Starting - Saturn - Weather - Ion :: Won't Start When Temperature Drop To Single Digits And Below
Feb 3, 2011
When the temperatures drop to the single digits and below, my car won't start. It won't even turn over! I turn the key and there's nothing. So, I sit in the car and then turn the key again. I wait. Then turn the key again. Within about 5-10 minutes, the car starts and its good to go! I've had a new battery installed. And even with the new battery, it does the same thing. At the shop, they check the battery and say it's fine.
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I'm a new member learning to use my Prius. I like to use the EV mode in parking lots or to back up from my garage or driveway and avoid running the engine just to warm it up because it warms up quicker and efficiently while driving with engine on (gently of course).
I had a few times when EV was cancelled due to "too high speed" and engine started while I was creeping at very slow speeds (<10 MPH). Today it happened twice. First when I was slowly driving in a flat parking lot of DOR where I got my new Prius plates and later it happened when I was slowly exiting from a parking garage DOWNHILL while braking and regenerating. The battery was almost full all the times it happened (so far it stays almost full all times). The driving distances were very short, like couple of hundreds of feet the most.
I can understand why that would happen while driving uphill (I had that too), but flat or downhill at 10 MPH or less?
I don't think the speed sensor is bad, because I also had EV canceled a few times exactly at 25 MPH and that is normal.
Other than that the EV is great. My house is at the lowest point of the subdivision and if I watch my speed carefully (<25 MPH, incidentally a speed limit) I can go entire mile back home in EV and charge the battery to full state in the process by regenerative braking. By doing my average MPH jumped from 50 to 52 and I just started doing it.
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Recently relocated from Southern California to Central Indiana. Brought with me a 1992 Lexus LS400 in excellent condition and low milage. Problem is; when temps go down to single digits, doors freeze shut and it's a big problem opening. Question... is there something I can apply to the doors or seals to prevent this problem. I believe this is the first freezing temps this vehicle has been exposed to.
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I've had this car for a couple of years now and I think this week is the first time I didn't 'fill up' when I got gas. So now the trip computer is all confused on miles to empty vs the almost half tank I have on the fuel gauge. I've tried resetting the trip & holding the button to reset when miles to empty is displayed. I'm a little nervous with the miles to empty in the single digits now.
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2001 Saturn SL1, 143,000 miles; well maintained. For about a week, I had intermittent no crank/no start. Lights and radio worked. A single, audible click occurred when I turned the key. When I was able to start the car, it ran fine. I suspected a failing starter.
The next time I tried to start the car, however, it roared to life only to run like an asthmatic locomotive. It idled low, at about 500 rpm, and shook badly. When I stepped on the gas, the engine smoothed a bit and the headlights flickered. There was no CEL or battery light, except for one brief moment when I revved the engine to about 2000 rpm.
Now, when I try to start the car, it starts just fine, but runs for about 2 seconds before stalling out. I installed a new battery in September 2012 and I changed the plugs in early 2013 – both routine, preventative measures.
Any chance I flooded the engine while trying to start it, even though it's a fuel-injected engine? If so, how do I "unflood" it?
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My car stopped starting reliably last winter. Since my driveway is on a hill and I have a clutch, I'd roll back and pop the clutch to start it (or just make the kids push - it builds character, right?). I finally broke down and put a new battery in it about a month ago. It still occasionally won't start. It seems worse if the weather is chilly. When it fails to start, the engine will turn over a few times, slower and slower each time, and then die. If I turn the key again right away, nothing - just the "click." If I wait about 2 minutes, it roars to life like nothing ever happened. Doesn't seem like an alternator problem. It's green.
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My Chevy Cobalt will not start in cold weather. I don't think bad battery is the case here because it's started in warmer temperatures. What could be wrong??
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I posted a couple of weeks ago about my car making a single click instead of starting while turning the key. The dealer finally got the car in the other day and initially called to tell me that the positive cable was loose on the battery. Then called back a while later to say after trying the start the car after it was sitting for a while it again made the single click and didn't start. I never bought the battery cable story since I knew it couldn't be that loose, I checked. But instead they found the starter itself was the issue. I was thinking it may be a loose cable on the starter itself and was surprised to see the starter had burned out already. A new starter was ordered and will be installed on Tuesday. I am not sure who makes the starters for these cars but a 2012 starter should last years. In comparison, my 96 honda civic is still sporting the original starter after 17 years and a couple hundred thousand miles.
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Had a weird experience with my Nissan Altima (2003) in June that has repeated very occasionally since then. Immediately after starting, there is a single loud thunk. It sounds exactly like a bird flying into the rear left window. In fact, the first time I heard it I thought that's what had happened. Since it has repeated -- although very occasionally, as in a handful of times -- I'm concerned that it's a problem that needs to be addressed. The car has about 100K miles on it and is otherwise in very good condition. What the likely issue might be? (I recently moved to a new area and I don't have a trusted mechanic to ask.)
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I have a 2000 Corolla CE with 51k miles (bought a couple of months ago).
It ran perfectly during the hot weather (75-80F) and it idles around 650rpm-670rpm. These couple of weeks, there have been very cold weather (60-70F) and it idles mostly around 650rpm but can drop to 630-640rpm. Sometimes, it will suddenly drop to around 612rpm (there will be a very slight shudder) and pick back up to 630rpm. This is with all accessories turned off.
If I turn on the windshield wiper, then every time it activates, it drops to around 612rpm and picks back up quickly. This only happens during cold weather.
I don't think it's the MAF sensor.. what it could be?
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I have a 1997 Saturn SL1 with 100k. Every so often the RPMs will drop by 500-1000 or so for a second and then come back up to normal. This happens both when stopped at a light and while accelerating, and doesn't seem to happen predictably. I've already changed the filters and cleaned out the IAC, without any success. I've sprayed the obvious connection points in hopes of locating a potential vacuum leak, also without any luck. Other ways to locate a potential vacuum leak that wouldn't be overly time-intensive?
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the car 07 passat wagon fsi auto value edition.. This is my first winter in Maine and I've noticed by 35 degrees F and colder when vehicle is at operating temp and then I use the cabin blower say 72 degrees or hotter on fan speed 2; causes engine temp to drop maybe 10-15 degrees. Car reaches operating temp quickly! And coolant concentration seems right!
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I have a 2003 Passat and the engine temperature gauge will read 190 normally and then suddenly drop to almost zero, stay there for a while then head back up.
I purchased a temp sensor to replace the old but for the life of me I can seem to locate it. I know it's in the back or rear of the engine somewhere.
BTW, the car has the 1.8 engine.
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My '99 Saturn SL2 has from time to time in the past year or so had brief bouts where the engine will suddenly rev up to about 2000rpms while at a stop and/or drop down to about 650rpms combined with surging and stalling while moving. The Service Engine light would typically come on in conjunction with these spells, but then a few days later, things would be back to normal and the light would go off. The episodes seem to correspond with weather that has high humidity, but not necessarily extreme heat. Once or twice when the heat was above 90, the car quit completely and wouldn't restart for several minutes, but that was last summer.
About a month ago the car, which is normally parked in a garage, spent the whole weekend outside when we had some extreme rains (in air temps only about 60s or so). Since that weekend, the car is running frequently with the issues previously described, especially the surging and stalling while driving. It will feel like the timing of the fuel is all out of whack, will shudder and run hard, and then it will suddenly correct itself and run normally. A friend has a code reader and the codes that came up are 404 and 1404, which indicate the EGR valve. We replaced that with a new one and put in 4 new spark plugs, but the problem still persists. I believe the fuel pump is in the gas tank, so from other things I've read, a vapor lock may not be the problem since the fuel is being pushed.
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Last fall I had my radiator flushed and at the same time my coolant overfill canister with built in temperature guage sensor was replaced with a new unit. (The service station replaced the resevoir canister with a new unit in the engine compartment, because they felt the sensor is prone to failing after 7 years.)
Ever since, my temperature gauge needle on the dash will randomly drop (even when the car is up to FULL OPERATING TEMPERATURES) showing the engine being cooler than it out to be. In other words the needle drops signifying to a much lower water temperature. After a period of time the needle will recover back to the normal full operating temperature mark on the dash gauge.
What could cause this? Inside my radiator do I have a "diafram" temperature valve that could be failing /"sticking?" In other words could a temperature valve in the radiator be sticking at odd or random times??? I also notice that my heater does not put out the usual full furnace heat that a Passat is know for. The temperature is about 1/3 cooler now that we are into winter temperatures.
Is my heater core clogged?
Could the new coolant sensor in the new coolant overfill chamber not be working well? This whole situation began AFTER my radiator was flushed, and AFTER I had the coolant reservoir canister and sensor replaced.
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Just wondering if this is anything to be concerned about. I have a 2006 Saturn Vue. It has just over 80,000 miles on it. The temperature gauge has always registered just below the "second mark" once the car is warm. As of last week, the gauge is now registering slightly past the "second mark." So, higher. It is no where near the "red" zone, and nothing seems to be wrong, but it has me concerned. I took it in for service and they said "it is still well within the normal range, don't worry about it." But I think something made the gauge go higher, and I am concerned about a problem lurking. Am I being a Nervous Nellie? I love my Vue and want to take good care of it.
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The temperature control doesn't change the air temperature on my 94 SL2. If I slide the control all the way to the red, the air blowing out doesn't get any hotter. If I slide it all the way to the blue with the AC button and the recirculating air buttons depressed, it doesn't get any cooler. The blower fan works fine, the AC is charged with refrigerant, the compressor looks like it is working, and all the related relays and fuses seem to be okay. I've taken the radio out and loosened the heat/air control. The cables for the vents and the temperature are both attached. Maybe the temp control cable is broken down the line somewhere.
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Passat 3.6 ... The 4Mo has been out in AZ for about 8 months now. After leaving it in a garage for two months when i flew back home, i came back to find the battery completely dead. It was periodically started but one day my cousin told me it didn't even unlock anymore.
Battery died and was replaced with a "hot weather" one. AAA guy laughed when he saw my plates and checked the battery to find it was a "cold weather" one that wouldn't stand a chance stagnant in the heat.
Coming out of class yesterday where it was HOT and sunny all day, my car didn't start. After giving it another try and some gas, it finally turned over and started. This happened before on my old battery once too, very rare, but it sketches me out that it happens at all.
Could this be a problem with the starter or just hot weather? I don't remember this happening in NJ, but an upcoming road trip makes me wanna know what I am working with.
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2001 Intrigue 3.3 L v6
Due to the cold weather, seems the battery could not start the car. I removed the battery to trickle charge it overnight in the house, and hooked it back up in the morning. It seemed to have sufficient charge to power the starter motor, but the engine would not turn over. I could hear a whirring sound whenever the key was turned, and the sound stopped whenever the key was turned off.
I am suspecting that the starter motor somehow is not engaging with the engine flywheel?
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Recently my 2005 VW golf has not been starting in hot weather. The radio, lights, and every other electronic will start when i turn the key. I will push the clutch in and try to start the car and the engine will not even try to turn over. I hear the starter kicking in so I know its not the starter. I had multiple mechanical tests done and no results came up. No warning lights are on. I brought it to a mechanic and he replaced the clutch relay... and that didn't work. If i leave the car windows open for about an hour after the interior of my car gets too hot the car will start. So I am thinking if it has to do with a relay in the cab of the car. What this will be or what I should try?
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I'm in the military overseas and having a starting problem with my 2006 Ford Five Hundred. When the weather is cold, around 45 degrees F or lower the car starts OK however within about a second the RPM's drop between 400 and 500 and the engine starts to stumble. After about 3 to 4 seconds the RPM's gradually increase to around 1300-1400 RPM and is OK at that point.
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