Why Won’t My Toyota Camry Start?

A car you can easily depend on, Toyota Camry, was launched in 1983. For the last 18 years, Toyota Camry has been able to surpass the sales of its competitors to a great extent.

It is known for lasting more than 200,000 miles and has a commendable 301 horsepower.

Considering that, on average, people in the US tend to drive up to 15,000 miles yearly, this figure is praiseworthy for a sedan like Toyota Camry.

Despite being the market leader in sedans, Toyota Camry tend to face issues now and then.

It is not rare to hear users of this car asking questions such as, why won’t my Toyota Camry start? For a car as reliable as a Toyota Camry, odds tend to settle against its favor.

To answer this question, I have listed below the five major issues that might stop your Toyota Camry from starting.

These issues have been gathered with the help of thorough market research.

Malfunctioning Sensors
Blown Fuse
Broken Timing Belt
Faulty Immobilizers
Wet Spark Plugs

These major issues are the main contributors to your Toyota Camry not turning over. Listing the issues is not enough, so I will also discuss the solutions for these.

Table of Contents

What Would Cause A Toyota Camry To Not Start?

Even if sometimes Toyota Camry fail to start that does not mean it is not purchase-worthy.

There is a reason that this is the sedan that has the highest number of sales.

Moreover, all the issues I have listed above have their respective solutions.

If you want to expand your knowledge on the causes of this particular issue and do not want to rush to the mechanic every time your Toyota Camry stops working, continue reading this article.

1: Malfunctioning Sensors

Three different types of sensors in your car can directly contribute to your Toyota Camry not starting.

These sensors include the crankshaft position sensor, the throttle position sensor, and the mass airflow sensor.

There are many other important sensors in your car, but these are the most prominent ones in case your car does not start.

The main task of a crankshaft positioner is to provide signals to your car’s computer regarding the engine. This tells you exactly when to start your car.

If this sensor stops working, then your computer will not be provided with that signal.

Hence, your car would not start. The main cause of this issue can be the build-up of heat in the engine.

The mass airflow sensor tells you how much air enters your car’s engine. It is located between the air filter and the intake manifold of the engine of your Toyota Camry.

This happens mainly because the air filter is contaminated or collapses after a certain period.

The throttle position sensor is known for checking the throttle pressure in your car or the extent to which it is being supplied.

It tells us about the air intake capability of an engine. It is located near the butterfly spindle shaft. This is mainly damaged as a result of code errors.

What Should You Do About It?

The mechanic would charge you up to $250 for fixing the crankshaft sensor. You can try fixing it by disconnecting the battery and letting it sit idly for an hour.
Try cleaning the contaminated air filter. You can do it yourself by using a screwdriver and checking a few plastic pieces. The mechanic would not charge you much for replacing a mass airflow sensor.
For at least 10 minutes, unplug your battery’s negative terminal, which will restart the throttle sensor.

2: Blown Fuse

Fuses play an important role in maintaining the entire electrical system of your Toyota Camry. A limited number of volts are sent to all the components needing a charge.

A fuse is responsible for controlling the charge being sent. It ensures that the respective component is neither too high nor too low.

If the fuses have blown away, that would suggest that the electrical system of that car is damaged.

This could cause issues with the alternator, starter motor, infotainment system, the computer of your car, etc.

A blown fuse is not that expensive to maintain. However, if it damages an important internal component of your car, a hefty bill can be generated.

There are many causes of a blown fuse. The fuse may blow away if the wires have holes or are corrupted.

The fuse might blow away if the circuit is circulating a charge too high to bear. If you replaced the blown fuse with the wrong type of fuse, it would blow away again.

What Should You Do About It?

Carefully check the type of fuse to be used in every circuit. One type of fuse does not apply to all circuits.
Replace the fuse by unplugging all the wires, ensuring there is no charge in the circuit.
Unscrew the old fuse and replace it with a new one by placing it in the same position. Make sure you tightly screw the nuts after it.
Make sure if the issue is with the wires, then you replace them urgently as a charge too low being supplied can also blow the fuse.

3: Broken Timing Belt

If anyone asks you about the most significant component of an engine, your answer needs to be the timing belt.

The main purpose of a timing belt is to make sure that the piston and valve do not come to interact.

It ensures that the timings of when the valves of an engine open and close are adjusted accordingly.

It is not the engine that needs to be fixed when it comes to other issues, such as a broken alternator or damaged wiring.

However, if the timing belt is broken, you would have to replace the entire engine, which is very expensive to do no matter which car you talk about, let alone a Toyota Camry.

The timing belt works up till a certain period. After that, it gives up on you. There are many causes of a broken timing belt.

The tension in the belt might either be too low or too high. The belt might also be misaligned.

One major sign of your timing belt being the main cause for your car not starting is if you have driven the car more than 60,000 miles.

What Should You Do About It?

If you take your Toyota Camry to a mechanic, it would cost you $500 or more to fix the broken belt or even more if the engine needs to be replaced.
It is not worth it to fix a broken belt. It would cost you a lot. Rather, get your car a new belt and make sure that the placement is correct.
The tension in the belt should suit its needs, or else the valve and piston would be in contact.

4: Faulty Immobilizers

The immobilizers are used in a Toyota Camry to ensure that the car is safe and provides you with an extra layer of security. You use your key to get into the car.

Next, you insert the key into the ignition switch. After that, your car starts, and you are good to go. However, your car will not recognize the key if your immobilizer is faulty.

You might be able to get inside your car, but when you insert it inside the ignition switch, it would not recognize the key or consider it a foreign item.

So, in this case, you need to take a step back and see if the immobilizer needs some fixing. There are many ways a car’s immobilizer can be affected.

If the wires used are corroded or rusted, they would not work properly to send the charge.

If a car’s sensors are faulty in some way, it would again disrupt the normal working of an immobilizer.

What Should You Do About It?

You need to check if somehow the wiring of the engine’s immobilizer is working fine. This might be the reason your car is not starting.
Apart from that, you can also consider recharging the battery in the key fob. Weak batteries may lead to problems sending signals.
Deactivate the immobilizer by inserting the key of your Toyota Camry in the door’s keylock.

5 Wet Spark Plugs

The spark plugs of any car play a very significant role. Their main motive is to send the spark or charge that an engine needs to produce power with the help of the air or fuel mixture.

If this gets broken, your engine would be unable to produce power at all. So, once you get enough pressure from air and fuel, you need the spark plugs to start the combustion system.

You can easily determine whether the spark plug is not letting your Toyota Camry start.

If your fuel economy has dropped incredibly over some days, it is because of the damaged spark plugs.

Moreover, even when the car is idly standing, rough and abnormal noises might come out of it. The chances of engine misfiring in wet spark plugs are also high.

What Should You Do About It?

Keep your car away from moisture or cold weather at all times. If water reaches the spark plugs, then the combustion system would not be able to start at all.
Make sure that your engine provides an optimal amount of air and fuel. Nothing too much or too less when it comes to pressure will be acceptable to them.
Getting your car checked for wet spark plugs would be the best decision in this case because these are difficult to fix.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. Why Won’t My Toyota Camry Start With New Battery?

While replacing your old battery with the new one, you might have misaligned the wires or let the bolts loose.

Also, make sure the new battery is fully charged before you install it.

If everything is fine, the issue is not with the battery. It lies somewhere else.

Q2. Why Won’t My Toyota Camry Start Even With A Jump?

Firstly, consider this question if you have given a jump start to yourself at least thrice.

If your Toyota Camry does not work, your car’s battery is in perfect health. You need to take it to the mechanic to see if something else, e.g., the alternator, is broken.

Q3. Why Won’t My Toyota Camry Start But Lights Work?

Toyota Camry is a very reliable car. It takes much negligence on your end for the car to stop working.

If the lights are still working, that would suggest issues with anything else but your car’s electrical system. All the wires and bolts of the car are to be left alone.

Q4. Why Won’t My Toyota Camry Start But Cranks?

The cranking of a Toyota Camry is not normal. If you hear the sound of cranking, you would have to take your car to the mechanic and ask him to check the engine.

The issue could be with the spark plugs, the sensors, or anything else stopping the engine from producing the power your car needs.

Q5. Why Won’t My Toyota Camry Start Just Clicks?

Clicking is rather worse than cranking. In the case of clicking, the main issue tends to lie with the starter, alternator, or ignition switch of your Toyota Camry.

In this case, you need to save some extra money because these components are not cheap to maintain. Do not wait for it to get persistent. Fix it as soon as it starts.

Q6. Why Won’t My Toyota Camry Start In The Cold Weather?

As discussed earlier, cold weather can create many problems for a Toyota Camry’s engine.

During the winter season, moisture enters the car’s engine, and the internal components are tampered with.

If moisture enters the spark plugs, there would be no combustion system in the first place. Chances of rusting are higher.

Q7. Why Won’t My Toyota Camry Start After I Get Gas?

The gas you fill in your Toyota Camry leaks from the fuel pipes that circulate it.

It is either that or the fuel filter is at fault. At times heavy metallic bodies contaminate the fuel tank and the fuel filter.

In this case, there is some leakage in your Camry. This stops the normal flow of fuel. This then tampers with the fuel pressure being provided to the car.

Q8. Why Won’t My Toyota Camry Start But Radio Works?

This tells us that your electrical system and starter motor are working completely fine.

This is because if the radio is working, then that means the electrical system is providing it with enough power. In this case, you need to get the fuel tank checked or the alternator fixed.

Conclusion

This entire article only tells us that even if your car is the one that surpasses all its competitors in terms of sales and positive word of mouth, it can create some issues from time to time.

In the case of the Toyota Camry, if your car does not start, then you know exactly where the issue lies, and you can get that fixed.

Hopefully, this would have answered all your questions about, “Why won’t my Toyota Camry start?”.

Try taking preventive measures that have been suggested to avoid these problems in the first place. Till then, enjoy the smooth driving experience with your Toyota Camry.

Tahir Azam

I am Tahir Azam, and I have been writing amazing articles for TaxiHack for as long as I can remember. I know everything that is to know when it comes to automobiles and is always on top of industry news and developments. While I am not an expert by any means, I pride myself on knowing the ins and outs of many different problems and, of course, their solutions. The articles on our website are some of the best and well-researched content that you will find, and I spend countless hours making sure this remains to be true. This is why I ask you to take your time out and read some of my articles, especially if you find a topic that resonates with you or is something you are looking into. This way, you will find the perfect mix of information and tips on your desired topic. Learn more about Tahir.