WHEN I TURN THE KEY THE ENGINE TURNS BUT IT DOES NOT START RIGHT AWAY. SOMETIMES IT TAKES TWO OR THREE SECONDS OF TURNING BEFORE IT STARTS. MANY TIMES IT STARTS AFTER THE FEW SECONDS. SOMETIMES IT JUST DOES NOT BUT WHEN I TRY AGAIN IT STARTS RIGHT AWAY. SOMETIMES IT STARTS W/O ANY PROBLEMS. THERE IS NO PROBLEM WITH THE BATTERY SINCE THIS WAS REPLACED LAST YEAR. IT SEEMS THAT WHEN THIS OCCURS THERE IS A PERIOD OF HESITATION BETWEEN THE TURNING OF THE ENGINE AND THE STARTING ITSELF. MECHANIC SAID THAT IT COULD NOT BE DIAGNOSED UNTIL IT GETS WORSE BECAUSE IT COULD BE MANY THINGS. DOES SOMEBODY HAVE AN ANSWER TO THIS? THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
Sounds like a fuel pressure problem
This is how you proceed . . .
Slowly cycle the key 5 times, leaving the key in on position
Then attempt to start the engine
If it starts right away, you have a fuel pressure problem
First, turn off the caps-lock and don’t type in all caps. It means your are SHOUTING! which I doubt is your intention.
Try this - before cranking the car turn the key just to the run position - where all of the dash lights come on but before it cranks. Then back to off. Then to run - off - run - and do that about 6 or 7 times. Each time you should hear a faint 2-3 second hum from behind you. That’s the fuel pump and you are priming up the fuel pressure. After doing that a bunch of times, now crank it. If that helps then tell your mechanic about it. It probably means you need to replace the fuel pump. Or you can keep doing that for as long as it works
Thank u. Sorry for the caps.
@db4690, it was only posted an hour ago. I was apparently typing while you were - it would be nice if we’re both right!
We’re both on the same wavelength, at any rate
I intend to try as s.a. I can. It is encouraging to see that u both had the same answer. I’ll keep u posted. Thanks again.
You both were right. Did the key cycle for two wks. (ea. time waiting for the pump buzz to end - sometimes it was hard to hear the end because it’s very low sound) and no probl. Took the car to the mechanic today. The fuel pump has a pressure probl. However, he recommended to continue doing the cycle thing because replacing the pump is $520. I will try that but hopefully it will work with two cycles ea. time before I turned the key all the way to ignition for 5 times ea. time is a hassle. I already tried only one and it did not work. We’ll see. By the way, I had a 1992 Honda Accord DX before this car and it had the same problem although it was worse to turn on. I heard the solution on “Car Talk”, replaced the pump and never had the problem again. Thanks again.
In my opinion, your mechanic gave you bad advice
If your fuel pump is failing, it’s not smart to keep driving the car without repairing the problem
It may leave you stranded in the middle of the night, in the bad part of town
Glad to hear you found the problem. I think you need to ask around for a couple more quotes. I’m pretty sure that the fuel pump access is just under the back seat cushion. This makes pump replacement a breeze and it shouldn’t run up over $500. Perhaps he was only getting quotes on OEM Motorcraft pumps from Ford? I won’t say that’s necessarily a bad idea. But holy cow. The job should only get up over $500 if the whole tank has to be dropped.
~Edit~ Ok, I think the pump does have to come down (dumb). So the price is probably not too nuts.
Thank u again. I’ll take ur advice into consideration. Have a good day.