i went out to my car yesterday to start it for the first time that day. the starter sounded kind of weak (maybe the battery) and the car would just not get going. after a couple minutes of trying i finally got the car running, but it sounded and felt extremely rough, like it wasn't firing on all cylinders. there was also some smoke coming from the exhaust and it smelt like burnt oil. it seemed like it got back to normal after a few minutes, but it got me a little concerned, since the car has less than 20k miles on in it. i drove it the rest of the day yesterday and 70 miles this morning and had no problems.

i've had problems starting it in the past, but only a handful of times, and none this bad. i'm not sure if it had something to do with the cold (mid 30's).

have any of you had similar problems?

 

Smoke was most likely from an overly-rich condition caused by cranking it a lot without starting, not a problem.

The biggest problem in starting in cold is people not cranking long enough for the car to start. (Not too much though, I know...)

Example: On an 80-degree day I would say my car starts (like most) in the first turn of the engine. Has anyone else ever been lazy and let off the key after like a half-second and the engine didn't quite get started? I have, and then right after that had to let it crank for 15 seconds before it'd start up. That is guaranteed to happen everytime! I think a lot of people have this scenario happen in the cold when it's even worse conditions. Just make sure to run the starter until the engine is going. If this will happen on a warm day, it is twice as bad on a cold one.

I was so proud of my Max this morning, it was totally iced over, and 1 degree in KC this morning, and it started quicker than usual, like the first half-turn! Sweet!

 

I've done that, accidentally not letting it start long enough... though it never takes me 15 seconds to start it up afterwards, maybe more like 2 seconds

 

It does that because it uses the fuel that is sprayed into the motor to start it, when you try again, it doesn't have any fuel so it takes some time to get more fuel into the motor. I had the same fun in KC this morning. 1 degree and she started right up.

 

There was some talk a while back about a "known 3.5 problem"; the gist was that if you start your car and it runs for only a few seconds then you shut it off, it may be hard to start and run poorly next time.

I haven't encountered this problem so it may have been only on "early" 3.5s, but IIRC it was specific to the engine, not just Maximas.

 

That is totally untrue. The fuel injectors inject fuel as you hold the key in the start position. The fuel system is pressurized as soon as you turn on the key. It only takes nanoseconds for the sequence of events. Also, the some of the unburnt fuel remains in the cylinder until you start the engine.

 

This morning, the max didn't want to start

 

over the past few weeks mine has been sporadically tough to start. it will crank for like 10 seconds then start. then it works fine for a few days. how do i know if my battery is going?

can they test it for me without charging me $500.

 

This is called the "lawn mower syndrome" (backing your car out of the garage to get the lawn mower out so the car is only running for a few seconds). It affects other cars as well (in my case a Volvo 850 Turbo I used to have). My understanding is the on a cold start, the A/F mixture is rich and possible the cold start injector is being used (if applicable). Since the car only runs for a few seconds, the mixture doesn't get a chance to lean out. When you attempt to start the car a few minutes later, its considerred a cold start again according to the ECU, but now the engine floods, hence the hard start.

 

According to the recall release from Nissan, this is one of the symptoms of a faulty crank position sensor. I would suggest getting the recall done and see if it helps your problems.

 

Don't go to the dealership, unless you know the mechanic really well. Autozone is where I go, they will test the battery and alternator.

 

I just had the recall done. It was doing this sporadically both before and after the recall so I don't think it is related.

 

is a battery covered under warranty?