Does your car start this way??

[113GT]

left 4 days in -20 C then started at -10C on the 5th day of it being unused.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLgxlTFyios

sorry i don't know how to embed video.

is this sort of sputtering and hard starting normal for a car with 3900 km on it?

[Impressive]

The sputtering around 500rpm is roughly the same thing I experience (per roughly 50-75 starts) on my 06. Then again my '06 has almost 181,000km on it. I would take it back to the dealership as I've tried to figure out what could be causing this several times however I don't have warranty otherwise I would take it to the dealership and get it checked out.

[113GT]

it only does it though when its super cold outside. when its warmer....no issue. 500 starts...starts right up even after 7 days of being untouched.

[Rob23]

when the car is cold it will sputter like that on starting. and obviously the high RPM will go down to about 500 once the engine is warmed up.

[Cosmo77]

omg thats horrible.....return it ASAP....critical engine damage could be happeneing.....

[mazdaskit]

Thats normal when it's cold mines does it too 2007 86500k

[Kiyomi]

omg thats horrible.....return it ASAP....critical engine damage could be happeneing.....

i dont think its that bad. if anything, get a dry cell battery. :D
if ur that worried do what cosmo said and get it checked out.

[boyracer]

That just doesn't sound right. I'd get it checked

[113GT]

i dont think its that bad. if anything, get a dry cell battery. :D
if ur that worried do what cosmo said and get it checked out.

cosmo was being sarcastic lol

its just been very cold here at night especially. it gets into the -20's every night. keep in mind its not daily driven, so in the video it was 4 whole days not being driven and on the 5th day it was -10 out.

after looking muuuch deeper into this, it's normal, all 6 cars between my family and my gf family all started slower than usual.

if it starts doing this when it gets warmer, then theres an issue with the battery for sure. i do know that in the future, ill be getting a red top because oem batteries always suck ass anyway.

[chan7]

Does the car sit outside or in a garage? (sorry, not sure if this question has been asked before)

Since this isn't a daily driven car (same as me), my car sits in the garage most of the time (except weekends) and start ups are pretty normal... I've never had the sputtering before, unless because your car is left outside?

[113GT]

Does the car sit outside or in a garage? (sorry, not sure if this question has been asked before)

Since this isn't a daily driven car (same as me), my car sits in the garage most of the time (except weekends) and start ups are pretty normal... I've never had the sputtering before, unless because your car is left outside?

yah its left outside, no garage to put her in :(

[chan7]

yah its left outside, no garage to put her in :(

damn... sorry to hear that.... Perhaps because of that reasoning is why it sputters? Just guessing lol...

[Hoodzy]

It looks to be the battery.. kinda what happens when they sit in the cold for 4 days straight?? It's a little low?

[Flagrum_3]

yah its left outside, no garage to put her in :(

It's normal, any battery will loose a chunk of it's juice from the colder temps, especially if left sitting for days. Here's a couple of tips though that can help somewhat, but not prevent slow starts; Try not to take short trips before letting your car sit for days. Turn everything off BEFORE you shut it down, that means stereo, fan, lights to OFF position (not left on auto)...Basically make sure there will be no battery draw from uneccessary sources. You want ONLY the starter to get all the juice.

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[dentinger]

*sigh*

this is normal.

when an engine is cold, the engine typically runs at a higher RPM.
hell, my truck stalled twice with remote start the other day after not plugging it in, and being -25 all night.

[ottoyu34]

Do you have conventional engine oil in it?

[Kappa]

mine was at 3000 when i started it this morning... also sounds like a lawn mower on crack...

[Flagrum_3]

mine was at 3000 when i started it this morning... also sounds like a lawn mower on crack...

That's a tad high! ...After watching the OP's video I noticed his car does exactly as mine; At initial start it races to 1800-2000rpm, several seconds later it'll drop to 1500, then within a minute she's down at 1000 rpm. It's done this always, every winter for 7 years now.

To the OP, here's another thing I didn't mention before; This is for people who have thier cars sitting several days of the week UNUSED; Purchase some gas line antifreeze and put a bottle in at each tank full (Only during winter that is). As moisture can form in the gas during cold periods and with large temp fluctuations, causing rough starts and rough idle.

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[Kappa]

this motor has one year left in the car... im not worried lol

[113GT]

*sigh*

this is normal.

when an engine is cold, the engine typically runs at a higher RPM.
hell, my truck stalled twice with remote start the other day after not plugging it in, and being -25 all night.

i know engine rpms are higher at start up...wasnt my question lol. its the slow start/sputtering that was my question

[113GT]

Do you have conventional engine oil in it?

nope 0w 20 synthetic

[113GT]

flagrum thanks for the good tips man! appreciate it :)

this past week ive been driving the car every day for longer periods of time and its quicker at start up. i just can't wait until this damn winter is over! winter beater next yearrrr

[-ToM-]

this happens to me when its super cold, but during summer and stuff it never happens so its prob just from the cold weather

[bestknightmare]

I got a 2013 GS sky, and when I start her up in the morning, it gets loud, and about 1500 rpm, after a minute or so, she goes down to 1000rpm, when I put her in reverse to reverse out of my spot, she goes down to 500 rpm. Is that normal?

[Zuluwun]

I got a 2013 GS sky, and when I start her up in the morning, it gets loud, and about 1500 rpm, after a minute or so, she goes down to 1000rpm, when I put her in reverse to reverse out of my spot, she goes down to 500 rpm. Is that normal?

Yup. See above (i.e. post #18).

[Zuluwun]

.

[SonicBoy]

Have you considered using an engine block heater, battery warmer blanket or oil pan heater over night to minimize the cold startup?

It also helps to shut down the radio and climate control during startup to reduce the strain on the battery.

Those noises don't sound too out of the ordinary for the temps you are talking about. I know that the 2nd gens make some awful sounds when it gets really cold during startup.

[jaynsue13]

I happens to me too only in the cold no big deal

[Nikhil Pali]

Another thing to do is run full synthetic. Buddy of mine has same car as mine and ran normal oil. He wasn't able to start his car easily in -40 calgary cold, whereas I was able to do so without any problem.

High rpm as you start the car is just ecu reacting to the cold air that is inside the intake. Ecu takes few secs to self compensate and bring idle down.

[MazdaMike02]

More than likely its a weak battery, especially if its a stock Panasonic battery. Have a battery test done.

[MazdaMike02]

I got a 2013 GS sky, and when I start her up in the morning, it gets loud, and about 1500 rpm, after a minute or so, she goes down to 1000rpm, when I put her in reverse to reverse out of my spot, she goes down to 500 rpm. Is that normal?

Absolutely. What this is, the exhaust cam timing is retarded approx 20 degrees I forget exactly. What this does is create massive overlap, this allows flames to help heat up the catalytic convertor.

[narindra]

All normal scared me at first too

[hex]

similar thing happens to my car (but no sputtering), except it's happened in the middle of summer as well (cold start). happened again yesterday.
i turn the key, car starts but takes a couple seconds to get to normal rpm though. it hesitates to start, if that makes any sense.

my battery terminals corrode real fast, and the tie down that holds the battery down is completely corroded.

bought the car last year. wondering if i should replace the battery just in case.

[Flagrum_3]

similar thing happens to my car (but no sputtering), except it's happened in the middle of summer as well (cold start). happened again yesterday.
i turn the key, car starts but takes a couple seconds to get to normal rpm though. it hesitates to start, if that makes any sense.

my battery terminals corrode real fast, and the tie down that holds the battery down is completely corroded.

bought the car last year. wondering if i should replace the battery just in case.

Couple of questions for you; Does the slow starting happen only during the initial cold start of the day or at anytime? Second, When you say it's slow to start, is it cranking slow or cranking normally but the engine seems to take longer to spark-up? ...thanks.

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[hex]

Couple of questions for you; Does the slow starting happen only during the initial cold start of the day or at anytime? Second, When you say it's slow to start, is it cranking slow or cranking normally but the engine seems to take longer to spark-up? ...thanks.

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slow starting only happens on initial start up (not necessarily of the day, but when the car has been sitting for upwards of an hour and the engine has had time to cool down. doesn't happen very often though. i'd say that the engine is cranking normally, but it just takes a couple extra seconds for the engine to get running. i can't really explain it, and i wish i had a video or sound clip of it.

[Flagrum_3]

slow starting only happens on initial start up (not necessarily of the day, but when the car has been sitting for upwards of an hour and the engine has had time to cool down. doesn't happen very often though. i'd say that the engine is cranking normally, but it just takes a couple extra seconds for the engine to get running. i can't really explain it, and i wish i had a video or sound clip of it.

Sounds like the dreaded and common Purge Solenoid Valve leak issue, and NOT a battery issue to me.


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[hex]

Sounds like the dreaded and common Purge Solenoid Valve leak issue, and NOT a battery issue to me.


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Before i start replacing things, is there a way to check if it's actually the solenoid that's messed up, or is it kind of a "replace and we'll see afterwards" thing?

It's only happened about 3 or 4 times since i bought the car september 2012.

[Flagrum_3]

Before i start replacing things, is there a way to check if it's actually the solenoid that's messed up, or is it kind of a "replace and we'll see afterwards" thing?

It's only happened about 3 or 4 times since i bought the car september 2012.

Sometimes it will be accompanied by a code, but not necessarily. Next time it gives you a hard time starting, pay attention to if you can smell raw fuel. If so, it's definitely the PSV, especially if it is NOT the initial start of the day. You also don't necessarily need to replace anything, I've been running with a leaking PSV for like a year now with no issues except the odd slow start-up...no big deal.

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[MazdaMike02]

If it was the purge valve there would be a code for it. P0442 or p0456 also throws a p2187 sometimes. Purge valves don't fail without a code. If it doesn't work the PCM knows and throws a code.

Also how is a leaking purge valve going to cause a slow start condition? Please explain.

[MazdaMike02]

Easy way to check it, pull off the hose on the back and attach a vacuum pump. If it holds vacuum its good, if not change it.

[davmcn]

This happened to me last week too. Except the difference would be that my car sits inside most of the time besides the 10hours I'm at work.

[m_bisson]

Sometimes it will be accompanied by a code, but not necessarily. Next time it gives you a hard time starting, pay attention to if you can smell raw fuel. If so, it's definitely the PSV, especially if it is NOT the initial start of the day. You also don't necessarily need to replace anything, I've been running with a leaking PSV for like a year now with no issues except the odd slow start-up...no big deal.

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Any cold engine will do that. Not all of the fuel gets ignited, so you smell it. Even a hot engine, if you floor it, won't ignite all of the fuel from the initial push. That's not a way to diagnose anything.

[mikey32235]

Same problem I have! Only when it's cold. Raw fuel left in the cylinder

[Flagrum_3]

That's funny, cause I've had my PSV go bad twice without a code. Can you please explain?

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[Flagrum_3]

If you read my post properly, you'd see I clearly stated that especially when the car is NOT cold. Don't try to tell me how to diagnose either. By listening to the OPs original symptoms, I could tell you right away its the PSV. My suggestion comes from actually experiencing the same situation also, so I'm not blowing out my ass here, Thank you.


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