UlyC

Hey yall,

So I’ve had my 2008 Scion for about a year and a half, it’s got about 200k miles on it and I’ve never had an issue with it except sometimes when I’d start it, it would take a moment to crank, no clicking sounds or anything sounding off, but it would start about a second or two after turning the key. That would happen only about once a month and I didn’t think much of it.

Fast forward to yesterday, I haven’t had that crank issue happen in a minute and the car has ran fine, but when I tried to start it, it wouldn’t crank. I knew it wasn’t the battery because all my accessories, lights and air would still work, and all the dash lights would turn on per usual before turning on the car. I also tried jumping it with no luck. When I turned to ignition, the dash lights turn off and nothing happens until I let go and they turn back on. No clicking sounds or any at all.

Checked all my fuses and they were fine but I haven’t gotten along to checking the fusible link. I know the starter maybe also be a culprit but what I didn’t understand was that it turned on fine when i reset the computer by disconnecting the battery.

I’m just wondering if there’s any reason why resetting the battery turned it on and what could be the issue because if it turned on, it can’t be a fuse or relay, right? And what does that say of the starter? I’ve turned it on a few times with no issue so I’m not sure what went wrong. Any ideas or suggestions would be really appreciated!

RichBinAZ

2 guesses - bad ground & bad start solenoid

Greg S

iTrader: (1)

Pretty classic indication that your starter is failing. Over time it'll get worse and eventually completely fail. It's relatively easy to replace.

RichBinAZ

The start solenoid is part of the starter yes??
Is there a kit for it - like there was for a 1999 Avalon?
or is the kit the same cost as a replacement motor??

Greg S

iTrader: (1)

There are kits but they cost about what a replacement starter does. Might as well replace the whole thing since it'll be less work.

DannoXYZ

Typically what happens is grease on starter-solenoid plunger dries out and prevents plunger from pushing contacts fully together. Lack of click indicates this.

Also contacts wear out and don't touch fully to transmit power across. This is when you hear click, but starter doesn't run.

This is pretty typical of what's included in solenoid rebuild kit. Look for one based upon your starter's part#. Takes about 30-min to install. Don't over-tighten cable bolts, may break plastic holder they're in.