I bought a used '00 4runner earlier this year & unfortunately the person I bought it from had no idea about the maintenance since it was "not their responsibility".

I checked the battery the day I bought it & it had an indicator light at showed all blue = battery OK.

The last two days my yota was VERY slow to start so after searching yotatech I thought it might be the Starter Contacts; but I was wrong.

This morning I had no joy; had to get a jump start & the battery indicator was still blue = Batt. OK.....WRONG; for whatever reason the battery was dead even when the indicator light said good battery.

My only consolation is that a battery is much cheaper that the alternatives; just a heads up for anyone purchasing a used vehicle more than a few years old; REPLACE THE BATTERY if it might be 5,6,7 years old.

Edit to add; a rapid click, click, click, click, click, etc. when trying to start means it is not a starter or starter contact problem; it is the battery.

 

Glad it was a cheap fix.

 

Just because the battery indicator is the correct color doesn't mean it's still has a good charge or good cold cranking amps. If in doubt, you can go to autoparts stores that offer free battery testing service and get it tested to make sure before you go out and buy a brand new one. Just my advice.