Push Start, cranks 7-8 times then starts, WTF?!?

Design

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Are you 100% sure you are not getting:-

P0131 (HO2s- 11 Bank 1 Sensor 1 Circuit Low Input)
or
P0401 (EGR System Insufficient Flow Detected)

at the time that the engine is cranking, but not starting ??

Also, perhaps your fuel system is leaking built-up pressure after the engine is shut down, allowing the depressurized fuel to vaporize.
That, and a hot day, might be why the car has difficulties starting after being left during your work period.
EGR was my first thought too. But I don't think the 1.5 has one (?).


If it cranks normally, that likely rules out the starter and battery. But there are simply too many other variables that control fuel, spark and airflow.
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SDotLee

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This has happened to me once as well. The one thing I am noticing from the other responses is that the car sat out in the sun on a very very hot day while I was at work.

No error codes and once it started everything was normal.
 

Yal

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Happened to me a couple days ago. No stored codes. I had driven a very short distance earlier that day (2 mile round trip to the store) and it was about 80 degrees outside. Came out to go to work, hit the button and it cranked for 5-7 seconds, then finally started.
 

CrippleRipple

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Just happened to me Wednesday after work. Cool breezy afternoon in the upper 70's and I'm in shade.
Worked great at lunch which was hot & sunny but took 7-10 full cranks for the car to fire up after work.
First time this has happened on this car, right at 4,000 miles.

I remember a lot of the older Honda's having issues with the key/immobilizer system seeing each other but at least you got a light on the dash.
My 02 Civic did this a lot & saw countless similar issues while working at the dealership.

With all the electronics and multiplexing going on I expect occasionally electrical issues, just hoping it's not going to continue.
 


Spike Spiegel

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Add me to the list of people having this issue. In a few weeks of ownership, this has happened about 3-4 times. I’d describe it as a VERY slow cranking for probably 6ish seconds. In each case I didn’t think the car would start… but it eventually did. I can’t tell if it’s a starter issue, a battery issue, some other random electrical or engine problem. Pretty disconcerting on a brand new car!


This tends to happen on cold starts but ambient temps have been in the 50’s-80’s so I don’t think it’s outside temperatures in my case. It’s happened over multiple tanks of gas and I put good 93 octane in (BP, Mobil, Exxon etc.). It’s happened on a slight hill (my driveway) and on flat surfaces (parking lot).


Every other time the car has started right up. I’m going to try my generic code reader/live data recorder this weekend to see if there are any errors. If it keeps happening i’ll have Honda test the battery and get my issued logged just in case I have problems down the road.


I’m not entirely happy to have a brand new car that makes me wonder, even a little bit, whether it’s going to start at the end of a work day or first thing in the morning. hopefully this gets worked out.
 

SCOPESYS

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Add me to the list of people having this issue. In a few weeks of ownership, this has happened about 3-4 times. I’d describe it as a VERY slow cranking for probably 6ish seconds. In each case I didn’t think the car would start… but it eventually did. I can’t tell if it’s a starter issue, a battery issue, some other random electrical or engine problem. Pretty disconcerting on a brand new car!


This tends to happen on cold starts but ambient temps have been in the 50’s-80’s so I don’t think it’s outside temperatures in my case. It’s happened over multiple tanks of gas and I put good 93 octane in (BP, Mobil, Exxon etc.). It’s happened on a slight hill (my driveway) and on flat surfaces (parking lot).


Every other time the car has started right up. I’m going to try my generic code reader/live data recorder this weekend to see if there are any errors. If it keeps happening i’ll have Honda test the battery and get my issued logged just in case I have problems down the road.


I’m not entirely happy to have a brand new car that makes me wonder, even a little bit, whether it’s going to start at the end of a work day or first thing in the morning. hopefully this gets worked out.
I have been following these "issues starting" threads for some months with some amazement. This should not be a difficult thing to figure out, as far as electrical is concerned. I think it has been complicated to follow as the reports of this issue on the forum have varied vastly. But based on the specified one above/
(a) Cranks slowly
(b) An takes up to 6 seconds of cranking to start.

Logically it has to be an battery/starter issue because it is cranking slowly. Fuel/ignition is not an issue to the SLOW cranking.
Fortunately, the Battery/starter motor circuitry is relatively simple.
+ ve Battery >> Start solenoid >> Starter Motor
- ve battery >> Starter Motor.

So, its got to be Battery, starter Solenoid, Starter Motor or the heavy gauge wires and their connections.

Looking at the battery, typically this would be thought to be the cause.
The Civics (here in the USA) have a pathetically small capacity battery, and it does not take a lot to drain that battery if other battery consuming items are left on for any length of time, like Radio, headlights ( Seat heaters etc etc).

Then there are bad connections. These would also fit the symptoms.
IF there is a bad connection (High resistance, and we are only talking fraction of an ohm), then the voltage drop across that bad connection will reduce the potentially good (12v ) battery voltage the starter motor, resulting in the slow cranking.
Then as the car is cranked, the current flowing though that bad connection, heats it up, and it makes a better connection, and the car starts.
This bad connection could be in any part of the starter circuit :- battery Connections, connections to the starter solenoid, the Starter solenoid contacts themselves, or the connections to the starter motor. Could even be the Motor Brushed themselves, but not likely.

The point being, if the Starter Motor is cranking slowly, the 1st thing to do would be to measure the voltage at the Motor, and work back from there.

I fully understand that is is probably not an easy or possible thing to do when in the parking lot at work, when you are trying to leave and get home, but this issue must also occasionally present itself at the dealer, or when the car owner, if so equipped, has the ability to do some sort of diagnostics.

With all these reports, I find it disturbing that the causes and solutions have not yet become public, at least in the forum.

Luckily, this has not happened to me yet, but from what I have in this forums, it's probably more a question of WHEN, and not IF.

In the meanwhile, I would tend towards believing it is a bad/corroded/loose connection.. which will only get worse and more frequent with time .. until one day, the car will not start at all.

Note: If it is the battery terminal connection, just after this happens, I suspect one of them (the bad one) will be really HOT, so if this happens to you, you might want to quickly lift the hood, and carefully touch each terminal in turn... being careful, as one or both might be VERY hot.
 

tehSteve

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Mine cranked 7 times this morning. It was 32 degrees in Jersey.
When I was bone stock, it did this too.
 

SCOPESYS

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Mine cranked 7 times this morning. It was 32 degrees in Jersey.
When I was bone stock, it did this too.
Yes, it's getting colds in the mornings now. This will be the 1st winter for the 2018's.
From what I read here in the forum, we can expect to see a lot more Cranking issues, as winter settles in.
Hopefully, the cause will become more apparent, as more of us have this issue.

But tehSteve has a 2017 ? So this issue may have been around for the 2017 models as well as the newer 2018's
 

bahndrvr

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2018 Honda Civic Si - 4000 miles NO TUNES/UPGRADES.

Very randomly about 2-3 times so far. After being at work for like 6 hours. I go out to start my car and when I PUSH start, it cranks 7-8 times then starts. Wtf is going on here?!?

No I'm not leaving a light on...

Friend had the same issue - I looked at his car for around 15 seconds and saw his HFP floor mats had bunched up under the clutch, I laughed, pulled his HFP red floormat out and said try it, cranked right up. He has not had the issue again. Do you have aftermarket floor mats? Are you pushing the clutch all the way to the floor to start?
 


SCOPESYS

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Friend had the same issue - I looked at his car for around 15 seconds and saw his HFP floor mats had bunched up under the clutch, I laughed, pulled his HFP red floormat out and said try it, cranked right up. He has not had the issue again. Do you have aftermarket floor mats? Are you pushing the clutch all the way to the floor to start?
Interesting .. will it crank at all if the clutch is not pushed in.
Maybve there are 2 switches involved ?

Still do not understand why it should crank slowly ?

IS IT REALLY CRANKING SLOWLY, (ie rotating slowly), or is it SLOW to start.

I don't think any posts about this (so far) have been that definitive about what is "SLOW" --
(a) The rotational speed of the starter motor when cranking,
or
(b) The time it takes for the engine to start running while being cranked.


"Touch Plastic" -- have not had this issue yet with our 2018 Si
 

caspar21

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you guys are lucky. i am getting a p304 code on cold starts. cylinder 4 misfire. once it warms up i can clear the code and it runs great.
still trying to figure out why.
 

SCOPESYS

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you guys are lucky. i am getting a p304 code on cold starts. cylinder 4 misfire. once it warms up i can clear the code and it runs great.
still trying to figure out why.
https://repairpal.com/obd-ii-code-p0304

Informative viewing..(even if it is for an older car) . but I assume as your 2018 Si is so new, and still under warranty, that your Friendly Dealer is going to sort all this out for you -- but it never hurts to know yourself what may be going on, and what the Dealer probably is going to be checking.

One thing I can tell you for sure:-
It is NOT your FLUX CAPACITOR that is "FRIED" , so don't let the Dealer tell you you need to buy a new one !!!
 

CyberCT

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This happened to me the morning following a night of lots of spirited driving.
 

SCOPESYS

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This happened to me the morning following a night of lots of spirited driving.
Car had a Hangover as well ? :beer::beer::beer: ----> :sleep:
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