2009 Corolla starts then quickly dies

Hello all. New to forum. Problem with my base model Corolla. I found Bonkers' thread from Feb 2014 on this very topic, but saw no resolution. Re-opening the subject...

Happened yesterday for first (and so far, only) time. After having driven a few miles, stopped and left car for about an hour, then started and drove another few miles, I stopped again and parked for about an hour. Engine started as usual, but died within a few seconds. Tried three or four times, same result. Got out to pace and ponder; about ten minutes. Got back in and... started right up and ran fine. Got me home where I began to think and research. Tried it an hour or two later and started and ran fine. Same again today; no problems. But I am, of course, very leery about trusting it not to do it again. I bought the car new; has not quite 50,000 miles. Has had only routine maintenance other than brakes. Usually do dealer oil/filter change with their minimal 20-point checks. I'm an older guy whose experience is limited to simpler cars and motorcycles. I'm clueless about modern electronic and computer systems. This sure reeks of that to me. Any ideas? One other thing... I started using my spare original factory ignition key a couple/few weeks ago. Never had problem with the other one. TIA.

Immobilizer chip in the key does not need a battery but if something between the key and the reader, is blocking it, then that may cause an issue. My car did not start but turned over, starter went. You see a warning if that happens.
So lets rule that out.

Battery may cause no start, check for clean terminals not by looking but by actually cleaning. If a maintenance free battery do need maintenance, water levels do go dry. if it is a 4 year old battery its seeing its time, especially on a cold wintery day.

Fuel: Bad gas, cheap gas, clogged filter fuel pump, just some thought.
spark plugs to electronic ignition, you can check plugs, spark and all.

If you drive stop and start and nothing, sounds like grounding, and there are more than one ground point to a car so leads back to the battery and connection.

Not a pro,nor know your exact issue but iit is something to think about...

If it does not start and you wait, it starts something is not right?

I'm having a hard time seeing it as a fuel issue (either bad fuel or delivery system) since it has only happened once, and it ran fine before and after the incident on the same tank of gas. I don't think it is the battery per se, since it cranks and starts fine; the problem is that it quit after a few seconds.

Since there is so much that is electronic on the car, and if the battery (which is not old and is maintained) is in fact good, it could certainly be a loose ground, though, or some other connection. Or a problem with all those electronic sensors and their connections. A loose connection of some sort is one thing that can explain a one-off, or intermittent problem. I've got some checking to do...

Thanks for your thoughts.

one of the recalls we had for my Honda was a ignition key switch. at any given time it can die, just a added note

Ok. But if it dies, does it then resurrect itself minutes later? Not meant sarcastically; can it fail intermittently?

UPDATE: Took car to trusted shop for diagnosis. They found entry in computer code history of problem with key. That was the spare original factory key that I had been using recently. Seems logical that it was the problem. Will be using only my other trusty key from now on. Will report back if this in not the final solution. Thanks fishycomics for your input. Until next time, best to the forum.

dam its funny was our first thoughts right

Well the car is to old for warranty on the key that sucks but at least you got a spare right tag it so you don't forget.