For about a week now, especially on the very cold mornings, whenever I try to start my car I get a whirring sound from the engine for about 5-10 seconds and then my car will start right up and run perfectly the rest of the day with no problem starting whatsoever. Then, it will do the same thing again in the morning. I recently got the starter replaced so don’t know if they did a shoddy job or what. Any advice would be appreciated!
If you had the starter replaced with a rebuilt possibly it may have a faulty bendix or a bolt isn’t in all the way
I’m thinking a defective starter. The starter is a powerful electric motor. There is a gear on the front that slips forward and engages the engine (actually the flywheel) when power is applied to the starter and slides back when power is removed from the starter. It sounds like the gear is slow to engage when things are cold. That’s not something a shop would or easily could check for, so it’s likely more bad luck than a shoddy job if that’s the problem.
Why not stop by and check with the folks who replaced your starter? Maybe they’ll have some thoughts. And there’s no reason to think they are any more dishonest than any other mechanic. And they may do some or all of the work cheap or free if they feel partially responsible.