Startup problem
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Joined: Nov 2004
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Startup problem
About twice a month my car has a lot of trouble starting up. It seems as if the engine wont turn over. The car runs and starts up fine everyother time but once in a while i have to hold the ignition and slam the gas to get it to turn over. Afer that the engine runs fine. It is scary becuase i dont konw if i will be able to get it so start one of these days if it is acting up. Any suggestions? '99.5 1.8t tip.
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I have problems turning the car over on the first attempt
quite frequently. Second try, perfect every time. Car could be cold, warm, doesn't matter. Happens about 75% of the time - frequency has been steadily increasing for @4 months now. I have found that on colder days (like under 45 degrees), it cranks perfectly evey time.
I had it into the dealer when it started, they could not reproduce the problem - out of warantee now.
My guess is the coolant sensor based on what I have researched. While my coolant temperature indicator appears steady (not reporting too high/low, weird temperatures) - it is still a cheap thing to replace to see if it does the trick...I just haven't located the sensor to see which one I need yet.
I have an '01 1.8T QMS with 45k miles.
I had it into the dealer when it started, they could not reproduce the problem - out of warantee now.
My guess is the coolant sensor based on what I have researched. While my coolant temperature indicator appears steady (not reporting too high/low, weird temperatures) - it is still a cheap thing to replace to see if it does the trick...I just haven't located the sensor to see which one I need yet.
I have an '01 1.8T QMS with 45k miles.
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Joined: Mar 2003
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Start with chaecking the basics
1. battery voltage (load and no-load), clean the connectors.
2. alt, charging levels (load and no-load)
3. rest pressure, and running fuel pressure
4. fuel filter
5. make sure you have spark, ohm out the coil packs, check the plugs.
2. alt, charging levels (load and no-load)
3. rest pressure, and running fuel pressure
4. fuel filter
5. make sure you have spark, ohm out the coil packs, check the plugs.
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well if it's trying then it's not having any problem "turning over"
if it were having a problem turning over that's a completely different set of issues from not firing. There's an endless number of things that can cause this and you'll prbably need a real mechanic to fix it. pulling the codes from the computer is obviously the first step.
It could be elctrical or it could be fuel. 90% of the time it's electrical but from your description think it may be fuel. Fuel pressure has to be maintained while the car is turned off or you can get some very strange problems. It will take a decent mechanic to determine if that's what is happening.
It could be elctrical or it could be fuel. 90% of the time it's electrical but from your description think it may be fuel. Fuel pressure has to be maintained while the car is turned off or you can get some very strange problems. It will take a decent mechanic to determine if that's what is happening.