Hard start, take it to dealer?

[NOMNOM]

I know pitifully little about the inner workings of the ignition system, help me!

I live in Utah and it's starting to get warmer (mid 80s, summers reach 100). I'm hoping this is an isolated coincidence, but for two days in a row I've had slow starts after work. Have to hold it for a good 3 seconds before the engine grumbles to life. Doesn't seem like battery, I can hear the spark plugs firing (if that's actually what you hear when you start a car).

Is it pure coincidence that it has worked fine in the morning but not in the afternoon, or would any of you smart cookies know if/why the heat should affect it?

And most importantly, should I urgently be taking it to the dealer instead of calmly asking you guys?

[Wo6M]

lets try this NOM, when you turn the key to Accessory on(just before you crank the motor) allow the fuel pump to run (should only last 5-8 sec) this primes the fuel system for cranking.

what you are hearing is a mixture of 8 injectors , 4 spark plugs and a starter (among other things) working together to get that puppy going!

good luck

[strat61caster]

If the above post doesn't "fix" it then take it to a dealer, there's something not functioning properly.

There's been a couple threads on this, I think 98% of the time it's just people turning the key all the way to "start" without allowing the car to wake up and prime itself.

[Mo707]

My car did this to me too at lunch(12 pm).
It was in the high 70's if hat makes a difference but it took me 3 try's before it turned over..

[Opie]

Take it to the dealer, there are two potential fixes available depending on what the dealer actually finds as the cause of your starting issue; 1) ECM Reflash, 2) Crank Sensor Shim. Either one should take less than an hour to do.

[OrbitalEllipses]

Had my first hard start since March a few days ago, but it's entirely inconsistent when it occurs. It was a really rough start, instead of trying to crank it sounded like the engine turned over then nearly died then came back to life. Pretty sure if I went to the dealer they wouldn't be able to reproduce it.

[King Tut]

Unless you can consistently reproduce it, I wouldn't take it to the dealer. Is your car 100% stock OP?

[NOMNOM]

yessir

I'll try priming it first and report back, thank you for the suggestion!

[Conor]

Originally Posted by NOMNOM

I know pitifully little about the inner workings of the ignition system, help me!

I live in Utah and it's starting to get warmer (mid 80s, summers reach 100). I'm hoping this is an isolated coincidence, but for two days in a row I've had slow starts after work. Have to hold it for a good 3 seconds before the engine grumbles to life. Doesn't seem like battery, I can hear the spark plugs firing (if that's actually what you hear when you start a car).

Is it pure coincidence that it has worked fine in the morning but not in the afternoon, or would any of you smart cookies know if/why the heat should affect it?

And most importantly, should I urgently be taking it to the dealer instead of calmly asking you guys?

Just to be clear, the engine is turning over fast, like normal? The noise you hear when it starts is engine compression/valves opening and closing, plus, in the case of a BRZ/FRS, very loud direct fuel injectors.

If it's turning over like normal and is taking extended cranking to start, it could be fuel-related, like fuel pressure is bleeding off after the car sits all day.

Has the car ever done this after only sitting for 10-15 minutes, like if you went to the store and got back in to drive home fairly quickly?

Originally Posted by King Tut

Unless you can consistently reproduce it, I wouldn't take it to the dealer. Is your car 100% stock OP?

This. The only exception would be a pending DTC stored in history giving some clue. These sort of problems are always the most difficult to diagnose, unfortunately