Cold morning starts
 

I'd like to know if anyone else has experienced a problem with the car starting up in the morning when its -5C and under. I've noticed it the past couple mornings here in Montreal that it doesn't just come to life.

It takes a good 5-10 seconds of chtz.. chtz.. chtz.. vroooom. till it gets going.

Thoughts?

nope, but mine is garage parked, unheated garage mind you. not sure exactly what the temp in the garage is but she has been starting up just like it was +10

I just experienced that same thing this morning, parked outside with it being -15c, several long cranks then finally starts. Tonight I am going to try out the block heater and see if it makes a difference (although modern synthetic oil is usually good till at least the -25 to -30 range).

It was -13 here this morning it wasn't any harder to start than usual.

If this happens again, try removing the key, and try 'her up again.

-13 C this morning (1st real cold morning) and not problem at all to start. Have a battery warmer thought. Also notice some weird noise coming out of engine bay/under the car once engine running (1s 10 sec). Like a clunk noise. Could it be some kind of vaccum/trap closing because of cold weather (just had the dealer service guy on the phone while typing this and he had no clue about potential cause...)

I have yet to change my battery, for something that would work in colder weathers. Plus I do want to get a block heater, seeing at least it be quicker to have a warmer car in the mornings.

Just an update, -15 last night at my Christmas party (parked outside 4 hours) then-18 this morning. Didn't plug it in, fired up no problem on first crank. Will monitor it.

I have had long cranking situations, but not related to cold. On two occasions, i've parked the car for about an hour or so and when I go to start it, it takes about 10 seconds to fire up.

I have also experienced the long start a couple of times.

Had it happen to me this afternoon. Held the key for probably three times as long as usual, and nothing. Waited 10 seconds then tried again, and it started up no problem. The car was still warm from being driven only a couple hours before, and it was around 0 degrees outside. It was pretty weird.

Got an appointment on the 11th to check a number of annoyances I have with the car (ie. crickets, weird RPM at idle, TPMS sensor going off with temperature dip).

I already mentioned to them about the car having trouble starting in the mornings. So we'll see what they say.

TPMS (tire air pressure in fact) are sensible to quick temperature dip. If too suddent temp drop, pressure in tires will drop and TPMS will send signal. Happens to many of us (independent of what your driving).

Driving the vehicule will bring tire air pressure up at least 3-5 PSI I would guess but that might not be enough to re-establish normal pressure. Just go put some air in them and you'll be fine. Happened to me with my Acura lately.

Had one a couple nights ago when it got really cold. Took 3-4 s

Had the same starting problem a few times... when it happens I like to convince myself it's only because I didnt push the cluch all the way down. haha that way i avoid mental distress...! FRS Love. :)

I have an auto with push start, and a few times the tach has had to do 2 "sweeps" before it started. Strange thing is that it was not on days that were very cold at all (hovering around +1).

Never had it not start though. I think I'm going to look into a better battery in the future.

try this, may help?
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Don't see why this may help at all? Guys don't say that engine doesn't crank. Seems related to fuel mixture on cold days (electronic choke mixture?). Not sure...:iono:

I had that happen too. It was -11 out yesterday morning (coldest morning so far in Ottawa). It started up right away, but the clunking sound was a little disconcerting. Ran fine afterwards though.

Not pushing in the clutch enough, blaming the battery, or lubrication are all not going to help when the engine is cranking easily, just not wanting to fire.

Mine did it this morning, but might have been partially self inflicted. My hand slipped off the key after it started cranking but before it fired, when I tried to start it again it had to crank for a couple seconds before it fired. Now it's entirely possible that it flooded slightly after slipping off the key before it fired and just needed a second or two to clear out.

People are starting their's without problems in Saskatchewan (as cold as -28 without windchill lately)

update: no strange noises today at -12, started up just fine. Yesterday was a sudden cold snap after a warm day of rain, so perhaps something had frozen up.

From Montreal too, happened to me once, but oddly it was about 0 degrees. Took like 15 seconds to start up. Otherwise, in the cold I haven't had any issues, always park outside, and I leave for work at 3am, so it's colder then.

Another update, haven't had the long crank sinse the first instance. -30 the last couple of nights and -21 this morning no problems.

Question at mind, on cold start ups, do you guys leave the engine on for like 10mins before driving? Seems like it takes a while for the engine to pass the minimum C line =/

I wait until the idle RPMs drop down to normal idle, which seems to take quite a while.

Making the engine idle for too long isn't good for it (lower oil pressure) and won't make it warm up fast enough. Take off and drive it gently after 1-2 min is the best way to warm up everything (engine, tranny, diff).

For the first time mine didn't turn over on the first start. Worked fine on the 2nd try, it was about 13F. Caught me a little off guard.

As has been said, idling a vehicle is the slowest way to warm it up.

On the other hand, when it's really cold, I wouldn't start driving it right away, even if you are driving it conservatively.

Around 0 and up I wouldn't worry too much. Start it, do your seat belt up, and go. Take it easy the first few minutes.

Around -20, hopefully it's plugged in. Start it, scrape windows / clear snow off. By then, I'd just drive it carefully. If there's no windows / snow to clear, I'd let it idle a few minutes before driving.

At -30 to -40, it better be plugged in. I'd leave it run for probably more like 5 minutes before driving. Then I'd still be very careful in how you drive it. The diff doesn't get a change to warm up until you start moving it, so it'll still be cold. I'd even be careful the first time you let the clutch out after starting it. Let it out slow. You'll notice the rpm's drop a bit. This is because of the 'load' of spinning up the input to the transmission. Allow 3-4 times as long between shifts until everything warms up.

Just picked mine up yesterday and this morning it had this very issue. Definitely scary on a brand new car!

The good news is that it hasn't happened again since.

I've had trouble starting under 5F, but it only seems to be when I'm on a hill(nose up). It doesn't have to be steep, but noticeable.

was around -17 today, no issues starting it. shifting was a little notcht until it warmed out though.

I don't even know if mine has a block heater - I assumed no but I don't really know?

Nope - block heaters have a power cord you have to plug in, it'd be obvious.

I have the same thing its a loud noise and when it happens rpms fluctuate. Do you have any mods?

I normally idle for 10 mins. Or whenever rpms hit the 600-700 rpm range. Its not good to start and leave right away. Reason being is that metal contracts and your forcing it to expand rapidly by driving. Also, it is very hard to shift to 2nd gear if you start and leave right away, it seems like you have to force it. Similarly, its like waking up in the morning and jogging right away as oppose to letting your body wake up and then go jogging. Just my .02.

Mine does that a couple times during the first 30s or so when its in high idle. Sounds similar to my jetta when the a/c compressor kicks in, a bit of a clunk with a slight idle dip.

That being said, she starts up perfectly fine, holds steady in high idle then kicks down like it should and drove away without issue. Transmission is a bit stiff but at -20c its like that for every vehicle for the first bit.

So far this season had this happen at least 3 times now. At varying temps twice outside below -5 and once in garage.

No mods...

As mentionned, I take off and drive it very gently for first 5 min at least. Shifting in 2nd is hard but I do double clutch and blip throttle and it goes in easier. I will definitely switch tranny fluid to synthetic soon as guys saying improves shifting feel and easiness when cold. Warming up gently the whole car by driving it is way better in my view (also shared by many others) then idling it for too long (low oil pressure bad for crank bearings and else). Each its own way...but prefer my way on this one (no offense to you Arkiteckt).
:happy0180:

It just took three start attempts on my fr-s this evening going home from work... it really scared me. I dont think that temp was a factor as it was 45*F. Im just stating my instance.