2003 Toyota Camry no crank no start

Asked by Johnathan Dec 07, 2019 at 08:08 PM about the 2003 Toyota Camry XLE

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

About two weeks ago my starter started to make
funny noises so I knew it was gonna need replacing
soon. One day went to start it and nothing so I just
replaced the starter with a remanufactured Wilson
starter from pep boys. It was great for about three
days! No problems at all. Then one day after work I
went to turn the key and nothing. Thought maybe I
put the key in to fast for whatever reason so I tried
to start it again and it started! And for a few days it
would take me 2-5 key turns before my starter
would turn over. Now it will start but it just takes
way too many key turns to start and I don’t wanna
break anything else. Checked the battery cables for
corrosion and made sure all the connections on the
starter were also tight and secure. Checked the
ground wire that attaches to my car for corrosion
and it looked fine brushed it down with a wire brush
anyways. Still nothing. Took my starter back to pep
boys to be tested and it passed twice but I heard
from a co worker these tests aren’t %100 accurate.
Tried starting in neutral and tried wriggling the key
slightly in the ignition while I tried to start and still
nothing. Checked the relay and it looks good but
also heard if it was a fuse I would get nothing not
even sometimes a start. All I hear is a click then
some faint buzzing. Not sure what it is but really
need my car back. Any ideas? Maybe the starter is
bad? The last couple of times it has started it
sounds like the engine barely wants to turn over but
the before then it sounded great when I got it start
up. My car has just over 300k miles.

1 Answer

70

It's your ignition switch. Not where the key goes that just turns the cylinder and a rod activates the switch mounted on the steering column. Take the plastic kick panel off. they can be kinda tricky to replace proper adjustment needs to be set and what not. There's little room and the factory makes it somewhat difficult for the obvious. THEFT.

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