpm after 3000 and pending code was set. I narrowed it down to some valve, but before changing it, I just unplugged the power connector and put it back in. It fixed the problem: . I can only imagine, how much money I have saved just not rushing to the shop immediately.
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My approach: never go the shop after the problem appears. Try to investigate first. I had battery drain, associated with Radio being reset. I investigated little, could not find anything. it's an old car, fuse was fine but contacts had brown varnish. I just changed the fuse and it fixed the issue: . Second case: car would crank once but could not start, it could have been many things including starter, but I just wiggled Neutral Safety Switch relay (could not take it off) and it seemed to fixed the issue. Third case: car would accelerate and cut off the rpm after 3000 and pending code was set. I narrowed it down to some valve, but before changing it, I just unplugged the power connector and put it back in. It fixed the problem: . I can only imagine, how much money I have saved just not rushing to the shop immediately.
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RussellBomgardner
I say amen to telling all.
Full disclosure is an honorable thing.
I'm an electrician and just the other day I had a service call were they lost electricity to two bedrooms, hall, and smoke detectors. It seemed like a whole circuit, well it was. After checking likely receptacle a switch locations I was explaining that I am thinking it might be at a smoke detector. It was then that the Mrs. Said that they had just replaced a detector in the master bedroom. Yup that's it. When putting the wire nut on the one wire had pushed back and a bad connection made no power.
I'd say it was a learning experience for the home owner. A good one because it didn't hurt anything, just cost some money. That's usually how we get educated
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I say amen to telling all.
Full disclosure is an honorable thing.
I'm an electrician and just the other day I had a service call were they lost electricity to two bedrooms, hall, and smoke detectors. It seemed like a whole circuit, well it was. After checking likely receptacle a switch locations I was explaining that I am thinking it might be at a smoke detector. It was then that the Mrs. Said that they had just replaced a detector in the master bedroom. Yup that's it. When putting the wire nut on the one wire had pushed back and a bad connection made no power.
I'd say it was a learning experience for the home owner. A good one because it didn't hurt anything, just cost some money. That's usually how we get educated
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RichardHeadGaming
Ivan did a major hack on a honda or Toyota to get brake signal to the pcm when all he needed to do was install a break switch. If you have a three or more wire break switch it has the pcm feed on a second contact seperate from the actual light circuit. Not rocket science. When I left a comment about said situation he tried to deflect and defend himself instead of just looking at a diagram and learning a leason. A self proclaimed automotive genious is always the dumb one that refuses to learn from his obvious mistakes or someone that knows more about the vehicle than him. It was really kinda sad due to it being a simple fix, and minor mistake on his part. But the car looked almost as bad as this after his wire in hack job.
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Ivan did a major hack on a honda or Toyota to get brake signal to the pcm when all he needed to do was install a break switch. If you have a three or more wire break switch it has the pcm feed on a second contact seperate from the actual light circuit. Not rocket science. When I left a comment about said situation he tried to deflect and defend himself instead of just looking at a diagram and learning a leason. A self proclaimed automotive genious is always the dumb one that refuses to learn from his obvious mistakes or someone that knows more about the vehicle than him. It was really kinda sad due to it being a simple fix, and minor mistake on his part. But the car looked almost as bad as this after his wire in hack job.
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NBSV1
Had a box truck years ago where someone got carried away pulling fuses and relays checking stuff. The design of the box allowed them to put things back in half a spot off for the relays. Not sure what they were chasing originally, but putting everything back in its place fixed it.
Also had a semi truck where someone had bypassed and run their own wiring for the lights. Was having all sorts of weird problems with the lights. I got to chasing and ended up just pulling all the added wiring and reconnecting the factory wiring. Lights worked fine. Really makes you wonder what someone was chasing with all the work they did.
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Had a box truck years ago where someone got carried away pulling fuses and relays checking stuff. The design of the box allowed them to put things back in half a spot off for the relays. Not sure what they were chasing originally, but putting everything back in its place fixed it.
Also had a semi truck where someone had bypassed and run their own wiring for the lights. Was having all sorts of weird problems with the lights. I got to chasing and ended up just pulling all the added wiring and reconnecting the factory wiring. Lights worked fine. Really makes you wonder what someone was chasing with all the work they did.
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gordw2005
I like to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. especially if I don't have first hand knowledge of the events (often a waste of energy that could be directed at the repair. parasitic drain on a vehicle under repair could have been lack of charge time (Eric uses charger to prevent issues) and a shop trying to finish a repair started by a customer may not be willing or able to reset the problem like Eric did to point zero(he un-repaired it) to find the problem. As always a great SMA video full of helpful advice (just stop) on how repair cars. Thx Mr O for what you do. Cheers
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I like to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. especially if I don't have first hand knowledge of the events (often a waste of energy that could be directed at the repair. parasitic drain on a vehicle under repair could have been lack of charge time (Eric uses charger to prevent issues) and a shop trying to finish a repair started by a customer may not be willing or able to reset the problem like Eric did to point zero(he un-repaired it) to find the problem. As always a great SMA video full of helpful advice (just stop) on how repair cars. Thx Mr O for what you do. Cheers
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autorepair
I tell my customers in order to save you money and save me time and my sanity I NEED to know everything that happened. Great mechanics gotta be crime scene investigators, along with being electrical engineers, computer techs, machinists, welder/fabricator (especially in NY salt, and of course a mechanic. But the bright side is being a great mechanic makes it so you aren't reliant on calling a guy to fix your plumbing or even the electrical in your house. Or your home computer stopped working No problem. Being self reliant in 2025 is something very few people can say.
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I tell my customers in order to save you money and save me time and my sanity I NEED to know everything that happened. Great mechanics gotta be crime scene investigators, along with being electrical engineers, computer techs, machinists, welder/fabricator (especially in NY salt, and of course a mechanic. But the bright side is being a great mechanic makes it so you aren't reliant on calling a guy to fix your plumbing or even the electrical in your house. Or your home computer stopped working No problem. Being self reliant in 2025 is something very few people can say.
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HueToobBlows
Never ceases to amaze me. Every time I undo all the expert repairs people do everything seems to work like normal and then they SWEAR I must have done something else because they know what they are doing and it wasn't working right when they touched it.
Either that or their buddy who's been doing this for 30 years diagnosed it back to a loose tail light so to fix that they rewired the stereo to the O2 sensor and then jumped the starter to an auxiliary switch they installed on the dash and it ran like that for 20 years.
Total liars.
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Never ceases to amaze me. Every time I undo all the expert repairs people do everything seems to work like normal and then they SWEAR I must have done something else because they know what they are doing and it wasn't working right when they touched it.
Either that or their buddy who's been doing this for 30 years diagnosed it back to a loose tail light so to fix that they rewired the stereo to the O2 sensor and then jumped the starter to an auxiliary switch they installed on the dash and it ran like that for 20 years.
Total liars.
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BradHuey1992
Bought a 2011 jeep liberty KK model. The previous owner took it to a jeep dealership an they told him it had a bad transmission. So he parked it for a few years. Got tired of it sitting around in his way so he sold it too me. I messed with it a few days an here I found out all it was is a $40 input speed sensor on the side of the transmission. There that dealership was gonna sell him a $3800 transmission just for a bad $40 sensor. I know the dealership so I know not to ever deal with them for anything. They are a complete scammers.
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Bought a 2011 jeep liberty KK model. The previous owner took it to a jeep dealership an they told him it had a bad transmission. So he parked it for a few years. Got tired of it sitting around in his way so he sold it too me. I messed with it a few days an here I found out all it was is a $40 input speed sensor on the side of the transmission. There that dealership was gonna sell him a $3800 transmission just for a bad $40 sensor. I know the dealership so I know not to ever deal with them for anything. They are a complete scammers.
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DarrellCorbello
This video, is the main reason I keep watching! It’s pretty awesome watching someone fix things that malfunctioned by having knowledge and know how. But to explain the process of creating rabbit holes and making them bigger and deeper through confusion and plain guessing and walking through the aftermath of navigating your way back to initial problem then resolving it. Clears a lot of cloudy mind repair potential disasters. And You Eric O. Is why I watch every opportunity I get. Keep doing what you’re doing!
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This video, is the main reason I keep watching! It’s pretty awesome watching someone fix things that malfunctioned by having knowledge and know how. But to explain the process of creating rabbit holes and making them bigger and deeper through confusion and plain guessing and walking through the aftermath of navigating your way back to initial problem then resolving it. Clears a lot of cloudy mind repair potential disasters. And You Eric O. Is why I watch every opportunity I get. Keep doing what you’re doing!
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ralphwatten2426
Thanks for looking at it Mr. O. The fuse boxes in modern cars should be closed off underneath so that all the crud and stuff from the road can't just splash into them. I've had that problem in the past. With that one breaker or fuse with the bad pin, why not just pull the wire and put and inline fuse or breaker. That was something I did in the past to an older car and it worked fine and there would be no problem changing said fuse or breaker. Anyway, thanks for your time and another great video. On to the next!
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Thanks for looking at it Mr. O. The fuse boxes in modern cars should be closed off underneath so that all the crud and stuff from the road can't just splash into them. I've had that problem in the past. With that one breaker or fuse with the bad pin, why not just pull the wire and put and inline fuse or breaker. That was something I did in the past to an older car and it worked fine and there would be no problem changing said fuse or breaker. Anyway, thanks for your time and another great video. On to the next!
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andycalabro5418
The older I get, the more I use my phone camera to take pictures of things, before I take them apart. Before cell phones, I always wrote things down, as to where things go. Many times, when things went wrong, I would say, what did I touch before things went wrong. I did this as a auto mechanic and also when people asked me to look at their aircraft, when things weren't running correct. It's was always hard to get the full story from someone before things went wrong.
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The older I get, the more I use my phone camera to take pictures of things, before I take them apart. Before cell phones, I always wrote things down, as to where things go. Many times, when things went wrong, I would say, what did I touch before things went wrong. I did this as a auto mechanic and also when people asked me to look at their aircraft, when things weren't running correct. It's was always hard to get the full story from someone before things went wrong.
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weels1886
Looks like you have fun searching which wire or sensor is the problem.
Unlike you, I have very little patience for all these electronic computer driven faults and idiot light messages to the point I feel like putting a snowbtush on the gas pedal and send it over a cliff you deserve a lot of respect for solving problems most of us can't or don't. I'll stick to my old vehicles that don't use electronics like the newer ones do. Thanks for posting your videos.
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Looks like you have fun searching which wire or sensor is the problem.
Unlike you, I have very little patience for all these electronic computer driven faults and idiot light messages to the point I feel like putting a snowbtush on the gas pedal and send it over a cliff you deserve a lot of respect for solving problems most of us can't or don't. I'll stick to my old vehicles that don't use electronics like the newer ones do. Thanks for posting your videos.
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pslny
If I can do it, you can do it, you make it look so easy, and it probably is, when you know what you are doing. I have messed up before, trying to fix a car, had to bail. I brought it in and fessed up. It's really not that hard or too embarrassing. You teach a good lesson, a car that has been running for years, does not one day need to be rewired. It's good to know when to fold them, glad you fixed this guy's car.
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If I can do it, you can do it, you make it look so easy, and it probably is, when you know what you are doing. I have messed up before, trying to fix a car, had to bail. I brought it in and fessed up. It's really not that hard or too embarrassing. You teach a good lesson, a car that has been running for years, does not one day need to be rewired. It's good to know when to fold them, glad you fixed this guy's car.
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TrimeshSZ
I don't normally fix cars, but since I work with electronics I have sometimes been asked to diagnose car electrical problems - and that sort of hackage is depressingly common. I think there are quite a few people that are perfectly comfortable working on the mechanical side of things but just don't get electronic system diagnosis and try to fix things by hacking them up.
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I don't normally fix cars, but since I work with electronics I have sometimes been asked to diagnose car electrical problems - and that sort of hackage is depressingly common. I think there are quite a few people that are perfectly comfortable working on the mechanical side of things but just don't get electronic system diagnosis and try to fix things by hacking them up.
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stephenbruce8320
I get that at work all the time. Details are everything and sometimes the smallest of details have the bigger meaning. I work in an industrial facility. Sometimes I just tell people don't go mucking around with things your not familiar with which lessens my work load and prevents damage to components that were never an issue to begin with.
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I get that at work all the time. Details are everything and sometimes the smallest of details have the bigger meaning. I work in an industrial facility. Sometimes I just tell people don't go mucking around with things your not familiar with which lessens my work load and prevents damage to components that were never an issue to begin with.
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ecleveland1
You helped a older guy out and the cars running. It’s a win win situation. I’ve helped several folks that got in way over their heads trying to fix it themselves. I understand sometimes people don’t have a lot of extra money to pay someone else to fix things. I look at it as giving back to others and it makes me feel good so we both win.
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You helped a older guy out and the cars running. It’s a win win situation. I’ve helped several folks that got in way over their heads trying to fix it themselves. I understand sometimes people don’t have a lot of extra money to pay someone else to fix things. I look at it as giving back to others and it makes me feel good so we both win.
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