Weird behaviour on cold start
 

I'm not really concerned, just wanted to know if anyone else experienced this:

This morning I went to start my car and right when I cranked it, the engine turned over but then it sounded like it was about to die. It didn't though, the revs went back up on its own. This all happened within the span of less than 2 seconds.

I just wanted to know if anyone has an explanation for this.

How fresh is your battery?

Sometimes weird things happen. If it only happened the once and leveled out on it's own then don't sweat it. There are a thousand things that could cause a small blip like that and as long as they don't keep happening there is no problem.

Mine does that from time to time. It doesn't sound like it's about to die but trips over itself and stutters very briefly and then goes back to normal. Usually only when it's sat for a while and it's 40 degrees or less outside

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I had several cold start issues with mine the first year. Running rough, taking forever to crank over, also idle surging. They flashed my ecu after I printed out the tsb so they could no longer plead ignorance and since it has been much better. I think the battery is too small though. It still cranks relatively slow below freezing compared to most other cars I've had.

The battery size is fine and there are plenty of cranking amps to spare. It is however a much higher compression engine than most which makes the starter work way harder than other cars. This of course gets even harder when things are cold and shrunk up a hair. The thicker oil in the cold doesn't help much either but that applies to all cars.

Mine was doing that for a while also. I replaced the battery and it's fine now. 3 years and 80k on the old battery.

Normal

why does everyone always suspect the battery? if it starts fine its not the battery. OP mentions it starts but it sounds like its going to die. I have an Optima battery just because I've been having starting issues, but i still have problems. Mine doesn't even start from time to time.

I figured the engineers really fucked up on this part. Live with it i suppose.

E85 tune?

I find it odd how some have issues and others never have even a blip. Mine has started first time every time without a moment's hesitation. Even after sitting for two weeks in sub zero temperatures it started like it was the middle of summer. Yet others (like yourself) seem to have problems. Is yours stock? Not pointing fingers or anything I am just curious as to how they can be so different.

The car isn't even a month old yet, the battery is pretty much new. Besides, I doubt it's a battery issue as if it was, the car would struggle to run even after the engine turns over

As long as it starts when I need it to, the quirks are fine. I just hope this isn't the beginning of reliability issues...

E85 is out of the question, it's not available where I live. The closest E85 station near me is in a neighboring city.

Well, mine has also started every time just like yours has, its just this one time that it didn't start according to what I assumed was "normal". Nonetheless it still started and ran fine though. :iono:

Well if it puts your mind to ease at all mine is at 60K miles in a little over a year and a half of owning it (new) and never a spot of trouble with anything!

I just want to state that for the record, my starting issue is nowhere near severe as some of you guys are experiencing. Look at this Youtube video:

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ov1nWch6-QM"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ov1nWch6-QM[/ame]

This guy's car won't stay running after he starts it, I've never experienced this. You notice in the video that right after the engine turns over, the rpms drop a bit. That's what happened to my car this morning, but the rpms went back up themselves, whereas in this video, his engine dies. So I think some of you have it worse compared to what I experienced...

The difference is he's running E85, the only thing I can think of is getting the dealer to check the fuel pump under warranty and log what happens on cold starts.

Not really sure if this helped or was placebo but ever since I started leaving it in "On" for a second or two to let the fuel pump prime before turning it over I have had smoother starts even when it was really cold and it feels like less misfires too :iono:

There is a service bulletin about rough start , think it's been covered here before, mine has done it when really cold , UK dealer not got a clue, am just waiting to catch it on my dash cam so I can show them it, it sounds like an old propeller engine trying to start


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Yup 100% stock.

My car had trouble starting some really cold mornings about a year or so ago. It would turnover but not start the first try (though I never held it too long). It did it a couple of times a month all winter. It bothered that a brand new car would struggle to start so I told the dealership about it and they replaced part of the camshaft, $1600 repair, under warranty. It never struggles to start now.

i had a few times where it seemed to struggle cranking up but the weirdest thing i experience was when it wouldn't let me shift into 6th gear (car wasn't warmed up) even when i was going over 45mph until a minute later in manual shift mode (AT)...there wasn't a arrow to shift up..only shift down...found it to be really strange and happened only once

Where can I find a copy of that TSB? I mentioned this the first time I took my FRS in and they never did anything about it, couldn't duplicate the problem. I've ignored it and I'm approaching end of drivetrain warranty so I figure shoulf have it taken care of. Occasional hard starts (not cold, it rarely gets below 70 here), dipping idle.
They never took care of my bad window switch either, again they couldn't duplicate the problem, I didn't bother nagging them about that either. Guess I'll have to do that one myself, although I suppose I could make a stink about it.

It Happened Again
 

Update:

Since I originally made this thread, I haven't experienced any issues until last night. So what's that, a year and some months?

It was -1C last night, cold but not that cold. I went to start my car, and right away it didn't sound right, it sounded like a propeller engine or something and it struggled to keep the revs up until it died. It took about 6-7 seconds for it to die. I went to crank the engine again right after and it didn't start at all. I cranked it twice, both for about 5 seconds and it cranked but no start. I made sure my foot wasn't on the gas pedal as I know some people do this by accident and think they're engine won't start. I took the key out and let it sit for about 15 seconds, went to crank it again and this time it started just fine, no stutters or hiccups.

Any similar experiences?

Maybe a few ice crystals in the gas? Doesn't take much. The pressure of the first attempt may have melted them. It is the only thing I can think of when it is so sporadic.

No, but ........

Bubba says to put a can of this in your car's gas tank ........ then move further South ....... :D


humfrz

Trouble starting in cold temps running E85 is normal, which is what I think you are saying.

You went too far back in the thread!

Guess so.

Another Hard Start
 

Update:

Tonight I went to start my car, and unlike last time, this time it didn't start at all. On the first crank I held it for about 5 seconds and it sounded like it was about to pick up but nothing. Second crank, no start either. Waited 15 seconds, cranked it a third time and had to hold it for about 6 seconds until it started.

I drove earlier today and didn't have this problem, even though the weather this morning was colder than what it is right now tonight.

Hope this doesn't become an issue...

If it's cranking, you are missing one or more of the following, spark, fuel, air. Air is not likely to be the culprit.

Either bring it to a mechanic/dealership to resolve or do the following.


Step 1: when you turn the key to on (not ignition) do you hear the pump in the back priming? Should sound like a buzz for a second or 2. If so, proceed.

Step 2, does everything you expect come on when the key is in the on position?

Step 3, take your battery to an auto parts store and have them test it. If it's good, it should come back fully charged. Doesn't usually cost anything.

Step 4: if battery is good and charged and car still doesn't start, check all cables and ground straps for damage or looseness. If car starts, but after a while you have this issue again, get the alternator tested. Also usually doesn't cost anything.

Step 5. Do you always fill up at the same place? Might be consistently bad gas with water seeping into the tank at the station.

After that, things get more difficult.

1) E85 without a proper tune
2) battery suck
3) Bad Alternator

Get a free check at pep boy, oreiley first, if battery and alternator are ok, go to a dealer.

Regardless of how far back in the thread he went, I have had E85 for some time in sub freezing temps and with a few tuning adjustments it starts up fine.

Itsalex is not running E85 so all of the answers to his questions saying that E85 is the issue are meaningless in his context.

That's wonderful news. I'm thrilled for you.

Is this your daily? How long since you last filled up with gas?

If it's been a while, could be the low RVP of summer blend gas causing it to be difficult to ignite when cold.

Update:

It's been more than a month since I've experienced this issue again so I don't think my vehicle is at fault. Since the last time it's happened, the temperatures have only been colder and it starts just fine.

I think it's safe to assume that I probably had a bad batch of gas or something. Will update if it happens again.

Thanks for the update hopefully it was some bad gas and the issue doesn't return.

My steering wheel has been extremely squeaky this year... I've been meaning to look into the issue but haven't had a chance... From what I've seen on here others have run into this issue when it's cold out as well...

Sometimes cold weather does weird things...

Something a bit funny happens when I've just started my car. I pull away, and as I accelerate the car feels to lack power, not that I'm flooring it or anything. Just the first time I accelerate, then after that it's fine. :)

Do you jump out of bed and do a sprint? The car just needs to wake up.
Stop sniffing petrol!