In the last 2 weeks, I’ve experienced, about 5 times, turning the key all the way to start the car and everything will go on (lights, vent, radio, etc.), but the engine doesn’t start. I turn the key off and immediately on again and the car will start right up. This doesn’t seem to have rhyme or reason to do with wet/dry weather or if the engine was cold or not. Does anyone know why this happens?
Don’t worry about possible causes. The role of the dealer’s service department is to diagnose and fix a problem after you have described the symptoms in detail. If you provide a possible diagnosis, they will ignore it because they are required by Toyota to go through a specific diagnostic protocol.
Think about it–If they acted on a diagnosis that you provided and you were wrong, they would be installing parts (and then removing those same parts) after it was determined that the diagnosis was incorrect. That would inconvenience you and it would lead to extra cost for the manufacturer and the dealership.
Just make an appointment, describe the symptoms in detail, including the temperature conditions under which you experience the symptoms, and allow them to diagnose and fix the situation. Also, read the details of the Lemon Law that you will find in one of the many booklets in your glove compartment. If the dealer fails to rectify a defect in X (it varies by state) number of attempts, or if the vehicle is out of service for X (again it varies) number of days, you qualify for a settlement under the Lemon Law. Read the details for your state in order to see the specifics.
Good luck!
(Incidentally, if I had to guess, I would say that your problem is probably due to a defective ignition switch. But, that is just a guess since I can’t see your car from here.)
I was just curious if it was a known issue. I’m definetly not trying to diagnose iy myself. I don’t even know where the wiper fluid goes! If this is a known issue and not a problem, then I’d not bother taking it in. Laaaazy, aren’t I?
No, it is not a known issue.
If you continue to ignore this situation, the day could come when you are stranded in an inconvenient location by a vehicle that does not start on even the second attempt, because mechanical problems like this do not resolve themselves and have a tendency to get worse over time.
I would suggest that you make an appointment with the dealership to have this taken care of a.s.a.p. The clock is ticking on your warranty coverage and on your Lemon Law coverage, so I would suggest that you get out of your self-proclaimed Laaaaazy mode and have the situation addressed sooner, rather than later.