2005 Camry no start

My father in-law has a 2005 Camry that will (only occasionally) not start. Does not matter warm/cold, just driven, parked for a week. The dash lights and everything else seem to operate as normal when key is in 'run' position but when turned to 'start' nothing happens (no clicking, no engine spin). Dash lights still light, battery is not undervolt. Car will eventually start after sitting for a while or after many tries. I have not personally seen it do this, but when I have fiddled around with it, there is a slight delay when turning key to 'start' before engine spins. Owner says that is 'normal'. He has also tried per suggestions when it doesn't start: wiggling steering wheel, wiggling transmission shifter (it's an automatic BTW) and pressing on the brake while attempting starts. None has worked. He showed me a little device that supposedly disables starting that is supposed to be on or near the key but when I tried it, it didn't make a difference where that was- it started every time. Any ideas? Car only has 7,900 miles on it and local dealer had no ideas. Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

Check the no start section in the Camry FAQs thread at the top of the forum.

To sum it up here's the voltage path: battery/ignition switch/neutral start safety switch/starter relay/starter. Easiest place to start is the starter relay. Remove it, turn the key to start, and check for 12vdc coming from the neutral start switch. If it's there and the ground is good then you just eliminted half the system. The problem is from the relay to the starter all under the hood. Install the relay. Turn the key and check for 12 vdc on the starter where the small diameter wire attaches. If it's there, change the starter.

Not good with a meter or can't duplicate the no start? Check all the connections at the mentioned components for corrosion and security. Tap on the starter relay,wiggle wire harnesses, etc. See if you have an identicle relay on the same relay panel and swap it with the starter relay. Barrow a starter relay from a fellow Camry owner.

You should be able to get schematics from the Camry Factory Manuals thread at the top of the forum.

Thank you so much for the quick reply! I'll see what I can find!

Well, I finally was able to observe this happening and wanted to post a update. The problem turned out to be the anti-theft fob that is supposed to accompany each key. It turns out that the owner had been testing each of his two keys and was still having intermittent starting/no starting until we made sure that he tested with each key seperately without one or the other being anywhere near the car. A pattern soon revealed one of the fobs is defective and needs to be repaired/replaced.

This is a great resource, thanks for being here. Maybe this will help someone else!

Thanks for posting the fix. Anything else pops up we're here.