Ford - Taurus :: 2003 - Won't Start Easily Hesitates?
Oct 17, 2016
2003 Ford Taurus, 49k miles, 3.0 OHV V6 (Vulcan).
It's my daughter's car, she's away at college, so it only gets driven once a week at the most. For the last year or so when I turn the key to start, the starter starts to turn, hesitates for a second, and then turns over and starts the car. I've been assuming the battery was a little run down from sitting so much. There are no noises, clicking or grinding, just this slight hesitation. The battery terminals are clean.
Last night it wouldn't start on the first try, I had to turn the key 2 to 3 times before the starter would turn the engine over. I took the battery to Advance Auto and it tested fine but needs a charge (~12.2V). I'm slow charging the battery with a Battery Tender so it's going to take a while.
This hesitation, is it a sign of a failing starter?
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192,852 miles. I pushed down on the wiring harness when reattaching the (now) somewhat shorter "H" hose. Thought this could be a problem, so I then ran the "H" hose UNDER the harness (which seemed better). Any chance I could've broken a wire in the harness? I didn't move it very much at all, but those wires have been drying out for 13 years now. The car started right up afterward repairing the hose, but suddenly stopped after idling for about 5-7 minutes ... then it wouldn't start again for at least 15 minutes when it "caught" and idled for about 1 minute. Hasn't started again since. Besides the usual P0430 and P1131 codes, I noticed two other codes: P1744 and P0340.
Don't know if they just showed up today or if they've been there a while. My guess is it's the latter because I once saw P1744 about 7+ years ago and it was due to the cooling system not cooling the tranny fluid sufficiently (which is what has been happening again lately with the coolant leaking out of the "H" hose ... and the Degas tank before that). Temp gauge has been running past mid-scale at idle ... an indication of low fluid, and I've been filling as needed to prevent overheating until this weekend when I finally installed a new "T" on the "H" hose (it was leaking at the molded "T"). P0340 I saw pop up about a year ago during very cold weather. I wouldn't doubt that the damn magnet on the sensor has once again fallen into the synchro like it did 8+ years ago, but would this cause a no-start condition? I wouldn't think so... The car cranks plenty strong. Just won't "catch" and start. Up until today and the hose job, it had been running fine. Even drove it this morning about 10 miles. Could I have a coincidental fuel pump failure? Seems TOO coincidental, doesn't it?
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I have a 2003 Jeep Wrangler (4 cylinder) that seems to be having a fuel problem.... about a month ago, it started lurching, having a hard time starting, it would lose power on drives and once or twice it has stalled on me while I'm driving on the freeway. I've had to restart my car going 60 mph... if I feel it lurching or surging, I have been able to keep the car going by shifting into a lower gear or taking my foot off the gas.
I just took it into the dealership and spent 1300 to get it diagnosed and fixed. I got a new timing belt, and a whole bunch of other stuff and on the way out, it stalled at the first stop light. Although it seems to be running better, it obviously didn't fix the issue. I took it right back and now they are going to have me bring it back on Monday to 'try to figure it out’. Where should I tell them to look?
Oh, and - I had to get a short fixed from the ignition key (I was able to pull the key out while the car was running) and they fixed it. But now, I can't get any reception on my radio...
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My 2003 Taurus sometimes refuses to start. There's no real pattern: sometimes it's after the car has run for a while and other times not. Sometimes the starter clicks, other times the engine lights come on with no sound at all from starter/engine. Thing is, the car always ends up starting if I let it sit long enough (15 minutes--several hours). I've read around on the internet and realize this seems to be a problem experienced by many owners. I've changed the battery, checked all the connections, cleaned the starter connections and the Mass Air Flow Sensor. If the starter was bad, it seems like it wouldn't start at all, right?
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I have a 2003 Nissan Xterra, and have been having starting issues for while. Everybody who does a starting diagnostic test says everything is ok and working. Over the past 18 months, I have gotten new battery (charge is fine), replaced starter ( fine), distributor cap (wires, sparkplugs, cap, also fine.) Alternator has tested fine also, have not replaced this yet. The delay seems to be getting slightly longer, but once kicks in car starts fine. I have put too much money into this already to fix problem that has not gone away. Something is wrong and nobody has a clue Side note, no problems with engine, just takes a few seconds to start.
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I'm having trouble with my Taurus 2003 and the mechanic is struggling to find anything wrong;When idling, if I turn on the A/C on the car will start to shudder intermittently. It feels kinda like an engine misfire...The mechanic replaced the spark plugs and the trouble seemed to disappear but was back again after a number of weeks. When I took the car back the oil-seal was leaking so I got those replaced. It may possibly have been better for a few days [It's a bit difficult to gauge as the problem is somewhat intermittent] but then the problem was back.
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I have a 1996 Toyota Camry with 200k miles on it. It has been giving me trouble starting for a while and I was advised to replace my battery during my last oil change. The problem is when I try to start it does not start for a while. It makes a noise and tiisssssss and stop. tissssss and stop. But then third or fourth try, it works. I installed a new battery and I am still having the same problem. One cold day, it never started no matter how many times I tried. My roommate who is an aerospace engineering PhD candidate came out of the apartment with a teapot full of how water and poured it onto the terminals. For record, terminals are clean. When he did that, it worked.
What is wrong with car?
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I have a 2005 Nissan Sentra with 74,000 miles on it, and it has had trouble starting for 2 or 3 years. When it started, I would turn the key and the car would almost, but not quite, start, and simply turning it off and trying again would work immediately. I had the battery replaced and the spark plugs at ~50,000 miles to no avail. About a month ago, I started my car and it had a really rough idle for about 15 - 30 seconds and the check engine light came on (registered an emission issue), but it ran fine. I had to get a routine oil change and emissions test anyway and they checked the spark plugs as a first measure. They all had some wear, but one was almost worn down to nothing, which the mechanic said was a result of the spark plugs (autolites?) so they replaced them with the Nissan recommended NGK kind. The next day my car didn't start the first immediately, but on second try worked. A week later I noticed my car sometimes rumbling on idle right after start again, so they replaced the fuel filter and the fuel pump. Didn't work, I still have a rumble about 30% of the time when I start, and just two days ago the check engine light came back on (I haven't had time to get it diagnosed yet). Without knowing much about cars, it feels like the engine isn't getting enough fuel or something. Could it be dirty/clogged fuel injectors? Should I be worried that my spark plugs were worn down after just 25,000 miles?
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I have been looking around on here for an answer and I can't find exactly what I am looking for. My key is worn down and will not easily move. My spare key is like new and works great. I have a spare that doesn't have a chip in it and it will turn over the engine but not fire it up. Even with the old key and the non chip key touching together at the switch, the truck will not fire up. How does this set up work and can I remove the chip from the old key and attach it to the no chip key.
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So this morning I started my car to let it warm up (as I usually do), but noticed it shut off after a few minutes. It did this twice. 3rd time I tried to start it nothing happened, so I waited a minute then tried again, that time it started. Drove it to work without any issues.
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Truck has been driving great for a long time and this afternoon after driving fine to work just died 3-4 times while trying to accelerate from idle. Engine restarts easily but the power is soft off idle, the injectors sound noisier and then quiet down and will accelerate decently once rolling but something is off I can tell.
Fuel pressure is read post filter and is good. Truck is well maintained with all the basics replaced in the last couple years. Could this be CPS going out even if it is only a couple years old? IPR is new in the last year, ICP sensor isn't leaking. Most recent change was a full tank of fuel yesterday afternoon and on a whim performing a boost leak check which was all good.
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I have a 2007 Suzuki XL7. About a year ago it started having trouble starting after fueling. Every time you put fuel in the vehicle it would take a few times before it would start. We've had it to several mechanics. They replaced the gas cap and did a few other small things. Nothing worked. We took it to have it diagnosed on the computer 3 different times (twice by the dealer). They only tell us that there is something with the timing sync code. The vehicle now has 190,000 miles on it.
Recently, it's started to act up more often. As the car warms up and is used more throughout the day it becomes more and more difficult to start. It has also had a few instances where you would get it started and you push on the gas and it won't go. This problem is getting increasingly more frustrating. I've talked to my regular mechanic about these issues and his belief is that it is some sort of fuel issue.
Unfortunately, he is more of a backyard mechanic and doesn't have a computer to diagnose it. I recently took it to yet another mechanic and have gotten the runaround by them. The man there told me he would get me an estimate written up with an explanation of what he feels is wrong with it. It's been two weeks since then and I've called a dozen times with no luck. Mechanics are truly frustrating to me. My friend said, call Car Talk, so here I am...desperately hoping you might have a clue as to what is going on with the vehicle.
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I have a 1967 Porsche 912. Today it was being a bit difficult getting fired up. Third time was the charm, but once in gear it had no power at all. The tachometer was around 3.5k in first before it even found the 10mph neighborhood ad took its sweet time to get there when shifting into second the car died. I turned her right around an put her to bed. I am thinking carburetor...
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I brought my 2000 9-5 Saab to Jiffy Lube on July 13th. On July 18th, it wouldn't start. It would turn over and everything, but it would just sit there and do the, "ruh ruh ruh ruh ruh ruh." I waited half an hour, and tried it again and to my surprise, it started. I drove it home without issue. The next morning, it did the same thing, but this time, it didn't start. Had it towed to the Saab guy, he says there's no compression in two of the cylinders and that it's going to be $1000 to fix the thing. I called someone for a second opinion, and he asked if I had run out of oil because no compression usually means an issue with the oil or something. Could Jiffy Lube have done something to cause an issue, and if so, is there anything that I can do about it?
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My 1994 Honda Accord has just lately had a start up problem. I try to start it, it turns over easily enough, but will not start. Have had a mechanic look at it two or three times but it started for him so he was unable to find the problem. If I keep trying, it sometimes will finally start, but the last time it happened it started to sound like it was running down the battery so I called the mechanic and set up an appt to have it checked. After several hours I tried it again and it started right up again so I canceled the appt. This has happened numerous times just lately and the mechanic cannot find the problem because for some reason it has eventually started each time. There seems to be no rhyme nor reason about why or when this happens and I never know when it is going to do this. I am to the point of hoping that it absolutely will NOT start at all just so the problem can be found.
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I owned a 1986 (or '87) Scirocco 16V for nearly 20 years and 200k miles. From the very beginning the car was perfect EXCEPT once in a while, under seemingly totally random conditions, it would simply not turn over. The start would crank as long as I desired, but it simply wouldn't turn over. There was definitely nothing wrong with the engine or the battery. I could roll-start the thing fine (in fact, I took to parking on hills!), and MOST of the time it turned over instantly.
In fact, sometimes when it would get into this mode, I could walk away for an hour, and come back without moving the car, and it would start right up. It was just frustratingly unpredictable -- maybe 1 in 20 times it would simply get into this mode -- no correlation that I could ever figure out -- not the car being warm or cold, or the weather, or anything. I had it in the shop twice for this in my first year of owning it (~'87). The first time, they claimed to fix it, and nothing changed -- same problem. So I took it back. The second time, they again claimed to have fixed it... never had the problem again.
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On my 2005 Merc Mountaineer AWD, I've had the fuel pump and fuel filter replaced, crankshaft sensor, ECM relay for the fuel pump, starter, and spark plugs replaced, but to no avail. Car starts when it wants to, but when it doesn't, it'll usually take three to ten minutes of cranking on and off before it fires up. Ford dealership and second repair shop confirmed no fuel pressure to the fuel pump when the vehicle doesn't want to start and recommended a new fuel pump. Problem is, I've already paid the first repair shop for that same service and its gone back to them three times. Could this be electrical as the first shop is now claiming or are multiple mechanics missing something? Second shop replaced the ECM relay out of caution, but the problem persists.
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I've got a 2003 Jetta GLS 2.0L 5 speed that i bought a few months ago. It's a great car but there is one issue...whenever i fill up at the pump it will not start for quite some time. In order to get it to run I have to pump the throttle while turning it over. Once it starts it runs like crap for a bit but it does smooth out. This isn't a huge deal only cause I only put gas in it once a week but at the same time it's annoying. The check engine light was not on at first but after a week or two it came on. I cannot remember the code off hand but it was for a Massive EVAP leak??
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2001 Golf with A/T. 130,000 miles. Daughter went to turn key, heard a "snap" sound, car wouldn't start...no "click" from any electrical contact, starter apparently not getting any "juice". key now turns in switch too easily...can't feel the usually resistance when turning key. Key fob works, steering wheel turnable, can move trans lever out of "Park" into all positions with foot on brake. Broken key cylinder, or some link to ignition switch? Car at repair shop, waiting it's turn.
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Just bought a 2010 Hertz GenIII w/44,000mi. Wife had trouble starting it twice with weird messages like place car on flat surface to orange triangle. I hear it may be a weak battery???
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