Yes, stealerships are not worth the time.

 

I've had my ralliart for a while now, funny thing is in warmer(but still 0 to -10 C) the car seems to have more probs in that temp even when compared to -20 to -40 C. That's my experience so far but I really haven't had a prob with starting it(just every odd time).

 

got it to happen twice on purpose in the last couple days. approx 15 F ambient temp. once on first startup of the day and once after parking it outside the mall and coming back in a couple hours. happened both times when i got in and tried to turn the key all the way forward too rapidly. definitely fuel starvation(real word?), felt and sounded just like every other car that comes into the shop with fuel problems. immediately after it happened, cycled the key off/acc/off/acc/start both times and it started right up once the fuel pump primed the system. as others have guessed before me, im pretty sure thats the culprit at this point, some sort of pressure leak-down in the system.

 

Good deal, I think now we have reached a verdict on this issue...let your car "wake up" before starting the engine.

[CASE CLOSED]?

 

thought i'd update this guys.
ever since the hardstart happened to me and reading this thread I said i was going to change my starting habbits. Before i was just hopping in and cranking the car over lickity split.

well since then i suspected the hard start being a fueling thing. so for about a month now i've been starting by turning the key to the on possition in order for the fuel pump to fully prime. I haven't had the hardstart since. And this has been in varrying temperatures ranging from -30C to +2C.

i just hope now that i said this that my next trip out to the car the harsh start doesn't return

 

Just happened to me the other day, (I haven't checked this thread in awhile, whoopsie). It does seem like "fuel starvation" would be the issue here. Good call .

 

I've been doing everything "as usual" and haven't had it happen in a month at least, so still have not nailed down may may help cause it. Even if it is the fuel issue, something else has to be affecting it, as it is still "random" otherwise at this point!

-Taranis

 

it also reminded me of my old jeep. the old 4.0 had a common issue with the crank position sensor. and when you'd try and start it. It would act the same as what i've experienced on the RA.

Ah well tempts are warming up here. hopefully i never see that hardstart again

 

I've now had it happen a few times. It always starts between -30C and -10, it gets weird around 0C +/- 5C where the problem occurs. Generally I just keep cranking until it starts. If you stop is when you have the problem because the engine floods.

 

I was gonna ask that same question. Although Im a bit worried because I live in California and its not that cold. Right now its storming but a couple times Ive went to start my car and it had trouble. Ive only had my ralliart for a couple months and it has 2,500 miles on it. Hope it doesnt die on me soon!!!

 

Well I think I’ll add my story of Canadian Harsh Winter start ups. I am a University student in Kingston Ontario and we recently had a cold snap in the month of January where I first experienced my Harsh Cold Starts. I went out to start my car one morning and it was -31.5 ºC (-24.7 ºF) outside. When I started the car it turned over 4-5 times before it started and when it started there was an initial HIGH PITCHED whine that lasted for approximately 1-2 seconds and then the engine began to sound normal. I cried, my RA cried . This situation has been recreated and has happened a total of 3 times only when its -20 ºC (-4 ºF) or below. Oh FYI for all the Americans -40ºC is -40ºF, its where the two scales run together. Today I went to start my car and it was only -8 ºC (17.6 ºF) this time around it took 3 attempts to turn over (3rd times a charm) and when it finally did it started quite rough for about 2-3 seconds and then it returned to a normal idle. I cried, my RA cried .

Region: Kingston Ontario Canada
Date: January
Time: O Dark 30
Elevation: 70–110 m (230–360 ft)

Climate Conditions:
Temp: -31.5 ºC (-24.7 ºF) to -8 ºC (17.6 ºF)

Modifications:
UR UICP
UR LICP
UR FMIC
K&N Drop In
5W 30 Mobile 1 Fully Synthetic Oil

 

ok, here's my story. i've had my RA since may of 09. over the last two years i've had too many hard starts to count and at one point, about 24,000 miles i think, i had a worn timing chain warning light come on, which was resolved my mitsu by an ecu flash only! then, last december ('10) the frequency of hard starts increased to about once a week. at this point i started having a service engine soon (SES) light come on within 24 hrs of a hard start. the SES light would stay go off within 24 hrs. one morning, a few days after Christmas, i had the mother of all hard starts. it would just turn over and over, with the occasional sputter and stall. after about ten minutes of trying and waiting, trying and waiting, the engine finally caught. it was horrible!!! it sounded like an old diesel tractor! or maybe like you were hitting a 50 gallon steel barrel with a weed wacker. anyway, i had to move it because my wife had to get out of the driveway. i backed it out even though it sounded like that and it acted like it was gonna shut off unless i really mashed the gas but the rpm's wouldn't go up. while backing up i was given several warning lights including the all wheel control and transmission lights. i had it towed to mitsu and they had it for two weeks!!! eventually they told me that the car had "thrown the timing chain" and that the chain was so loose they it was hitting the valve cover as it spun. they replaced the timing chain, both sprockets, and the tensioner but told me that there was no additional damage to anything else, such as the intake valves, however the car has not felt right since then. i told mitsu that it didn't feel right and they said that was due to them flashing the ecu again and that the car just needed to "re-learn" my driving style. well it's been a month and i've started having the hard starts again (three times in two weeks) and now the SES light is on again. i dropped it off at mitsu this evening. we'll see what happens. everything has been covered by warranty so far, including the loaners. i have developed an unhealthy resentment for my RA over the last two years and i really wish i had never traded in my '03 cooper s.

 

It has happened to my Ralliart 3 times since I bought it in November 2008. This recent incident was like last week when it just started getting chilly here in CT. I think that one night it dipped down to mid-30's. The next morning the car wouldn't start, it would crank but didnt start. Waited until at night when I got home from work and tried again and didn't start. Used a battery jump pack thinking it could be the battery and it didn't help at first but eventually it started. I don't think the battery is bad though. And the funny thing is I had just driven the car 550 miles the night before when I came back from Canada and everything was working fine.

this has happened to me twice before and the problem just went away and doesnt come back. Very weird and I can't really take it to the dealer and have them look at it because it doesnt do that often.

 

My wife's 2011 RA is having cold star issues in the morning or after it has been sitting for a really long time. I would agree too that this is either a fuel or pressure leak issue. I've tested battery draw and it came back perfect. I looked for a dirty MAF and it looked great. i've checked spark plug gaps, they checked okay. I've already done this to my EVO but I'm going to replace the fuel relay with a blue one and see if there is any immediate change. I'll will report back.

2011 RA
Boulder, CO
Cold as ish

 

its most likely the fuel relay. what i always do is wait till car stops beeping then start it so the fuel pump has time to prime