Does a failed starter have a click? (1 Viewer)

[RT Cruiser]

As I was prepping our '08 with 250k miles on it today, I attempted to start the vehicle. Nothing happened but it's as if the battery was dead. The next time there was a click. Then the next 2 times there was 1 click. On the next try the starter engaged correctly. The next 4 times the starter engaged correctly.

No codes showing on the Toyota app.

We got the rig in 2019 at 225k miles. I have a good portion of the service records of the prior owner but not all of them. I've not seen anywhere of a starter being replaced. When I went to the dealer to pick up parts for replacing the left lca last week, I grabbed a starter as insurance for our trip next weekend. It was on my to-do for last week but with a sick family I've been behind on everything.

What's the probability this is the starter or something else?

EDIT: I've engaged the starter over 7-10 more times in the past hour with no issues. I realized I've had my OBD reader plugged in for over a week (with little use of the vehicle) and it might have drained the battery.

 

[04UZJ100]

Battery first. If not, starter.

 

[CharlieS]

I’d make sure your battery is healthy. If not that, then likely the solenoid on the starter, which means replacing the starter.

I’d do a search in here or the Tundra sites for the emergency starter trick with a long screwdriver. That way you can have what you need if you have to an emergency start.

Like this one: Starter failure help - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/starter-failure-help.1239823/post-13619884

I haven’t done a 200 starter but everything I read here says it is not a quick or fun project. It definitely doesn’t sound like a quick side of the road or trail side repair.

 

[RT Cruiser]

Battery first. If not, starter.

I tested the battery two weeks ago and I'll test it again. I realized I've had my Veepeak OBD plugged in for over a week and it might have drained the battery.

I’d make sure your battery is healthy. If not that, then likely the solenoid on the starter, which means replacing the starter.

I’d do a search in here or the Tundra sites for the emergency starter trick with a long screwdriver. That way you can have what you need if you have to an emergency start.

Like this one: Starter failure help - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/starter-failure-help.1239823/post-13619884

I haven’t done a 200 starter but everything I read here says it is not a quick or fun project. It definitely doesn’t sound like a quick side of the road or trail side repair.

Yes, I did research today (and last week) and learned it's a job I don't want to do either at home or on the side of the road. I did another 7-10 more tests on the starter in the past hour and it performed correctly. If I can find a reasonable rate for someone to replace it before I leave then I'll probably go that route.

 

[04UZJ100]

I tested the battery two weeks ago and I'll test it again. I realized I've had my Veepeak OBD plugged in for over a week and it might have drained the battery.



Yes, I did research today (and last week) and learned it's a job I don't want to do either at home or on the side of the road. I did another 7-10 more tests on the starter in the past hour and it performed correctly. If I can find a reasonable rate for someone to replace it before I leave then I'll probably go that route.

Not sure how long your trip is but I leave mine running while filling up on long extended trips. Did 5000 miles from Alaska and only started it 7 times (once each morning). Drove 1000 miles to NJ and back nonstop and only started it in the driveway(s).

 

[CharlieS]

Back in the old days we had carbon pile testers that did a decent job of testing battery health. The multimeter is fine, but I guess the load testers put some sort of drain/load on the battery that is different?

 

[RT Cruiser]

Had another click. Battery tested normal. @USMCVader will laugh when I say, “I know a guy.” He’s going to install the new one tomorrow.

He will do it faster than I can. We’re leaving Thur - new front left lca and soon to have a new starter.

 

[Markuson]

As I was prepping our '08 with 250k miles on it today, I attempted to start the vehicle. Nothing happened but it's as if the battery was dead. The next time there was a click. Then the next 2 times there was 1 click. On the next try the starter engaged correctly. The next 4 times the starter engaged correctly.

No codes showing on the Toyota app.

We got the rig in 2019 at 225k miles. I have a good portion of the service records of the prior owner but not all of them. I've not seen anywhere of a starter being replaced. When I went to the dealer to pick up parts for replacing the left lca last week, I grabbed a starter as insurance for our trip next weekend. It was on my to-do for last week but with a sick family I've been behind on everything.

What's the probability this is the starter or something else?

EDIT: I've engaged the starter over 7-10 more times in the past hour with no issues. I realized I've had my OBD reader plugged in for over a week (with little use of the vehicle) and it might have drained the battery.

Thats how my 100 series starter behaved when ot was dying. Click when cold...then start after. Cold again...click.

 

[RT Cruiser]

Thats how my 100 series starter behaved when ot was dying. Click when cold...then start after. Cold again...click.

Thanks a ton. This is the confirmation I needed. I’ve lined my guy up for tomorrow. Good thing I got an OEM starter last week. Our family has been sick, I’m behind on things as a result, and I want to leave Thur for our trip without delay.

 

[bloc]

Toyota starters have been doing this for decades. I’m not exaggerating.. have had the same issue with an 87 camry, 94 pickup, 95 4runner, 94 landcruiser (one month before I pulled the engine for the LS swap, of course). All high mileage. Handful of people have posted here for their 200s. They build such a good motor on the starter that the solenoid contacts inevitably go first. This is why I did the solenoid on my starter as PM but left the motor in operation..

 

[RT Cruiser]

Toyota starters have been doing this for decades. I’m not exaggerating.. have had the same issue with an 87 camry, 94 pickup, 95 4runner, 94 landcruiser (one month before I pulled the engine for the LS swap, of course). All high mileage. Handful of people have posted here for their 200s. They build such a good motor on the starter that the solenoid contacts inevitably go first. This is why I did the solenoid on my starter as PM but left the motor in operation..

As a fan of Toyota, the starter-solenoid issue is inexcusable. I’ve had a Celica, Supra, MR2, Corolla, ES 250, 4Runner, and SR5 truck. Like many members here, I know the quality and durability of the brand is the best in the world. Toyota should’ve addressed this issue decades ago.

They also should place the starter in a place where it can dropped and installed in 30 mins. For Toyota to put far too much emphasis on environmental tech of the engine but ignore the 1 lb device that makes it all happen is a shame on them.

 

[bloc]

As a fan of Toyota, the starter-solenoid issue is inexcusable. I’ve had a Celica, Supra, MR2, Corolla, ES 250, 4Runner, and SR5 truck. Like many members here, I know the quality and durability of the brand is the best in the world. Toyota should’ve addressed this issue decades ago.

They also should place the starter in a place where it can dropped and installed in 30 mins. For Toyota to put far too much emphasis on environmental tech of the engine but ignore the 1 lb device that makes it all happen is a shame on them.

I’m betting the larger considerations of where to put a starter are a good bit more complex than “let’s make it easy to replace.”

I totally agree on starter solenoid contacts being inexcusable at this point though.

 

[TeCKis300]

Meh, the starter solenoid, like most every part in the vehicle ultimately has a service life. Just like shocks and batteries. It's probably not called out as a service item like water pump and spark plugs as it's not necessarily a safety item or manifests with greater failures. Sure, the technology is there to do better, but that's unfortunately where we are and what the typical consumer is willing to pay for. It's something that fails on most every ICE vehicle and I've heard of Nissans having them fail as early as 60k miles. My personal gripe with the one we have is that it can seemingly fail without warning. Working unflinchingly 100%, and one day not one more start for some. Which then does potentially become a safety type issue if overlanding way out in the wilderness.

250k is not bad. Hope you're able to get on your trip without too much more drama. At least you'll have peace of mind for this part.

 

[bloc]

My personal gripe with the one we have is that it can seemingly fail without warning. Working unflinchingly 100%, and one day not one more start for some. Which then does potentially become a safety type issue if overlanding way out in the wilderness.

I forgot to say that’s my issue with this failure on the 200. For whatever reason on all the above vehicles you could keep cycling the key and it would eventually start, sometimes for weeks, before it completely failed. But it seems many of the 200s that go do so completely the first time.

So at least from my observation the failure got worse on our vehicles, it hasn’t improved.

 

[RT Cruiser]

I think it's very fair to say on this post I am VERY THANKFUL this happened now, and not in the middle of Kansas which is where we will be this Thursday. I was planning to take the part with me if I couldn't schedule the repair before I left. Fortunately I have a guy who will replace it this morning so tomorrow Firestone can complete the alignment and Discount Tire can do the rotation following.

As @TeCKis300 pointed out, 250k is many miles for the starter and solenoid. So not complaining here. My only point that if it's a known issue for a long time then Toyota definitely has the engineering aptitude to find a better solution. We've taken our rig on a ton of trails and several 3500 mile trips with no problem. The only problem we've had is the gas cap became lose and somewhere on Stony Pass the transfer case would not engage back into 4 high. The vehicle has been incredibly solid and durable.

Again, very thankful the starter-solenoid repair will happen in my driveway and not on the side of I-70.

 

[04UZJ100]

I think it's very fair to say on this post I am VERY THANKFUL this happened now, and not in the middle of Kansas which is where we will be this Thursday. I was planning to take the part with me if I couldn't schedule the repair before I left. Fortunately I have a guy who will replace it this morning so tomorrow Firestone can complete the alignment and Discount Tire can do the rotation following.

As @TeCKis300 pointed out, 250k is many miles for the starter and solenoid. So not complaining here. My only point that if it's a known issue for a long time then Toyota definitely has the engineering aptitude to find a better solution. We've taken our rig on a ton of trails and several 3500 mile trips with no problem. The only problem we've had is the gas cap became lose and somewhere on Stony Pass the transfer case would not engage back into 4 high. The vehicle has been incredibly solid and durable.

Again, very thankful the starter-solenoid repair will happen in my driveway and not on the side of I-70.

Hope you document the process!

 

[RT Cruiser]

Done! The on-call mechanic guy I use did the job in about 2 hours. What is the dealer charging for this, 3-5 hours? Seriously?

Those of you who live near Littleton, CO, should highly consider having this guy install a new starter for you. I seriously cannot believe how fast he did this. @04UZJ100 wanted documentation on the process. During the first hour the guy was working on my rig I was hunting down Toyota gaskets and picking them up. During the second hour I was doing a family errand. So I did not have opportunity to take photos. One thing I remember is he had the top portion of the exhaust laying on the concrete. (I did take videos of this guy using a welder's torch to burn-off the left lca a few days ago. I should post them - sparks and fire!)

If you do this job yourself, or use the I guy who installed mine, be sure you pick up gaskets ahead of time from Toyota.

The starter now engages much more quickly and quietly. Again, we're thankful this happened now and the mechanic did the job in my driveway.

 

[Lester did that]

08 with 250k and the starter died? That's pretty good? Maybe replace the water pump and some pulleys while your in there and check the timing. Do a double check or triple check on the battery. It could still turn over but if the battery is messed up and not running at the proper volts it will cause problems. A lot of electrical gremlins are caused from consistent low voltage.

Don't do what I did. I was on a trip and fried my battery lights left on multiple jumps ect. So I got a new one. But they sold me the wrong one and I wasn't paying attention and tossed it in. Flash forward a year and so many problems. It was burning out O2 sensors and the entire EVAP system sensors. Chasing the christmas tree on the dash. My wife just said I bet we put the wrong battery in a rush. This is all low volt burning something out. That was it. It was a close battery but not correct. Lower volts. Dropped a new correct battery in and reset the computer and it spins like a top. (2009)

What I am saying is replace the battery if you where very hard on it with restart after restart and jumps. The LC 200 does not do well with a weak battery.

 

[greendiver]

I had a starter problem, had it replaced and it worked, then would not start after a couple months. After they checked the starter and it worked fine they looked more into it. It turned out to a bad connection on the car to the starter solenoid. They replaced it for free and have not had a problem since.