When I turn the key in the ignition, all that happens is a fairly loud dink donk noise that sounds like it is coming from the under the dash behind the steering column, or maybe on the other side of the firewall. The noise just happens once. If I turn the key off and back on, I again hear a single dink donk. The engine doesn't turn over. Jump starting didn't do anything. Starter doesn't activate. The car ran fine when I turned it off the day before, but it has been intermittently cutting out, once in a while, the past few weeks. That may not be related. Also, my battery is 12 years old (I know, crazy) but has been fine. I bought the car new in 1994. It refuses to die. Anyone recognize this sound? All I get are these dink donk clicks. Each time I turn the key on I get two clicks (not the rapid clicking of a nearly dead battery). Here is an audio file. I turned the key on and off about 13 times in this audio clip. Thanks from Alaska!

 

I solved the problem. It needed a new battery!!!! I didn't think that was the problem because trying to start the car with one of those battery-pack jumpers did not work. I had used that jumper battery on a Highlander a week earlier and it worked fine, and it was fully charged. So I assumed a weak battery was not causing the problem. I was wrong.