Help! 2015 EX-L occasionally hard to start

[CivicGal29]

HELP! i know this is the forum for 2016+, but figured i'd post here as well.

I love everything about my 2015 EX-L. This was the first car I ever purchased without my parents helping, so she holds a special place in my heart and I’ve always been so proud of her. Ever since I first got the car, she’s been my spoiled babe. I do the maintenance on schedule, I never let it get close to E, etc (and get mad at my boyfriend when he does). it really is the best car, but every once in a blue moon (maybe a few times a year), the car cranks but won’t start. When this happens I end up having to hold my finger on the start button to get it to crank longer than a couple secs, bc it’ll just stop cranking after like 1-2 secs if I don’t. That’s when I know instantly I’m/we’re screwed. I’ll sit there pressing start to crank it until it finally catches, which varies. Sometimes it’ll crank right up as soon as I hold “start” for 3-4 secs (longer than it used to be, but best case scenario after the short crank). But other times it will struggle for what seems like an eternity. Also, at times it just cranks like it’s not even close, but then other times it gets SOOOOO close. You know, like, it shakes as if its started and I can see the RPM needle bounce, but then just keeps cranking. I guess this has happened maybe a half dozen times in a few years. Mostly this has happened to me while I’m by myself, but the last few times my boyfriend was regrettably in the car with me (he acts like I’m doing something wrong and don’t know how to start my own damn car).

I did read the manual the first time this occurred a few years back, so I don’t usually crank for longer than 10s (unless its like sounding super close to catching), and I let it sit long enough in between failed start attempts. But I can tell my boyfriend certainly does not treat my baby as well as I do. He borrowed the car for work tonight bc his is in the shop till monday. I wasnt getting off work until an hour after him, so I thought we’d be fine. But I get the phone call while I was wrapping up at work and he tells me it was giving him trouble (that was actually in the back of my mind as I watched him drive off). I was like NBD, and figured he’d just be a little late (told him to be patient, I wasn’t in a hurry). But he called back a min or two later to tell me the battery was dead and he was waiting to try a jump start. According to him, he only cranked it 5 to 6 times, and it almost turned over more than once supposedly, which is why he just kept going (clearly not letting it rest in between like I told him, argh). I can’t believe the jerk killed my battery (wtf babe)! He was able to capture video (incriminating, lol) of approximately half of the incident and says it was stuttering/almost starting right before he started recording, and that’s the only reason he kept trying so rapidly in between fails, but the video only shows a few cranks at the end until the battery died.

I’m so mad at him, he clearly didn’t listen to my advice with waiting. It always starts for me eventually when I take my time. I think the problem was he just didn’t care about my car, or maybe I should give him the benefit of the doubt because he was trying to pick me up on time. But then on the way home as he’s driving, I asked him who jumped the car, and it eventually comes out that he called his ex to come give MY car a jump since she has a (POS) car and lives right by, and that set just me off. According to Ryan, it started for them after two tries, what he says was 10s of cranking/stuttering. I wish he at least got her to take video of that part so I could show you guys… I guess it bugs me that she was there and I wasn’t, I’m sure they were both talking smack about my car. Oh well I guess…

Like I said, I’ve never had it completely fail to turnover and leave me stranded, so I’ve kind of gotten used to it since its rare and I love my baby. I mean, it is definitely embarrassing, both with strangers, and friends/family. But I guess I’ve gotten used to it. I work at the mall, and I used to park in the garage. But in the garage it’s so loud when I try to start it, people end up coming from all over to ask if I’m ok and if I need a jump (duh, its trying and cranking pretty hard that’s why you came over here, just turn your head and walk away please!). The only 2 Family/Friends that have been so lucky to experience it 1st hand are so embarrassed. When my sister was in the car with me, she instantly pulled out her phone and tried to dial AAA, I was like, at least give me a min (She’s helpless, actually come to think of it now, she never lets me drive anymore after that). And Ryan basically said point blank tonight when we finally got home after all this that he won’t be driving it anymore (good? Haha), and when we go somewhere we’ll take his car (he has a damn 2000 malibu, it sucks). I’m just like hold up, why is it so bad if it starts eventually? I’m just freakin embarrassed your dang ex had to swoop in and save the day for us, it makes my car look so bad, I’m sure she’s laughing at me with all her friends, hoping its normal for me. Ugh…

I’m trying to get to the bottom of this, I don’t think it was a battery issue until today (thanks Ryan) because it would always crank at normal speed, and eventually catch/turnover. Has anyone experienced a similar issue?

Sponsored