Cold morning starts

[MikeM5]

Originally Posted by Burrcold

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.

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

[Burrcold]

Originally Posted by MikeM5

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.

[markitect]

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.

[Wattage]

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?

[Sport-Tech]

Originally Posted by Wattage

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.

[ArKiTeCkT]

Originally Posted by JSUB

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

[ArKiTeCkT]

Originally Posted by JSUB

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).

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.

[pheoxs]

Originally Posted by ArKiTeCkT

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

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.

[KingRohan]

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

[JSUB]

Originally Posted by ArKiTeCkT

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

No mods...

[JSUB]

Originally Posted by ArKiTeCkT

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.

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:

[StRacngtC06]

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.

[jenzan]

Originally Posted by titan_rw

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.

Listen to this guy, I do the exact same thing with my BRZ...but then again maybe it's because we're Alberta men and cold ain't nothing but a thing. Haha.

[Lingy]

Picked up my new car in the afternoon today. No issue starting up when it was in the dealer's garage, but it took several seconds longer when I started it up in the evening at -10C and shifting wasn't as smooth. :/