2006 Toyota Sienna - No start / stalling

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I have a 2006 Toyota Sienna that has given my wife some strange problems. I haven't observed these first hand. The battery in the vehicle was installed about 2 or 3 years ago, and appears to be in good condition, though I wouldn't rule it out as a problem source.

Once last week and again today. the vehicle would not start - no cranking, and no accessories appeared to work. After the 4th try, it started no problem today. Last week was similar. Over the weekend, I hooked the battery up to an external charger. No visible problems at the terminals.

Last week, on a separate incident, which may or may not be related, at low speed while turning, the vehicle suddenly lost all power, then came back to life by itself. Don't know about whether the accessories went out or not.

Backing up several months to the summer, on the last stop of a long camping road trip, which had a tent trailer connected, and the fridge operating on 12V power while driving, I unhitched the vehicle to set up camp. Minutes later, I went to move the van and the battery was completely flat. Recharged it, and there appeared to be no issues afterwards.

Any idea where to begin troubleshooting after looking for obviously visible issues?
 
One additional piece of info: we hooked up a voltmeter after the battery was charged with the vehicle running, and it was reading over 14V. I'm thinking the alternator was okay.

I also mentioned the fridge on the trailer, as it may have drained the battery, as the electrical system of the trailer and van act as one when connected.
 
Sounds like your ignition switch is starting to go. Does your wife have a bunch of junk on her key ring? Another to check the next time it happens is to see if it will start in neutral- could be a neutral safety switch going bad or the brake safety switch.
 
I'd check for a bad ground first, since that's more or less free. If that checks out it could be an ignition switch. A battery failure/shorted cell isn't out of the question, though it's odd it would happen in the middle of a drive.
 
I agree with tdpark and Nukeman7 that it sounds like an ignition switch. Does your wife have a lot of stuff on her keychain? Remove it for now.

It could be other things. Check if the battery is bolted down properly. Pull on the connections. I once had an old Positive lead cable pull right out of the terminal. Cleaned the cable, replaced the terminal with a new one, no more problems.

Like bepperb said it could be the ground. Unbolt, clean both sides and screw with wire brush, replace, spray with NoCo. This should be required service on anything over 5 years old IMHO.
 
Okay, thanks. Sounds like my work is cut out for me this weekend. There are several other keys on the key chain that she uses, so I will have her lighten that load.

I will start with the easy and obvious first, but how does one identify a failing ignition switch?
 
Originally Posted By: weebl
I will start with the easy and obvious first, but how does one identify a failing ignition switch?


You could start by wiggling it while in Park, idling.
 
So load testing has revealed the 2 year old battery is shot. Replaced it with a new one under warranty.
 
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