I have a 2005 Camry LE. U250E automatic transmission and 2AZ-FE engine. Roughly 162k miles.
Over the last couple of days, I have noticed my car taking longer to start, almost as if it was struggling. But I wasn’t sure if I was just being paranoid or not about it. I guess I wasn’t, as now my car won’t start. The engine will not crank over. When I attempt to start the car, I hear a slight winding sound coming from what I believe to be coming from the rear of the vehicle. You can’t even pick up the sound in the video I took, that is how faint it is. This is not a loud clicking sound. I got gas not to long ago, and haven’t been driving much. So I’m pretty sure I have gas. The gas light is not on. I put new OEM spark plugs into the vehicle at 120k miles. The dash lights up fine, so I believe I have power. I used a OBD2 reader, I had no fault codes, no historical fault codes, or pending fault codes.
Does anyone have any suggestion on what the issue might be?
That might be your fuel pump. Have you checked your battery lately? The past struggling may have been an indication that your battery is about to go dead. You can do that for free at your local auto parts store. If the battery checks out OK, you may have a problem with the starter solenoid.
That sound from the rear could be the fuel pump, in the gas tank. It should run for a couple seconds each time you turn the key to Run.
But the starter motor is not running. A common reason is the neutral safety switch on the shift lever is not completing the circuit to the starter motor. Try shifting to neutral and then turn the key. Your owners manual may have specific info to help you on this car.
That doesn’t mean anything. Battery may have sufficient amps for lights and accessories, but not enough for the starter to engage.
You might try to use a hammer and give the starter a good wack while someone inside the car is trying to start it. BUT, be careful, it could be a dangerous undertaking if you are not careful and the engine starts while you are under there.
Lights don’t mean anything . Do you have a battery charger ? If not take it out and have it charges at Auto Zone or something like that . Of course checking all battery cable connections should be the first step.
I don’t have a battery tester or charger. I used a volt meter and measured 12.58 V, i think within margin of error of 12.6 V. I’ll get a battery load tester as well as a starter.
Come on John . Have the battery tested before you buy a starter . Or see if a road side service will come jump your vehicle . If that starts it then you know you need a battery . I would not use another vehicle to jump just because if you or your friend make a mistake then you both will have electrical damage.
What is the battery voltage when the ignition is in the “start” position? If the battery voltage drops significantly your battery has failed the “load test”.
Thanks for the help. I just tested it. I saw I minor drop of voltage of .1 V using a volt meter while attempting to start my car. With the leads of the meter at the battery terminals
I wasn’t able to get a hammer in there, because of the air intake and battery equipment in the way. So I just removed the old starter and put in the new one. The car started right up like normal. So I guess I solved the problem. Thanks for the help everybody!
