Hello all! I’m hoping you guys can help. My husband drives a 2001 Mitsubishi Montero. Everything was going great until 3 years ago when it started doing something strange and continues to this day. He can get the cat started, no problem. However, if he needs to go somewhere in the same hour, it will not start. We sometimes have to wait up to two hours before it starts again. This has left him stranded multiple times. When we try to start it within that hour, the car just shudders. We have taken it in to the dealer multiple times to no avail. They just can’t find anything wrong with it. Any ideas???
The next time it doesn’t start hold the pedal to the floor as you turn the key and let up slowly if/as it starts to fire. If this works then it is probable that your engine is flooding out. The most likely culprits are a leaky fuel pressure regulator or leaky fuel injectors.
The reason it doesn’t do it after sitting a long time is that the fuel flooding the motor evaporates & leaks out of the cylinders into the crank case over time.
Thanks so much for the response. Unfortunately, they (the dealership) told us that they thought it was the problem you mentioned, but could not find anything wrong with it. They didn’t even charge us, stating that they could not find anything wrong with the car. This was about a week ago. Yesterday, the truck spent the night at the movie theatre because it wouldn’t start. In your opinion, is it time to find an independent mechanic? I am so frustrated.
You’ve been putting up with this for three years?
Why?
Yes, by all means find an independent mechanic (a good one) who will follow the Mitsubishi diagnostic procedure until the problem is solved.
Just because they’re “dealer” mechanics (or technicians) doesn’t mean they’re GOOD mechanics (or technicians). The dealer employs the least expensive mechanics (or technicians), not the best.
You need to find a place where they care about the work they do. Such places exist, I promise you, but you have to find them. They are likely to be independent mechanics, or repair shops, who depend on satisfied customers for repeat business.
I live in a small town, and I’ve been able to find several such shops without looking too hard. Surely you can find at least one.
There are sensors that tell the computer many things. You might even have one that helps the computer decide what fuel / air mixture to use. If the computer gets a sensor that tells it that the engine temperature is hot when it is cold, you could be getting a lean condition at startup. Even a dirty electrical connection could cause huge problems.