Starter motor troubles

Soldato
Joined
6 May 2003
Posts
4,807
Location
Aberdeen/London
My car (2000 Toyota Corolla, what a beast) has been acting dodgy for a few weeks. Took it in for an checkup and the mechanic said that there was a problem with the starter motor but nothing was done. When the ignition is turned the engine will no longer immediately start but there will be a pop (the starter motor not turning fully, I presume) and nothing will happen. The second attempt was always successful until last night, at which time I tried to start the engine and nothing over and over and over again, just pops every time I turned the ignition.
How likely is it that this is the starter motor, and how easy is it to fix and how much will it normally cost? I realise it might be in the innards of the engine and therefore might be hugely difficult to get to, where are these generally located?

A few months ago (Jan, a few a lot) we took a trip to Switzerland and our oil disappeared and no light came on, so we drove for hours with little or no oil in the tank. We replaced it all immediately , but there has been a knocking in the engine since though nothing too loud or nothing which seems to affect performance, it's worked fine apart from this. Might the two be related?

many thanks :)
 
Sounds like it's just jamming. Do you know where it is on the car, can you reach it. If you can then try giving it a whack/tap with a hammer to free it up.

I'm guessing you can still bump start her fine?
 
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