'03 Honda Accord Slower engine start

Maintenance/Repairs
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1

I recently left my car parked at a park and ride over the holiday weekend while traveling to visit some family, and when I returned the car would not start as quickly as it had been prior to me leaving it. The car is an '03 with about 165k miles on it, battery replaced about two years ago. I do travel quite often for work, but have never noticed a drop off in crank time until this past weekend.

I did have the serpentine belt changed almost three months ago. (not saying that is in any way related to my current issue, just giving a bit of history on car maintenance) Any ideas on what I should have checked, (starter, battery, etc)? Should I not leave the car idle for more than a couple of days with such high miles on the engine?

2

Make sure it isn’t the battery. Look at the battery terminals to make sure they aren’t corroded. If not, take the car to a chain auto parts store and ask them to test the battery. They can tell you if it is faulty, not fully charged, or not charging properly at idle. If it isn’t the battery or alternator, we can go over other possibilities.

One more thing: what is the battery manufacturing date? There is a round, colored tag with a month and year on it. The tag will be on top of the battery. It it is 2010 or earlier, it very well could be the battery. Just because you bought it 2 years ago doesn’t mean it was fresh from the factory.