Your independent mechanic, maybe on the right track. 3 attempts to almost start then nothing at all is a symptom of the SKREEM module going out. Have them remove the battery cables an try it again. If it repeats, the same 3 almost starting , then nothing tries, you've found the problem. The halo is a ring around where the key is inserted. That excites a chip in the FOB that tells the security module the correct key is in it.