Good evening dear gens:

I have a Scion iA 2016 with 51,000 miles. Never had any issues until today. I tried to start it and it will not start. It has the push START/STOP button. In order for me to start it, i press on the brake, push the ignition button and that's it. Tonight is not the case. The brake feels very stiff that I cant even press it with my foot. I push the START button and the dashboard lights blink. First it was just a car with a lock light, and now all of them.

Any ideas? I will have to tow it to the dealership tomorrow, unless someone here can guide me to get it to start again.

Thank you in advance.

Battery?? Try jumping it?

but the car seems to have power, the lights turn on, radio works, etc. You still think the battery is the issue?

Did it turn over at all?

Wife's Nissan (push button start) did this once. I ended up having to pump the gas pedal while it cranked to get it to start.

Yep. Power but by enough to crank. Eliminate that before towing (as well as loose cables- ask me how I learned that).

Have to ask, no offense intended, have you tested the key fob battery? If it is original, even the 2nd fob may be drained.
When my wife's fob would open the doors from up close but seemed to not have the power to be recognized by the magic start button. I changed out the battery and all was fine.
Good luck.

Ok, the radio does turn on but then goes off. The lights on the dashboard and the dashboard itself has light.

The batteries on the Key fob was replaced, and I also tried it with the spare key fob.

quote:

Originally posted by Ted:
Yep. Power but by enough to crank. Eliminate that before towing (as well as loose cables- ask me how I learned that).

My dad had that problem. A 2000 Chevy 3500 with one terminal clamp that just wouldn't stay tightened.

Check connections.

Ground issues can result in all sort of weird symptoms and if you chase symptoms, you will put more mileage on you than the car.

Then check the battery for "dead cell". If this happens, a battery may exhibit full voltage from 12-14v, but as soon as any load is applied, the battery will "short" internally and can "imitate" a bad switch, solenoid, starter, relay and or ECM/ECU.

Any symptoms prior to the "failure"? That can help point to the problem.

Any changing, testing stick to doing "one thing" at a time, and keep notes, so if you need to backtrack you can.

Changing more than one thing at a time can result in adding more issues to the problem.

When you state the brake is stiff, it might be that there is a problem with travel and it not engaging the safety switch in the braking system that allows it to start. If you can disconnect and "jumper/bypass" that switch and see if it starts, you may isolate the problem and then figure out why the pedal is not moving as before.

Perhaps a failure in the anti-theft measures?

I'd think faulty (unusual but not unheard of at <3 years old) or discharged battery, but the high and hard brake pedal has me scratching my head. The typical vacuum power booster (or any type of booster) allows 3-5 brake applications before losing assist.

My first step when the car wont start and the electrical system is iffy is to jump the car (after checking the connections).

I admit I really have no idea about the specific of the Scion (never owned or driven one) but when a car gives you some lights can’t start or won’t crank at all, nearly every time it has been the battery. Sometimes a jump works and then the alternator will recharge the battery (or trickle charge it yourself), sometimes it’s a bad battery which you need to have replaced.

Beyond that, I really don’t know and consulting the dealer might be your only option unless you can find something on YouTube (great resource for car issues, BTW).

If you have a voltmeter you can monitor while trying to start the car, see what level the voltage drops to as you do. Less than about 10 volts then says bad battery or bad (loose) connection.

Make sure it's in "P" (Park).

Remove the + battery cable for 10 or so minutes and make the ECU re-set itself. Make sure the posts are clean, re-attach and try to start it. You may have some kind of sensor gone bad.

I don't suppose we'll find out what, if anything, fixed the problem. It would be useful to me.

It needs a jump. I've been in similar situations where you think there's no way it could be the battery and it is.

Also, push start vehicles should all have an emergency back up key and regular ignition in case the system fails. I would check for that. The key is usually hidden in the fob and the cylinder is in the console or on the dash somewhere.

quote:

Originally posted by Scurvy:
It needs a jump. I've been in similar situations where you think there's no way it could be the battery and it is.

Also, push start vehicles should all have an emergency back up key and regular ignition in case the system fails. I would check for that. The key is usually hidden in the fob and the cylinder is in the console or on the dash somewhere.

Not all have the backup ignition switch. My wife's Escape has the manual door lock, if the key fob fails. For the ignition, however, you have to place the key in a certain spot on the console to start it if the fob dies. There is no secondary ignition switch.

quote:

Originally posted by egregore:
I don't suppose we'll find out what, if anything, fixed the problem. It would be useful to me.

It was the battery. I put a new one in and that solved the problem. The battery was not holding a charge. I dont know if it had anything to do that it was in the super hot months this past summer, but the battery was dead.

JeffSig2022,

Extremely cold and extremely hot temperatures are both hard on batteries. Optimum battery life is with a outside temperature about 77 degrees. That is for conventional lead acid ones. If I could get three years out of a battery in the 1980's while we lived in the southwest the feeling was that battery owed me nothing. Up here in Michigan with more moderate temperatures at least double to triple that lifespan when using a premium quality battery.