New(used) car rapidly clicks when trying to start?

2Mad2BeMad

Hi guys,

Bought a new car about 3 weeks ago.
Its a 2018 toyota auris petrol

Test drove it, all seemed fine, didnt bother getting a mechanic to look at it thinking it was new enough (prob my fault now)

But sometimes lets say once every 3 days when I turn the ignition key to start it, all the electrics flicker on and off rapidly and the engine doesnt even try to start.
Now when I give it a 2nd try after waiting a couple of seconds it starts just fine, Although the rare time it does take a 3rd try. It also has only seemed to happen so far from a cold start. Whether that makes a difference I don't know.

Can anyone give me an idea of what the problem might be?

And if its covered under warrenty? bought from a reputable dealer and have it covered for 2 years.

Someone told me it could be a battery issue but its only like 2 and half years old so thought it was strange if its the battery dying on it already.

Much appreciated.

Atlantic Dawn

A lot of cars in the country at this time of the year with Covid are either sitting idle too long or are doing such small journeys that battery is not getting enough power to replenish it. What kind of driving have you been doing since you got it?

With the age of the battery unless it's completely gone I'd be inclined to take it out of the car and fully charge it and see how you go from there as the first action to take, next would be replace the battery if that fails.

2Mad2BeMad

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

A lot of cars in the country at this time of the year with Covid are either sitting idle too long or are doing such small journeys that battery is not getting enough power to replenish it. What kind of driving have you been doing since you got it?

With the age of the battery unless it's completely gone I'd be inclined to take it out of the car and fully charge it and see how you go from there as the first action to take, next would be replace the battery if that fails.

Funny that you mention that.

When I was looking at the car, the dealer was doing a decent deal on it for my trade in.
I check its history and all was fine.
But I was curious as the reason why it was out of tax for so long. Must of been traded in because of covid and not touched since.
Its been out of tax since may last year and only renewed it when I bought it.
So maybe it hasnt been driven since then or been driven very little.

I do about 250-500km a week mostly commuting to work and shopping at the weekend because of covid my km are quite low in comparison to pre-covid
But my old car didnt suffer any battery problems with the low mileage.

If the battery is knackerd, even though its wear and tear do you think I have any comeback on the dealer 3 weeks later.

Toyotafanboi

Does sound like the battery is goosed. Cant see a reason why the dealer wouldn't cover it for you.

jmreire

2Mad2BeMad wrote: »

Funny that you mention that.

When I was looking at the car, the dealer was doing a decent deal on it for my trade in.
I check its history and all was fine.
But I was curious as the reason why it was out of tax for so long. Must of been traded in because of covid and not touched since.
Its been out of tax since may last year and only renewed it when I bought it.
So maybe it hasnt been driven since then or been driven very little.

I do about 250-500km a week mostly commuting to work and shopping at the weekend because of covid my km are quite low in comparison to pre-covid
But my old car didnt suffer any battery problems with the low mileage.

Can often happen that a battery that has gone completely flat, might not fully recharge, but in any case, if you have a faulty battery, nothing like a freezing winter morning to test them out. Once it starts, is it fine for the rest of the day? Starts first turn of the key each time? Or does it still take 2 or 3 attempts to start?

CoBo55

Battery dying rapidly, the recent cold snap has killed off a lot of marginal ones.

2Mad2BeMad

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

Does sound like the battery is goosed. Cant see a reason why the dealer wouldn't cover it for you.

Well if it is they better or I'll drive it through there glass windows :pac: edit: or push it :P

jmreire wrote: »

Can often happen that a battery that has gone completely flat, might not fully recharge, but in any case, if you have a faulty battery, nothing like a freezing winter morning to test them out. Once it starts, is it fine for the rest of the day? Starts first turn of the key each time? Or does it still take 2 or 3 attempts to start?

It doesnt happen every morning,
for example it didn't happen yesterday or the day before.
But today it did happen but not in the morning when you would probably expect it too if it was dying. It start fine this morning, drove it to work not a problem. Left it sitting in the car park for about 8 hours, came back and it started when I first tried to turn the engine on, I quickly turned the key back to (off) and tried again, the engine started fine the 2nd time. And today it was quite warm compared to most winter days.

There was only 2 times before when I had to take 3 attemps before the engine started. But in fairness that hasn't happened in a while

2Mad2BeMad

CoBo55 wrote: »

Battery dying rapidly, the recent cold snap has killed off a lot of marginal ones.

What do you mean by marginal ones, as in poor batterys that were nearly gone?

jmreire

2Mad2BeMad wrote: »

Well if it is they better or I'll drive it through there glass windows :pac:



It doesnt happen every morning,
for example it didn't happen yesterday or the day before.
But today it did happen but not in the morning when you would probably expect it too if it was dying. It start fine this morning, drove it to work not a problem. Left it sitting in the car park for about 8 hours, came back and it started when I first tried to turn the engine on, I quickly turned the key back to (off) and tried again, the engine started fine the 2nd time. And today it was quite warm compared to most winter days.

Typical failing battery symptom's ... dont let it go that far that it lets you down when you least expect it. Take it back to the dealer, tell him / her( have to keep politically correct..;) ) that it starts some times, but other's needs several attempts.

2Mad2BeMad

jmreire wrote: »

Typical failing battery symptom's ... dont let it go that far that it lets you down when you least expect it. Take it back to the dealer, tell him / her( have to keep politically correct..;) ) that it starts some times, but other's needs several attempts.

I'll get on to them tomorrow.
Have to be a phone call, I expect to be fobbed off but we see how it goes.

kermitpwee

Any chance you aren't holding the key in the 'on' position long enough?
Most toyotas need a little more time on the ignition than other brands i have found.
It may indeed be the battery but I cant see how if it wont start on the first crank that it will start on the 3rd crank if the battery is bad, by the 3rd crank the battery will have less power to start.

CoBo55

Be no harm to pull the bonnet and check the connections at the battery, follow the heavy cables and check where they end. You're looking for loose or dirty looking joints. Check for hot joints immediately after starting too.

sumo12

Make sure your foot is RIGHT down on the clutch pedal and that there are no mats up under the clutch pedal. If the clutch pedal is even 5mm off the floor the car won't start.

Spook_ie

kermitpwee wrote: »

Any chance you aren't holding the key in the 'on' position long enough?
Most toyotas need a little more time on the ignition than other brands i have found.
It may indeed be the battery but I cant see how if it wont start on the first crank that it will start on the 3rd crank if the battery is bad, by the 3rd crank the battery will have less power to start.

^^^^^^^^^
This

Lights flickering on/off suggests battery but then starting at another attempt? maybe an earthing problem ( battery terminals) or whatever, let dealer sort it under warranty

sumo12

Spook_ie wrote: »

^^^^^^^^^
This

Lights flickering on/off suggests battery but then starting at another attempt? maybe an earthing problem ( battery terminals) or whatever, let dealer sort it under warranty

Fair call. There is/was an issue with battery terminals corroding - defo worth checking

stoneill

Spook_ie wrote: »

^^^^^^^^^
This

Lights flickering on/off suggests battery but then starting at another attempt? maybe an earthing problem ( battery terminals) or whatever, let dealer sort it under warranty

It was a regular thing for car owners to cover battery terminals in vaseline to keep them water proof - is this still a thing?

CoBo55

stoneill wrote: »

It was a regular thing for car owners to cover battery terminals in vaseline to keep them water proof - is this still a thing?

Nothing wrong with doing it but charging systems are so much better now you don't get gassing of the battery which was the main culprit.

2Mad2BeMad

So just an update

My employer has a battery charger (not bought from halfords) his words not mine haha.

Hooked it up to my battery and it was able to tell me my battery was at 25percent after driving about 30km to get to work.
So im assuming my battery was hoovering even lower then that before I started the engine today. Maybe thats why sometimes it would just flicker instead of the engine coming on.

Anyhow , we fully charged it and I checked the connections it all looks good to me although im no mechanic.
Battery looks brand new to be honest. It also sounded better and started up probably quicker when I first turned it on to come back home, Although that could all be in my head.

So im gonna give it a couple of days, see if the same thing happens again. Its at 100percent now or at least thats what the charger said.
Hopefully that solves it. If it doesn't i'll ring the dealer later next week.

appreciate all the help folks

2Mad2BeMad

And a final update,

Fully charging it, has not worked.
Got onto the garage and hes happy to replace the battery for me.
He said it was most likely because it was barely driven since they took it in, it has happened with a few of there cars since covid began apparently.

Getting it replaced tomorrow morning so that should solve that problem.

Buddy Bubs

My fiances car and my brother's car both failed to start this week, first time for either car.
2014 golf and 2012 focus. Neither driven much in last 10 months, working from home, haven't used a full tank of fuel either of them.

CoBo55

Buddy Bubs wrote: »

My fiances car and my brother's car both failed to start this week, first time for either car.
2014 golf and 2012 focus. Neither driven much in last 10 months, working from home, haven't used a full tank of fuel either of them.

Buy a good quality charger, c-tek etc. and put it on the battery preferably overnight that should bring them back to life.

Buddy Bubs

CoBo55 wrote: »

Buy a good quality charger, c-tek etc. and put it on the battery preferably overnight that should bring them back to life.

I'm using the golf for work for a few days and it's starting fine now. The focus is back in action too. I jump started the 2 of them and they're getting a bit of use now.