My Subaru frequently won’t start. It cranks but won’t turn over. On two occasions I’ve tried to start it for 30 minutes or so, given up and called AAA. When they came, it started right up. They looked at me like I was crazy. I took it to my mechanic. He was able to start it too with no problems. My spouse went to pick it up from the garage, tries for 20 minutes, but can’t start it. Unfortunately, the mechanics were already gone and couldn’t witness the problem. Am I going crazy or does my car have passive aggressive tendencies? Our mechanics say they can’t fix it if it’s starting right up for them. Help!
Then you’re going to have leave it with the mechanics until it doesn’t start for them. Because that’s only way to determine why you have this intermintant no-start problem.
Tester
Agreed. If it only happens occasionally, your mechanic has to keep trying until it won’t start for him/her.
If your mechanic doesn’t believe you, try another mechanic.
You could help narrow the list of possibilities. It’s helps a lot to know if the problem is lack of spark, or lack of fuel going into the engine. From the auto parts store, get a spray can of Starter Fluid. When the car doesn’t start, pull a rubber hose from the black plastic intake tube. Spray a two second spray of the Starter Fluid into the 4 inch wide black plastic tube. Attempt a start. If it starts and runs for a couple of seconds, that shows that the problem is a lack of fuel getting into the engine. Then troubleshooting, and repair, would center around the fuel system (pump, control, delivery). A Check for spark would be helpful. Unfortunately, not many people have the aptitude to perform it. One can wish…