This winter for the first time my 1998 Toyota Camry began having problems starting, especially (or perhaps only) on cold starts. With the occasional warmer weather in the 50’s I’ve still experienced this a bit.
Here’s what happens:
I turn the key to start it and nothing happens. The electrical all works in the on position, but no starting. I turn all the way back down and try again usually a couple more times and eventually it starts. At no point is there any actual noise that I can discern. This is just an annoyance now, but if it’s a sign that something’s going out I’d rather take care of it now. I appreciate any insight on this issue.
Toyotas are well known for wearing out their starter solenoid contacts, resulting in these symptoms. Google ‘Toyota starter solenoid’, you can read more. If this is the problem, the cheapest solution is to pull the starter and replace the contacts, both the 2 side ones and the round center disc (the Toyota dealer should have them). Or you can replace the whole starter.