Engine experiencing some hesitation when starting. What can be the cause?

My Corolla’s dash went dim during a failed cranking attempt one time. Turned out to be a loose connection at a battery post.

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I started the engine today four times with no problems. I think I’m just gonna ignore what happened yesterday. I really don’t like going to the shop.

What do you guys think?

Return to where you purchased the battery, they should be able to test it and handle the warranty.

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I’m still not clear on whether it’s a failed to crank or failed to start even if cranking.

There are multiple reasons to not like going to a shop. For me it’s just time and convenience. For you, it might just mean that you need to find a shop that you can trust. Find one, and build a relationship with them.

What I think is that problems don’t go away by ignoring them. You’ve apparently gotten some manner of “warning.” If you don’t address it, next time you’re just stranded somewhere. Hopefully you have a roadside assistance service.

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Yikes!
The “slow starting” could be just the beginning of a bunch of electrical problems.

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Cars are actually not altogether different from people, in that both need to be properly diagnosed if they are to remain “alive”.

If my PC doctor hadn’t diagnosed Leukemia ~2 years ago, I wouldn’t have known that I needed to be under the care of an Oncologist. Similarly, until you have a professional properly diagnose your Camry’s problem(s), you won’t know what is necessary in order to resolve the car’s problem(s).

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Since this vehicle has been in a flood, it could be a bad/rusted ground wire. Or a bad electrical connection, among a host of other things. best of luck.

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Suggest to explain what you don’t like?

  • It takes too much of your time driving the car there & back then being bored in the waiting room?

  • The staff seems like they are trying to selling you unneeded services or otherwise mislead you

  • The staff has a history of not being able to solve the problem on the first attempt?

  • The staff has a history of taking much longer than they estimate?

  • The fee is considerably more than you expected, or you believe you are being over-charged?

The best way to interact w/a shop imo is to choose a good one based on personal recommendations. Then only use that shop for all maintenance and repairs so they’ll get to know you and your car. Tell them your car philosophy; e.g. you prefer to do more maintenance if it resulsts in fewer repairs; or that you prefer to take a risk by deferring maintenance, & if that causes more repairs later, you’ll pay for that then.

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So, I have a bit more info. I’ve been able to start my car several times for the past two days without much of an issue. However, I noticed that I had to reset my clock to the correct time, and all my favorite radio stations.

Does this sound like I’m having a battery issue?

:man_facepalming:
You have been told several times to have your battery checked as well as check for corrosion as well as battery terminals being tight… You are asking a question that has already been answered… IF the battery and all the above check out OK then we will know to move on… If you are not checking anything we are suggesting, then there is not much point trying to give you help… Water can/will cause corrosion… It could also be a starter starting to drag… Not trying to sound mean or anything, but we have already suggested a possible bad battery, and yet you ask does this sound like a battery issue… Check the damn thing and then get back to us with the results OR have a shop, and maybe even an automotive electrical shop, do a proper diagnosis on the car…

Heck, 10 post ago YOU even said you thought it might be a battery issue…

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After all of the posts advising you to have the battery checked–FREE of charge–at an auto parts store, I don’t understand why you would hesititate to have it checked.

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Seems you don’t want to follow our advice. Seems you don’t like to work on your car. Clearly we can’t get you to run the simple tests we’ve suggested for you. And then there is this:

So just how do you expect this to get fixed? By magic? By telekinesis from one (or all) of us?

Since the car has been flooded, let me suggest you have corroded wires preventing the proper starting of the car. This will get worse at which point you will start this discussion all over with, “My car won’t start, do you think it is the battery?” :roll_eyes:

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:+1:
Like the directions on the shampoo bottle…
Lather, rinse, repeat

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Good chance. When you crank the engine with a weak or poorly connected battery, the current draw of the starter motor (often over 100 A) may cause the battery voltage to briefly go below the minimum voltage required to maintain the information stored in the various memories. This can cause other symptoms besides the radio & clock, such as erasing the learned idle parameters, then the engine might sputter or stall at stopsigns, etc. This can also erase important information a technician needs to properly diagnose a symptom.