Jgeiger
07-07-2008, 03:19 PM
I've been coasting in neutral up to stoplights, and if I know the light is going to be a long one, I turn off my car ('05 Accord automatic). Then I usually key back to IG-2 so I have electronics and the fan running. But there have been a few times lately when I've turned the key and not gotten a clean start the first try. Do I need to key back to IG-1 and then turn on the car? I didn't think I should need to. The car has 36,000 miles on it, so that seems pretty early for starter problems, right?
Any advice/clues?
MaxxMPG
07-07-2008, 03:31 PM
Sounds like you need a fuel injector cleaning. Dirty fuel injectors can "dribble" when the engine is shut down, and if restarted after a short time, the rich fuel condition can cause a temporary flooding condition. You can try a bottle of Techron (added to a full tank) to see if this cures the problem.
One other possibility - My Chevy has a bug in the PCM (powertrain computer) that can cause a similar "lazy hot start" condition. There is a new PCM-flash out there to correct the problem, but the folks in the forums over at Edmunds all say that they lost some MPG after the flash, and the dealer refused to roll the car back to the old software revision. So I just leave it as is. The car always starts, but sometimes (once every two weeks or so) inexplicably cranks for about five seconds or so and then chug-chugs for a few seconds. If your Accord has a similar computer bug, it's a good idea to live with it rather than having the dealer flash the computer with an updated revision.