My Kia Sportage is having trouble starting. I have replaced the alternator, fuel pump, and fuel filter. There are times when it starts right up and other times where it struggles to start and then dies. After it dies, I turn the key again and give it some gas at the same time and it starts right up, does anyone have any suggestions as to what it could be?
Well, it is not the alternator, starter or fuel pump…Throwing parts at a car is rarely successful, as you found.
Miles on it? Is the check engine light on? What do you mean by “having trouble starting”?
Lots of cranking? Multiple tries cranking? How does it act when it starts? Does it idle roughly? smoke? cough?
Answer all these questions and we’ll try to help.
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Pressing on your electronic fuel injected car’s gas pedal doesn’t actually “give it some gas”, it just opens the throttle valve a little wider, allowing more air into the engine. Perhaps your engine is running overly rich, and the extra air leans it out enough to start. Some ideas:
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Fuel injector(s) may be leaking gasoline from the fuel rail into the engine when engine is off. So you end up with an unwanted puddle of gasoline in the engine on the next start. Ask your mechanic if a fuel-rail-pressure hold test would be helpful.
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Engine coolant temp sensor is faulty. If it reads a very low temperature, the computer will instruct the injectors to double pulse, thinking the cold engine needs a richer mixture, more gasoline, to start. When in fact that is the opposite of what is needed. Ask mechanic to check accuracy of coolant temp sensor.
Asking your mechanic to check for any diagnostic codes in computer memory make sense too.
It has almost 75,000 miles on it (I bought it from a 92 yr old lady who never went anywhere). There are no lights on the dash at all. When I go to start it, I turn the key and sometimes it turns right on, other times it just cranks. It rarely shudders when idling but it doesn’t have a consistent rough idle. There’s no smoke or cough. When it turns on, it runs great. It doesn’t turn off at stop lights, stop signs. It doesn’t make any noises under the hood (even when it’s idling). It just has a rough start occasionally.
Thank you for the response. I’ll ask my mechanic for those tests and then I may be back or may not. I really appreciate your help and explanation for my “give it some gas” line.
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You might also have your mechanic check the fuel pressure regulator… but I suspect dirty or leaking fuel injectors as well/
Does this mean no warning lights, such as the CEL, or does it mean no dashboard lights at all?
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There are no warning lights. No CEL, check oil, no battery light, etc. The dash looks like like it should when the car is on.
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