Hey all,

It's been uncharacteristically cold here in Oklahoma the last few days. My 2007 Fit automatic normally starts pretty roughly in the cold, but I've never had any issues with it beyond that. Last night I left a friends house and it started fine. Drove a few miles to a gas station to fill up (the gas light had come on right about the time I got TO my friends a few hours earlier), but when I got back in to leave after filling up, the car wouldn't start. All the power would turn on just fine, but when I tried to actually start the car I would hear the click, but then all the power would turn off without it even trying to turn over. When I release the key and let it go back to the power-on position all the power would come back on.

I thought maybe the starter had gone out, and was going to have it towed in to the dealer this morning to have it checked out. I tried starting it a few more times and got the same results. When the tow truck driver arrived, he asked if he could roll the car back onto the inclined part of the driveway and try to start it. When he did this, the car chugged for a second as it tried to turn over, before finally turning over and starting. I drove it to the dealer without any problem, and upon arriving at the dealer and killing the engine it started right back up when I tried it.

The dealer tested all the electrical system, battery, and tried getting the starter to fail, but couldn't find any issues. Does anyone here have any ideas or experience with something like this? The car has always started pretty roughly when it gets really cold, but I've never had it just completely cut-out on me like that before.

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

It needs a new battery.

 

or dirty battery cable connection. Do not forget to also look at the ground side but it is usually the + side.

 

+2

Try to pivot the battery terminals without loosening them. If they twist, you may need battery terminal shims.

The terminals on many batteries are TOO SMALL for the terminals to firmly grasp, even when tightened all the way.

 

The battery was replaced a few months ago, and tested fine.

I played with the terminal shims, and there wasn't any movement. I was thinking something along those lines as well, a bad connection somewhere, but no dice.

The car has started fine ever since this incident. I'm really weirded-out, but I suppose I won't fret over it TOO much. I'll be keeping an eye on it, though. Thanks for the replies!

 

you say it starts roughly in the cold. Since when has it been doing that?

 

It's always started a little rough in the cold (purchased in 2013), typically when the temperature drops below about 40 degrees or so.

 

My 2008, bought 2 years ago, makes a loud screech when started cold in cold weather. Its the pinion gear on the starter which doesn't retract properly when cold. The car starts, but with a screech. This past Sunday, in uncharacteristically cold Goderich Ontario, I needed a boost to leave my girlfriends after parked there. Once started it was fine. Your issue sounds different, having started fine but then dying a few miles later at the gas station. Strange. I'd be weirded out too.

 

Yeah, that's the part that doesn't make sense to me. It should have failed to start the first time in the cold, not later on once the engine was warmer. If it really comes down to it I'll replace the starter, but as long as it's running well *knock on wood* I'll let it go for a bit. Thanks!

 

The only other thought I have is something to do with gas line. When it started at your friends house you had very little fuel in the system. Then you drove a short distance, stopped again, and gassed up. Possibly while you were gassing up a bit of condensation or vapor something happened in the fuel line, in the fuel system somewhere, where condensate froze or somehow clogged. Then once the whole system was warmed up and at the dealership they couldn't find anything because there was nothing to find, the problem was gone because you had ample fuel in the system to fill all the lines. that's my best guess. For the future, never let your fuel get so low in the winter; its a safety issue, and it might just also be a starting issue.

 

Maybe that's it. I typically don't let it get so low, but I was in a bit of a hurry to get to their house to catch the Rose Bowl

My only question with that is, why would the tow truck driver the next morning be able to get the car to start by putting the car on an incline? If the newly-filled tank and lines broke up any possible frozen condensate, wouldn't the tow the previous night have broken it up when it was put up on the truck? I tried starting the car the following morning and got nothing out of it.

The whole thing is just weird to me.

 

did you have it towed to your house the night you gassed up, and then again to the dealers the next morning? I assumed you had left it at the gas station after failing to start it, and had the interaction with the tow truck the next morning. I assume the rolling start was done to take the starter out of the starting chain; he wanted to get it started and didn't want to encounter a failed start if the starter was dead. He maybe understood that it was your gas line that was frozen. I also assume that once you filled it up with gas the fresh warmer gas just blew the lines open. But way out of my area of expertise.

 

I had the car towed to my house when it failed to start, the night I filled-up. The next morning I was going to have it towed to the dealer, but that tow truck driver was the one who was able to get it to start when he sat the car on an incline.

The car is still starting fine ever since, though we haven't had any more nights quite as cold as the night it failed to start. Still keeping an eye on it.

 

Carry a portable lithium jump starter with you. I keep one in the trunk and it saves my butt whenever I listen to the radio for too long after turning the ignition off.


It makes a good backup phone charger in case you ever get stranded. But now you can jump start your own car any time without a second car and booster cables.