Toyota 3.3L (201 cu in) firing order — diagram & guide
Delving into the Toyota 3.3L firing order to boost your vehicle’s performance.
Out of all the engines from Toyota’s V6 family from the early 2000s, the 3.3-liter V6 is often overlooked. The engine is pretty durable but it’s prone to misfiring which means you’ll need the Toyota 3.3L (201 cu in) firing order to properly address the situation.
If you are looking for the exact firing sequence, our team will gladly lay down the details in this guide. We’ll go from the engine’s firing order to its relevance and cylinder numbering, so stand by for details.
Toyota 3.3L firing order
Let’s start with the most important detail – the Toyota 3.3L firing order is 1-2-3-4-5-6 which is a standardized firing order for all Toyota MZ V6 engines. While this is a relief in the sense that you won’t be able to mix it up with a different sequence, you still need a few instructions on using the firing order.
In case your Toyota is dealing with a misfire, you’ll need to check the cylinders from 1 to 6 one by one. That’s how the firing order can help you figure out which cylinder is being left unfired and what’s causing it, but first, you’ll need to know how the cylinders are numbered.
Toyota 3.3L cylinder diagram
Once you identify the first cylinder of the engine and go through them one by one, it gets easier to use the firing order as a diagnostic method. For this engine in particular, you can see the difference between the left cylinder bank and the right cylinder bank.
The left one houses cylinders 2, 4, and 6, while the right cylinder bank includes cylinders 1, 3, and 5. This allows the maximum efficiency and cylinders 1 and 2 are at the front-end of the engine for these respective cylinder banks.
In other words, you can move your way up from the front end of the engine towards its rear to check the cylinders in their initial firing sequence.
Toyota 3.3L vehicle applications
Like the 3.0L and 2.5L versions from the same engine family, the 3.3-liter Toyota V6 was also used in a variety of Toyota and Lexus models. We decided to give you the complete list to make sure you’ll be using the right firing order for your car:
- Toyota Highlander
- Toyota Camry
- Toyota Solara
- Toyota Highlander Hybrid
As mentioned, the same engine was also used in some Lexus models like the RX330, RX 400h, and the ES 330.
Our take
After going through this guide, we hope you’ll now be able to properly configure the firing order of the Toyota 3.3-liter engine. Our team hopes that this guide will help you take care of some minor engine issues including spark plug replacements, coil pack changes, and figuring out the reason behind misfires.
