Just noticed the past few days that my engine took a little longer to start than usual. Before it would crank for 1 second and it'll purr to life...now it takes 2x or 3x as long before she fires. Today, I cranked it for a good 5 seconds before the engine turned over.

The car got about 86k on it, regular maintenance are up to date. Any ideas fellas? I can only think of the spark plugs, but I thought those plugs suppose to last much longer than 86k?

 

Maybe its just the battery?

 

Battery could be low , bring it in autozone and have it check it out..

sounds like that or alternator not charging the batter or starter.

Since your in Htown I doubt it could be the starter sticking because your not in the cold weather but if it is indeed a starter.

I have one for sale from a 2004 with 20K miles.

but get it check at autozone

 

battery is fine, voltage reads 14.5 idle, around 12.8-13.0 with engine off. the starter still sounds very strong, that's why I don't think it's an electrical issue. (I could be wrong though)

 

only two things fuel or spark then. I would venture to guess it was the plugs. they are only supposed to last 100k miles but depending on how you drive could go earlier. Also if you have changed your gas recently? could be bad gas clogging injectors.

 

You need to put a load similiar to the cold cranking of an engine to test it. A shop will have the proper tester for that. To simply see the voltage while the engine is off or running is not enough. If the battery is good and it isn't your plugs you have to plug into the ECM next.

 

I have the same problem too as with a few others on this board. If the car sits for a few hours, I have to crank the engine twice before it starts. I'm pretty sure its a fuel issue - fuel draining back to the tank.

Battery was changed. The front bank spark plugs were changed. Oil is changed regularly. And I changed the air filter and PCV valve. Car has 77,000 miles.

I'm just living with it. I don't feel like spending the time or money to track down the issue and fixing it.

edit: I also took the car to the dealer and they couldn't track down the problem. The car was hooked up to the computer and no codes were being thrown. No charge from the dealer (thought they were going to change me a fee or something).

If you find out what the problem is with your car and how you fixed it, let all of us know. It would be greatly appreciated!

 

Hey buddy herer is what you do, take out your Audio System, YEP that is exactly whats causing this and sell me your components, Hahahaha. Just kidding

IDK whats going on good luck

 

The heat generated by compression is what makes a diesel fire.The engine has built up heat at this point.Either your engine has low compression or you have bad injectors leaking down.Excess fuel in the cylinders will cause a prolonged crank and hard start.

 

So I was combing through the Technical Service Bulletins and I saw one for this starting issue. Here's the link to the PDF: http://www.keepandshare.com/doc/view...d=1373390&da=y

I remember someone saying it could be fuel pressure issue so he just might be right. I'm gonna have mine checked in the very near future.

 

That means nothing. You have to get a shop quality tester and put a load test on it and see if it holds it. If your car is 4 years old chances are you should change the battery. Not sure if this contributes to the starting issue but it's good practice.

 

I had a similar issue with my 06, took about several months before one day I accidentally left the lights on for maybe 5 minutes and then went to start the car and the battery was dead

 

This same thing happened to me about this time last year.
Its either the battery or the alternator.
Even if you got your battery checked I say it's your battery. I got mine checked and it was fine, went ahead and got the battery and everything starts up fine. Still no problems.

 

I'll bank on the fuel pressure leaking from some point. The regulator is built into the sending unit so you cant just replace the pressure regulator. I have the same issue and have had it for quite sometime. Already changed the battery, gunning for the fuel pump/sending unit this week.

 

fuel pressure leaking would throw a code no matter the significance of the leak. Plus you would have very poor performance and smell lots of gas. MPG would be horrible as well.

 

I bought my fuel pump assembly at Autozone yesterday. I plan on replacing the unit this weekend. Hopefully it resolved my starting issues. It doesn't look too hard to replace; remove rear passenger seat bottom, depressurize fuel line (remove fuel pump fuse and start a few times), disconnect two lines and one electrical, remove fuel pump, install new one and put everything back together.

 

is it better to use HKS fuel pump or something like that ?

 

i don't have a diesel engine...

anyhow, my battery is new. took the car to our shop and placed a load on the electrical and it held find. the long start it still occurs from time to time. i'm guessing it is caused by bad spark plugs? getting to the rear 3 plugs will be a pain in the ****...

 

I recently had a similar problem on my 4th gen with 98K miles. After thinking it was fuel and or spark related it ended up that the starter was getting weak so could not turn the engine quickly enough to start. It sounded like it cranked fine but it was not. Starter finally went dead a month later.

You can do regular maintence stuff like plugs anyway but the starter should be easy to remove and test. Try the obvious stuff like battery or starter before you worry about things like spark or fuel pressure/pump.

 

yeah, that sounds like my situation as well. it sounds like it's cranking fine and fast.

 

The problem may be easier to solve once it gets worse, my starts started getting worse as time went on until toward the end it really started to sound like a obvious starter issue. Of course you could end up getting stuck. I ended up replacing my starter at my work parking lot, fortunately I was able to get a starter and some tools. I'm not saying it is defintely your starter, just a good possiblity.


FWIW http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...ike-champ.html

 

Don't forget to disconnect the battery!!!

 

i got he same problem

 

Well, I replaced the fuel pump today. PITA!! Stupid locking ring kept me back. I ended using a c-clamp and a rubber mallet to get the stupid thing out. I'll see how it goes for the next week and give you guys an update.

BTW, the fuel pump I got from Autozone is an exact replacement. Even though it's branded Airtex, it's really a Bosch fuel pump assembly which is what came with the car.

 

If the fuel pump does not fix the problem you may have an issue with your fuel pressure regulator.

 

The fuel pressure regulator and fuel filter are all integrated in the fuel pump assembly.

Other people have been tell me the same thing also, that it could be the fuel pressure regulator going bad.

 

Personally, I wouldn't trust ANY plug to 100,000 miles. The plugs in my Taurus were supposed to be good for 100K...I changed them at 65K and they were really due. Start with the easy /cheap stuff first!

 

+1 start with easy/cheap stuff first. I vote starter.

 

So far so good. After a 15hr cold soak, the car started on the first try this morning with no issue.

 

its your crank shaft position sensor its about $30 at auto zone same thing was wrong with my maxima look up videos on youtube its not hard to change out