Before I head to the dealer, I just wanted to run this by the group. My car has intermittent hard starts...most of which happen first thing in the morning. The car cranks for what seems like a long time (3-4 long seconds) before it "catches". Note that the car is garaged in a warm garage at night so it's not out in the cold.

Could this just be a weak battery or fuel delivery issues? Seems to run just fine when it finally starts.

Thanks in advance.

 

If it happens everytime it sits for a period of time a fuel pressure gauge needs to be installed to see if the pump is bleeding down while sitting for extended periods of time.

 

My problem was caused by a bad fuel pump....

 

Talked to dealership and they suspect that the winter "oxygenated" fuel that's in gas stations right now might be the problem. It was suggested that I change brands and also bump the octane (we've been using 89...will jump to 93). We've only had the car long enough to put 2 tanks in so far...and likely from the same pump.

If the problem persists after the fuel change, they will take a look.

 

sidenote: Nice looking 93 Jimmy Typhoon

 

Thanks! My garage is very season-appropriate with all the green and red!

 

Keep any info you get on this posted. Mine has done this 2 or 3 times in the past 6 months or so and really freaked me out. Turn and release the key and it spins for an enternity before starting, but then like you said it idles and runs fine like nothing ever happened. All other times it fires immediately. 28k on mine.

 

My Lumina started doing this, so I bumped up to 93 octane and it took care of it. I'm guessing it could easily be the winter fuel...

But then again, it is an 11 year old car....

 

Will do...haven't used enough gas yet to refill the tank. But when I do, I'll let you know. It started just fine this morning.

 

UPDATE: Been running 93 and so far, no hesitation on start-up. It probably cranks one turn more in the morning than when its warm, but I'll take that over the 7-10 cranks it took before.