2005 toyota highlander won't start - not battery but told it might be a security lockout?

90

Asked by bananz Sep 01, 2016 at 06:06 PM about the 2005 Toyota Highlander Base V6

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

we had the car detailed (doors were open, etc) yesterday.  ran fine; no issues.  locked car overnight and went to unlock today; alarm sounded and car will not start.  lights work but when key inserted and turned the "door open" and "brake" lights illuminate but nothing else.  engine will not even click or turn over.  was told that there is a feature on security system (factory installed) that prevents the engine from starting for 24 hours.  Have never heard of this or experienced this despite setting the alarm off many times.  anyone know of a reset that will allow us to get the car started??

4 Answers

70

Holy cow... I am having similar issue with my 2010 Highlander. Replaced battery and 2 fuses, and still will not even turn over (crank). At a loss here as well. Everything I've seen online so far (not a ton) pretty much says go to dealer... which seems stupid if the fix is something simple??

7 people found this helpful.
90

Long story short on our highlander: the detailing company depleted the battery leaving the doors open and not shutting off the light switches. someone tried to jump start it and did it backward so they blew the main fuse as well as 3 others. They denied trying to jump the car which muddied the story and led us to believe that there is "24-hour lockout" feature on the car when the alarm is activate; there is no such thing. Because our battery worked fine the lights and dinging sound when key is inserted worked fine. However, because the fuse to the ignition was blown, it would not allow the car to start. the detailing company had a neighboring mechanic come and "test" the fuses which he claimed were fine; but we had the car towed to a REPUTABLE shop (not the dealership) and they quickly rectified the situation. Had to fight the detailing company to pay the costs associated with getting the car running again but they eventually came around. As an aside; the dealers in our area (Seattle) were not very helpful; would not discuss any possible options or solutions just said "tow it in and we will check in out in 2 days".... we were lucky to find a great local company who not only diagnosed the problem right away but ordered the part from the local toyota dealer, got it delivered, installed and ready to go by 5 pm on the Friday of labor day weekend... they were amazing! from start to finish of towing it away to having it back was 8 hours! Good luck figuring out your issues.

9 people found this helpful.
140

okay, same issue, my friend just went and started my car first try,,,,,,,, he turned my key to on position but did NOT crank it, pressed the peddle 3 times to the floor, and without turning it back off, continue turning the ignition on and BAM......thats a reset! you're welocme

14 people found this helpful.
40

I bought a secondhand Toyota Highlander 2004 with 4 cylinders (base option). Recently, I have reset the key with original remote control. but I found that when I press UNLOCK bottom of the remote control and then i used the key to unlock the door and it still unlocked without any intrusion alarm. Please help me to answer the question. thank you!

4 people found this helpful.

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