ToyotaVanPeople.com

So my wife used my Previa the last two days and had the same problem happen to her on both days. She drives the Previa all day without any issues, then goes to the store, shuts the engine off, and when she returns and gets into the Previa, it will not start.

Tonight I ended up meeting her in the parking lot of Wally World. It's the damnest thing. The evening before, the first time she experienced the problem, she let the egg sit for ten to fifteen minutes and it started back up. Initially, I thought it might be the battery or a bad connection to the terminals. When I got there everything checked out. The egg had juice but when I turned the key, I got nothing, not even a clicking sound. We let the Previa sit and I tried it again, nothing. I called AAA to have the egg towed to a mechanic. About an hour later while we were waiting for the tow truck to arrive, for S&G, I tried turning the key again and it started right back up.

I don't know if the external temp might have any factor in the problem as it has been warmer than normal (mid-seventies to eighties.) The temp gauge is normal. Any thoughts or ideas what might be causing the problem? Thank you!

Check out the fusible link box mounted to the positive battery cable and make sure it doesn't look like this:





You will need to take it apart for a thorough inspection. Also make sure the battery terminals are tight and clean. If that checks out, then the next most likely culprit is where the starter wire connects or the internal contacts inside the starter. Starter contacts tend to fail at around 150k miles. How many miles are on your van? Tim

I had the same problem two months ago. I replaced the battery first; Six days later the starter; and the battery terminals four days after that. Two days after the terminals I had the battery cables replaced. I have not had any problems since then. That may not sound bad but Previa battery cables are proprietary. I called so many places trying to locate a set but noone had them. The dealer didn't even have them but they can be ordered for over $500!! I couldn't believe it. I called my mechanic and he was able to replace them for around $400 with labor included. Still that was a lot but he could only locate them OEM. Not only that, he had to wait a day to get them delivered- meaning that my van had to stay overnight at his shop. He cut open my old terminals after rmoving them and there was so much corrosion that I'm surprised my van continued starting for as long as it did. Hopefully that's not the case with yours.

I had a similar problem. I replaced the brushes on my starter (which were worn down to nothing) and wanted to go on down the line and make sure to check everything else. I had to replace the 100 amp one (the one that is screwed in) it was corroded pretty heavily. I removed and cleaned the crap out of the inline fuse box, then loaded it with dielectric grease and put it all back together. I checked it last month and it looks exactly the way I left it...clean. That was over a year and a half ago and have not had a problem since.

So I guess Previa's will become dead in the water if Toyota starts discontinuing the proprietary battery cables. Has anything become discontinued on the Previa yet?

The only things I haven't been able to get so far are accessories like front end bras and custom fit interior throw rugs with "Previa" sewn into them. I'm sure they'll start running out of stuff eventually, but so far it's been good. It's not until you really need the parts that they become unavailable . Tim

Tim, Le Bra still makes a nose bra for the Previa. I have one myself and it's a full nose bra unlike the factory one that only covers down to the bumper. They are around $100 on ebay I believe.

Yeah, I've seen them, but don't really care for those. After discovering they weren't available from Toyota anymore, I set up an automatic search for them on eBay. Over the last 3 or 4 years, I've managed to collect 7 or 8 of the genuine Toyota ones (brand new in the box) . Tim