2009 Corolla S 1.8 Auto Won't Crank

[Goukitron]

hello fellow enthusiasts, i recently bought a certified (my ass) corolla from the dealership. with 52k+ miles it now has 60k iv done all the oil changes myself, i added a Injen CAI about 2 months ago and had to replace the battery (refurbished) about a month ago. one day i got out of work at about 1 am went home turned off my car went to bed, like normal. next day i wake up and decide to go to the store to buy some water. well when i jump in my car to start it it doesnt crank at all. just a small click sound (1) is heard . i thought maybe it was the starter so i bought one off ebay for 45 bucks ( not bad ) then i replaced the old one for the new one and still nothing. i am stumped as to what it may be.. i took it to a repair shop on Saturday they still havent started on it and im just going insane not having my car. if anyone has had this problem please help me. oh and my CAI has not sucked in water so hydro lock should be ruled out. it does not rain much in south texas plus it has hydro shield just in case. also my father tried to bypass the starter and all you would here is like zipping sound but no crank. iv done this on my other cars before and its worked but i just dont know.

 

[Kev250R]

Did you buy it from a Toyota Dealership? If so it should be covered under the extended warranty which comes as part of the certified program. It should be good for seven years or until the car has 100K miles, although my guess is they would give your grief for adding a CAI. Thankfully I've not had to use the warranty coverage on my Corolla.

As far as not cranking goes, does it have an aftermarket alarm? If yours has a smart key (large keyfob with four buttons on it) have you tried using the other key. Did you install a refurbished battery or replace one? Regardless I would have the battery load-tested. If worse comes to worse try moving the gear selector to Neutral (if an automatic) or bypassing the clutch-start switch if it's a manual.

Of course if it's already at a mechanic's then I guess you're forced to leave it to them to figure it out.

Good luck,

Kevin

 

[Goukitron]

well i had to replace the battery, it was giving out on me already. and i replaced it with a refurbished one. as far as the key goes i have the four button one. i was only given one from the dealer. and no alarm :/ iv already tried putting my car in neutral and starting but nothing as well

as for the dealership i dont want to take it to them cause i had a small accident awhile back w/ no insurance and wasnt able to replace the air bags. i have a feeling they will flip when they see my car has none and the steering wheel and passanger dash is open the parts that were damaged from the collision were the bumper, air box ,ac condenser, radiator and fan. which have all been replaced. im just hoping its not an mechanical problem like internal cause iv read that could be a possible issue.

and thanks for your help

 

[Scott O'Kashan]

What the Toyota dealership thinks about your accident is irrelevant. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by taking it back to them. At least call them and see what your options are. A free repair is better than one you pay for.

A, "refurbished", battery? I've never heard of such a thing and it sounds very low quality. I suspect the battery is at fault, or a loose connection at the battery. If the connections were loose, or corroded, the battery might not have been receiving a charge which will eventually let it become discharged and unable to start the engine. The battery is probably going to need recharging and the battery terminal connections checked to be sure they are tight and the terminals are free of corrosion.

 

[Kev250R]

As far as I know an accident shouldn't void the certified warranty coverage, however there is a $50 deductible.

I'm also suspect of a refurbished battery. Like Scott suggested did you clean the battery terminals? Short of load-testing the battery you could have tried jump-starting it from another vehicle prior to taking it to a Mechanic.

Honestly though if the front-end was hit hard enough to deploy the airbags there could be pinched or damaged wires which aren't allowing the Starter (or the starter solenoid) to get enough power. A good place to start would have been to check for power at the starter with a meter.

Kevin

 

[fishycomics]

If you buy a car from Toyota preowned, there are levels of Warranty.

Refurbed battery, I bet he is referring to a recycled battery, like from Costco, they are bat's that are used back in the system and reconditioned to new. Costco will sell their own brand.

 

[Kev250R]

Good to know Fishy. To be honest my Corolla is the third Certified Toyota vehicle I've bought and thankfully I've not had to use the extended warranty on any of them (knock on wood since all three are still in the family). How can you tell which level of warranty coverage you have? Looking at the card I have for my Corolla it doesn't seem to specify, just mentions a $50 deductible.

Kevin

 

[fishycomics]

Toyota will determine that, not me (Smiles)of the sales the offer. Toyota with us since the early 80's

 

[Donabed Kopoian]

Refurbished batteries replace the lead plates and the terminals, with only the casing recycled (the electrolyte is new as well).

If you don't have a multimeter and you want to do this yourself, you need a multimeter ... STOP REPLACING PARTS!!! Don't do anything else until you get a multimeter and check for voltage at the starter, at the relay, etc.

 

[Goukitron]

Hello ppl thanks for all ur responses I got my car back and unfortuantly the mechanic couldn't really help. But he did sorta, it turns out when I connect my battery I have only like 5 seconds to crank my car because if not it will be rendered immobile. The mechanic told me it was the battery, however when I went to a local auto parts store where my friend works. He lend me a new battery to test to see if it was the battery, it wasn't .

 

[Goukitron]

Any ideas? Some guy at the store said it could be my ignition switch, it might be faulty. Or possibly my transponder on my key

 

[Scott O'Kashan]

If the car is covered under warranty from Toyota, take it to them.

A newer car with only 60,000 miles on it is very, very unlikely to have the ignition switch fail.

 

[Kev250R]

A bad ignition coil won't be good for 5 seconds then go bad again. From what I've seen with coil packs they either work or they don't. Sometimes they will fail intermittently but yours doesn't sound like an intermittent problem.

BTW Your Corolla doesn't use one coil to fire all four cylinders (which is the way older cars work) rather there is one coil for each cylinder. The chances of all of them going bad at once are very slim. If one coil did go bad (unlikely at 60K on a Toyota although I recently replaced one on a Kia which only had 65K on it) the engine will still run and drive, albeit poorly.

I think I mentioned trying another key earlier in this thread. Since you don't have one I agree with Scott, take it to Toyota, use your extended warranty (the deductible on mine is $50) and let them figure it out. It will be cheaper than constantly swapping parts.

Kevin

 

[fishycomics]

good luck hope all gets fixed. lets us know the outcome, tired of guessing an issue which is impossible online

 

[Donabed Kopoian]

A bad ignition coil won't be good for 5 seconds then go bad again. From what I've seen with coil packs they either work or they don't. Sometimes they will fail intermittently but yours doesn't sound like an intermittent problem.

BTW Your Corolla doesn't use one coil to fire all four cylinders (which is the way older cars work) rather there is one coil for each cylinder. The chances of all of them going bad at once are very slim. If one coil did go bad (unlikely at 60K on a Toyota although I recently replaced one on a Kia which only had 65K on it) the engine will still run and drive, albeit poorly.

I think I mentioned trying another key earlier in this thread. Since you don't have one I agree with Scott, take it to Toyota, use your extended warranty (the deductible on mine is $50) and let them figure it out. It will be cheaper than constantly swapping parts.

Kevin

He was referring to the ignition switch, not the coil.

Faulty ignition switches will seize up or spin freely, or start the car without the key. I doubt that's it. Someone mentioned that you were involved in an accident that may have pinched off some wiring, which depending on the location of the impact is possible.

The airbags deployed ... so things definitely got creased and rattled around.

 

[Goukitron]

yea the collision was not the entire front, more like the driver side. in between the drivers light and the center and it was like an acute impact this < not i hit a tree in neighbor hood. i was looking at my phone and replying to a text and smack!!!. next thing i knew there was this white stuff everywhere and my bags deployed. :/ iv replaced everything excpet the bags cost me 2300 for the parts nd labor. im waiting for the 31st to get paid so i can get this problem fixed. ill keep everyone posted.
thanks everyone

 

[Scott O'Kashan]

Don't text and drive. You're lucky to be alive and/or lucky you didn't kill someone else.

The text messages can wait.

 

[Goukitron]

yea i totally was, i was in shock after because of my car and after i couldnt even drive. my mom asked me to go tothe store in her car and i broke down in tears. ;'(. i just thank god i didnt hit anyones kid or car. i hit someones tree and they were nice enough to not call the cops. i live in a rural area and side curbs have not been installed on the street yet. waaah waaah

 

[Scott O'Kashan]

Did you have collision insurance?

By the way, I love your screen name. It's very funny!:lol::thumbup::laughing:

 

[Goukitron]

Lol thanks Scott, i got them from two of my favorite characters.. gouki from street fighter
and tron well from Tron . anywho nope when the collision happend i was 1 month w/o insurance. what luck :/

 

[Scott O'Kashan]

Oh boy, sorry to hear that.

Does your state have yearly vehicle safety inspections? If so, the air bags have to be in operating condition.

 

[Kev250R]

I live behind a high school and a mile from a large regional university which charges ~$150 a semester for on-campus parking so I get a lot of college students who park on the street along one side of my house (I live on a corner). A couple of years ago a high school student was driving too fast and texting when he plowed into one of the parked cars next to my house on the street. Hit it hard enough that the impact pushed the parked car out into the center of the road. No one was hurt and the kid was driving an older Camry with no air bags but he and his friends started freaking-out. No one was injured but they couldn't figure-out what to do. I watched from inside my house as the driver worked on a two-page note. He was just finishing it up when the Police arrived. The kid looked-up, saw an Officer walking towards him and said 'I was gonna leave a note.' :laughing:

The guy who owned the car the kid hit walked-up just as the cops were having the two cars loaded onto a tow truck. He seemed to take it pretty well. Needless to say I don't park on that side of my house! :blink:

Kevin