Maybe video tape it the next time it happens to show it to the dealer, because having a vehicle that doesn't start reliably isn't acceptable - they need to fix it.

I'm surprised they can't plug into the car and see the error code that was thrown; on the Jeep forum where weird stuff like this is more frequent, the dealer can plug into the vehicle and see all types of things, including both current faults and previous fault codes.

 

One of the annoying things about issues like this is that they won't store a code.

It sounds like a major ground point isn't secured, or maybe a flaky battery cable.

 

Interesting.

As far as the "Check Charging System" display, we all get that when the car is in the "on" position, but the engine isn't running.

Regarding the starting of the car - what, exactly, are you doing?

The procedure should go something like this :
1. Press foot on brake pedal
2. With foot on brake pedal, push start button (don't hold it, just push it)
3. Once engine starts, take foot off brake pedal

I've found that if you're a little too quick to take your foot off the pedal, the car won't start.

 

Push the brake harder, make sure you are holding it the entire time while it's starting, don't let go until it's running.

 

Dealer Comments - "Operating As Designed"

My Toyota service dept said they performed charging system tests, battery and alternator passed, operating as designed. Camry started perfectly for them 3-4 times throughout the day and started OK for me in the afternoon when I picked my car up. They also mentioned that a "check charging system" light, will illuminate if attempting to start car without depressing the brake pedal.

I have had the brake pedal firmly depressed and I'll be sure to press not hold, the start button. I'll try again daily in the coming days. I really love the car but I obviously must get this resolved.

Thanks for all of the replies.

 

Bad & Good (sort of) From Today

Before 6am this morning my car failed to start after 5 repeated efforts. I "pressed" as suggested here and didn't "hold" the ignition button while firmly pressing on the brake pedal. Dash lights + radio came on but the starter never made an attempt. Once again I received the same dash error light "Check Charging System".

I took an alternate ride to work and 2 hours later a friend started the car multiple times just fine. To be continued...

 

I am not to crazy about the push button starts. Just give me a key any day.

 

I didn't think that I would like them either until I bought my 11 Avalon Limited.Never a single problem in the 4 + years that I have owned it.

 

Next time you may want to rock the car to make sure it is firmly in Park. That could cause a not start or ignition as well. Sometimes they have to adjust the transmission stops on a new car to make sure they are fully engaged in the gear.

 

Is the car parked outside, ambient temperature, has the dealership kept it overnight to try and dupe the issue in the A.M.?

As a minimum they should be swapping out some switches to try and resolve the problem.

 

I really do think that one of the "checks" of the starting sequence is either not being disengaged or is intermittently faulty. But something isn't right, clearly.

 

i had this problem after installing my remote starter and i found it to be because I hadn't re-tightened the clamps after so the cable was resting on the terminal instead of "clamping" onto it..

 

I have a 2015 Camry XSE with the remote start option. At 5k miles, I had the same thing happen to me. I went out to the car. Put my foot on the brake hit the start button and the car didn't even attempt to turn over. The radio, lights, wireless phone charger were all working like normal. A message was displayed between the gauges indicating the charging system should be checked. I repeated this several times making sure everything was being done correctly. Still wouldn't start and the same message came up. I jumped the car and it started right up. I thought I smelled a little bit of electrical burn not strong but very faint with no smoke. Like you I took it to the dealer where they checked the charging system. Everything checked out normal.

Fast forward three months and 5k miles later and the same thing happened again. However, instead of jumping the car I left it alone until 10 hours later after work. I tried to start it and it started normally as if nothing was wrong. I took it to the dealer a few days later where they checked the charging system again. Everything checked out normal.

I found this thread in my quest to see if it was just me or were other people experiencing the same thing. I don't know the cause for this problem but I can say it's not imaginary and it's not because of operator error. If I had to take a guess as to the problem, I would say it's probably associated with the remote starter option. This option is a dealer installed option not factory. It may have been installed by someone that didn't know what they were doing, were in a rush or were just doing it half-assed.

 

Yea, that's a risk that's there with something the dealer or anyone else doing work on your car. Every time I get a vehicle tinted I'm always nervous because you just have to trust the people who inevitably don't care about your stuff as much as you do. I hope your problem doesn't persist any longer!

 

We had this issue with the new Silverados.. I bought a 2014 Silverado LTZ Z71 and even though mine wasn't one of the affected ones, many where. There was an issue with the starter where there was either water or condensation building up so when it was cold the starter wouldn't function at all, like it was dead. Once it warmed up it was fine. The fix was to replace with a sealed corrected starter and problem went away.. I'm wondering if this could be your issue too..?

 

Camry Still Starting Well

It appears that my thread has been taken into another issue but I wanted to let the previous responders know that I've had no more starting issues. Thanks again.

 

It appears that my thread has been taken into another issue but I wanted to let the previous responders know that I've had no more starting issues. Thanks again.

I have a 2014 Camry hybrid with the same start issue. What did you do that finally worked. I was thinking of trading my 2014 for a 2016, but it sounds like it has the same issue.

 

2012 XLE I4 did not start, but now does

I have a 2012 Camry 4 cyl with push button start. The only time I have ever had starting issues was at 13 mons old when it turned out to be early battery failure. That battery is now 45 mon old but checked out great in a recent dealer oil change safety check.

I did not drive the car for 10 days since Jan 3 due to glare ice on the roads, using my Jeep SUV instead. The Camry sat in the garage during a few -10 degree MN nights. I went to start it yesterday morning for a 200 mi road trip and it did not start: seemed to crank fine, plenty of battery to crank multiple times for over 20 secs total, console lights/fan/radio running until I shut off all the "auto" stuff. Had a distinctive gas (flooding) odor and we were running late, no time to mess with it so took our SUV instead. Tonight when we got home hooked up a battery charger to the Camry and initially read 11.7 v 38% charged, no surprise after yesterdays cranking and sitting for now 11 days. After fully charged tried to start it once, briefly started but died again. Started 2nd time and kicked in running real rough with lots of gas smell but idled 10 mins to just start of warm air in cabin. Started ok 2nd time, drove it a mile then back into garage and seems just like old times. I plan to call my dealer tomorrow and see if I can talk to anyone in the know, will probably swing by later this week. There is no "check engine light" so I suspect no codes registered, but we plan to take a LONG road trip soon 1000+ miles so I really don't want a breakdown that far away. The car has been extremely reliable until this incident but had 46 mons 76,000 miles on it now. Note I do have the Toyota Platinum 120,000 plan which should cover the issue, I just don't want to worry about it.

Anyone ever have this weird no start problem with a low battery, but the battery has enough to crank the car for 20 seconds & power accessories?

While I'm at it, is there a way to clear a flooding problem in a fuel injected car, like we held the pedal to the floor with carbs years ago? I did not find any reference in the Camry manual for that condition.

 

I have a 2012 Camry 4 cyl with push button start. The only time I have ever had starting issues was at 13 mons old when it turned out to be early battery failure. That battery is now 45 mon old but checked out great in a recent dealer oil change safety check.

I did not drive the car for 10 days since Jan 3 due to glare ice on the roads, using my Jeep SUV instead. The Camry sat in the garage during a few -10 degree MN nights. I went to start it yesterday morning for a 200 mi road trip and it did not start: seemed to crank fine, plenty of battery to crank multiple times for over 20 secs total, console lights/fan/radio running until I shut off all the "auto" stuff. Had a distinctive gas (flooding) odor and we were running late, no time to mess with it so took our SUV instead. Tonight when we got home hooked up a battery charger to the Camry and initially read 11.7 v 38% charged, no surprise after yesterdays cranking and sitting for now 11 days. After fully charged tried to start it once, briefly started but died again. Started 2nd time and kicked in running real rough with lots of gas smell but idled 10 mins to just start of warm air in cabin. Started ok 2nd time, drove it a mile then back into garage and seems just like old times. I plan to call my dealer tomorrow and see if I can talk to anyone in the know, will probably swing by later this week. There is no "check engine light" so I suspect no codes registered, but we plan to take a LONG road trip soon 1000+ miles so I really don't want a breakdown that far away. The car has been extremely reliable until this incident but had 46 mons 76,000 miles on it now. Note I do have the Toyota Platinum 120,000 plan which should cover the issue, I just don't want to worry about it.

Anyone ever have this weird no start problem with a low battery, but the battery has enough to crank the car for 20 seconds & power accessories?

While I'm at it, is there a way to clear a flooding problem in a fuel injected car, like we held the pedal to the floor with carbs years ago? I did not find any reference in the Camry manual for that condition.

Sounds like a water in fuel icing issue ... throw some Heet in her.

Fuel starvation issues will not throw a CEL ... Fuel injected cars will not flood or vapor lock ... supposively?


http://www.aviationtoday.com/regions/usa/Final-Report-on-BA-777-Crash-at-Heathrow_66569.html

 

Thanks Camrod1. That may have been the issue, gas water separation & tank moisture is something I have not run into before. Since I only had 1/4 a tank of gas I put 1/2 bottle of Heet red in the tank. I drove to a local station that sells fresh 93 octane no ethanol for a fill($2.70/gal, yowser but that was regular price 2 years ago). The Camry pops right over and runs smooth as can be now, drove it 60 miles and 6 start cycles.

I went back and checked my receipts: sure enough at Christmas I had to do a fill from a non Top Tier spot since the gas light popped on the way home, something I never do unless I have to on the road and then that questionable ethanol gas sat in the tank for over 2 weeks! I'll call the dealership today and see if they want to look at it before our upcoming road trip, but without a code or anything obvious I'd be surprised. Thanks again.

 

Your're not stupid

In regards to your 2016 Camry's push-button start not operating properly, my 2017 Toyota Sienna XLE (with less than 200 miles) is doing same thing!!! I've owned it ONE week! We have an appointment with our local Toyota dealership next week. If they tell us they cant find anything wrong...or it's an operator error, I've got a funny feeling it's not going to be a pretty sight at the dealership! Would love an update on what you have found out thus far...

 

In regards to your 2016 Camry's push-button start not operating properly, my 2017 Toyota Sienna XLE (with less than 200 miles) is doing same thing!!! I've owned it ONE week! We have an appointment with our local Toyota dealership next week. If they tell us they cant find anything wrong...or it's an operator error, I've got a funny feeling it's not going to be a pretty sight at the dealership! Would love an update on what you have found out thus far...

If it doesn't do it every time, be prepared to hear that they can't do anything for it...they can't fix something they dont see happen.

 

We had the exact same problem with our 14.5 SE V-6 and the service dept. said all checked out. Luckily the service mgr. is a buddy
and he said the battery my have a dead cell or weak multi cells even on a new battery and everything else works so he wanted to change the battery. That was at 375 miles, and after the change it worked great for 48,720 miles when we traded it in on the 2017. Hope this may help you out.

 

Same problem on my 2016 Avalon Hybrid

I have the same problem on my 2016 Avalon Hybrid. I tried to start the car today, put my foot on the peddle, pushed the ignition...waited...and then got eh "Check Charging System" message. I put a call into Toyota Care today and while I was waiting, tried about 30 minutes later - it started like magic. Took the car over to the dealer and they have it. This occurred 4 times in the last week - most of the time, it started after a couple minutes (on the weekend so didn't take it to the dealer.) . If this happens again, I'll capture a video of it. It did seem like the battery was low (hybrid battery was almost full) as when I went to start it the passenger lights seemed to go quite dim like the battery was weak. Dealer checked car out last time this happened and everything checked out okay. I hope they will give me a new battery - as that seemed to solve the problem for another member having t his issue (see above.) :headbang::headbang:

 

I just had this problem with my 2016 Camry SE. No start, all electrical systems seemed fine, tried to check fuses but lost patience and stopped. I was getting the "check charging system" message. Checked the owner's manual, checked online and couldn't find any definitive answer. One thing I did note was that I couldn't remember seeing the car's brake lights come on when I pushed on the pedal (was trying to start the car in the dark). So I went back and jammed an old steering wheel lock I had (similar to The Club) between the pedal and the drivers seat, and sure enough, the brake lights weren't coming on. So I jammed the brake pedal down a few more times, and the last time, really pushed down hard. This time, the brake lights came on, and I got back in the car, pressed hard on the pedal, and the car started fine. Not sure if this is some kind of intermittent failure, or I just wasn't pressing hard enough on the pedal initially. Never had this issue before.

 

I’m having a similar problem with my 2017 Camry hybrid XLE - which I’ve only had a few weeks - I put foot on brake, press start - and power comes on but car doesn’t start. (Engine does not turn over or start) —- When power comes on, the dash lights come on - but the needles on gauges don’t move (including fuel gauge.) — This happened for the first time when parking the car (in garage), coincidentally (or not) message appeared, ‘key not detected’. So, I locked car with mechanical “key”. Then, a few days later I returned to car, having replaced battery in fob - key is detected and seems to be working fine. But, as I say, power comes on, but engine doesn’t. —- Message also says “refuel” - I figured I had less than a gallon in tank (the car is so new, I had never yet refueled) - I have since added about two gallons more, and made sure to close gas cap tightly. Still no luck. Still, power comes on, engine does not. —- I even tried having the battery jumped, but that didn’t help. — Any suggestions?

 

I have known of cases with other kinds of cars where adding such a small amount of fuel wouldn't make the fuel gauge move at all, not even the expected amount.
So the same circuit could be preventing the computer from knowing that the tank has been filled.

Why add such a small amount of fuel?
Running near empty leaves the fuel pump/motor above the fuel level, causing it to run hot, leading to premature failure.

Recommend filling the tank as much as possible, followed by at least three cycles of key ON (without actuating starter!) for three seconds, and then key off. Car should then start up normally.
This will purge the fuel system of likely air in the long lines from the gas tank, returning the air to the tank via the pressure-relieved return line.

 

Thank you. I was wondering if it made sense to make the effort to add more gasoline - I’ll give that a try.

 

I should have first asked if the car is perhaps parked on an extreme slope, which can definitely slosh the last gallon or two of fuel away from the pump pickup inlet and require some additional amount to be added. I have managed to get a couple of "dry" cars running just by rolling them (in NEUTRAL gear) to a more-level spot and then cycling the key RUN/OFF a few times.

Caution; be prepared to use real muscle on the steering wheel and brake pedal, since the power steering won't work and the power brakes will also de-energize (lose their vacuum reservoir power) within just one or a few uses of the brakes!

 

Thanks - that worked!

I added 1 gallon of gas (Walked to gas station & walked back. I only had a 1 gallon container, and gas station didn’t have any.) Then I tried what you recommended (key on/off, three times) - prepared to go get more gasoline if car still didn’t start - but it started right up! (A hopeful sign - the needle on fuel gauge moved when the power came on.) The dash message reads “72 miles distance to empty”.- I’ll know in the future to make sure there is at least a quarter tank of gas when I park! (The car is on flat ground, in a covered garage. It is not terribly cold - just below freezing.)
Thanks for responding so quickly & thanks for your help.

 

You're welcome, and good to hear!

 

...Any more troubles like this and you'll want to add a bottle of "dry gas" (alcohol) to absorb any condensed water vapor that might be in the tank.
Water in the fuel can cause these very same sort of starved-for-fuel scenarios but will often clear out with the car not moving but with the key cycled between ON and RUN.
Better yet, add a precautionary bottle, it's quite cheap and effective.