ever had a car fail to start because of the cold

[GreeCguy]

Early '80's I lived in Nebraska. I was driving a '76 Plymouth Fury in those days with a 318 V-8, two barrel carb. No matter how cold it got that car would crank up every time. All you had to do was bump the starter and she would fire right up. My first winter there, I used a straight 10 weight oil, (I remember it was Pennzoil). The following winters, I used a straight 20 weight.

On the other hand, during the 90's I lived in North Alabama. I had an old Chevy Truck with a 350 V-8. I was running 20W50 and on a cold morning in January, it would crank but it would turn over very slowly until it started.

 

[Reg# 43897]

Yeah, they do amazingly well considerin'... I have been in -45 in Northern BC / Yukon & the 4.6l Ford modular started up. It had cold-soaked all night in Dease Lake & I was unable to get a plug-in at the hotel. Found out later that some people just left their vehicle's running in that scenario. The problem is that you very thoroughly have the break the exhausts clear of it's self-created ice stalagmites from each pipe BEFORE moving. Elsewise you end up w/ a VERY noisy Crown Vic in a hurry...! I can imagine. Anyway, I had convinced a serviceman to put M1 5w-30 in that unit before I went on that run. I had to spend my own oney on the difference over & above the cost of whatever conventional oil it was that they usually installed.

Anyway, it worked where other's failed that particular AM. It was MORe than worth it to me...! Hah!

John.

 

[bigt61]

Originally Posted By: wirelessF
We have lows of of 60-65F and it exposes old batteries (3-5+ years) when they fail to crank in the morning.


I hope that was a joke.

 

[hattaresguy]

Did a couple -20 or -30 starts skiing without any problems.

At those temps a good battery and synthetic oil are a must.

My Mercedes diesel would start without issues down to -5 without a block heater.

Below zero though I like block heaters, they make a world of difference!

 

[doitmyself]

Back in the mid 1980's, 1982 Ford Escort:

It was turning over, but was having trouble starting. My dad insisted that I keep attempting to start it, and somehow (backfire??) the timing belt jumped one notch.

The car started, but ran poorly. Back at my father-in-law's shop, he thought I had a bad hydraulic lifter from all the clackity clack noise. We replaced all the lifters to no avail. Then, with further poking around, he discovered the timing belt off one notch.

 

[addyguy]

Yes, just this past Christmas day!

Was at the in-laws, and we were supposed to be going out visiting. Air temp of -29.5C, and the tribute would not crank fast enough to start.

Took 30 minutes of boosting it with my BIL's car, and two good shots of starting fluid before it came to life.

...now, I will confess, the car has a blend of 10W-30, 5W-30, and 5W-20 in it from the summer that I have not had the chance to change yet...winter hit too fast this year. So I don't entirely blame the vehicle!

 

[SwampSurvivor]

How old is the battery?

 

[rjundi]

I left 15w40 in a 1988 Jetta GLI 16v over the winter in the white mountains. One morning it was -22F and it barely turned but did it. It did fire after a few times however it was so cold out that letting out clutch stalled the motor. I actually had to wait for motor to warm up enough and let clutch out slowly and could hear gears spinning in my transmission.

 

[addyguy]

Originally Posted By: Miller88
How old is the battery?


If that was a question for me, the battery is exactly 1 year old.

Changed it just before Xmas last year in a -28C cold snap!

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: addyguy
Originally Posted By: Miller88
How old is the battery?


If that was a question for me, the battery is exactly 1 year old.

Changed it just before Xmas last year in a -28C cold snap!


Guess I'm not the only one with slow cranking on a a new battery. The battery on my Cherokee is only a year old as is the starter.

 

[Clevy]

We've had morning so cold the gasoline won't vapourizer and ends up flooding the engine. Doesn't matter how great the battery is when it's -38c

 

[GreeCguy]

Years ago, my Dad had a 1963 Case 730 diesel tractor. If it got below 50, that tractor had a hard time starting and you had to let it warm up before you could even pull it out of the barn. If it got below 40, it simply would not crank. He had six other Case tractors, (430 gas, 530 diesel, three Case "D"s and one old model "C.") They all fired up just fine regardless of temps, but that 730 was a bugger.

 

[jcwit]

Back in the old days 40 & 50's when straight grade oils was the common thing -10/15 it was common for cars not to start.

I even have a unopened qt. can of alcohol antifreeze.

 

[supton]

My Tundra cranked slow and made funny noises yesterday, at what, 10F? Funny, battery tested just fine a month ago. i think Toyota underspecs their batteries.

It was like -10F last night and now I'm curios how how the tdi will crank. I'm guessing not.

About three years ago the vw would not start, I think it was below zero. I knew the battery was old at seven years, but like always I go until it loses a cell and won't start. Out of three failed batteries two died after cold snaps.

About eight years ago I bought some shell diesel, and that gelled on me. It did start eventually though.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Never experienced a cold starting prob. Had a few 14F degree mornings and my car started flawlessly with a sump full of Valvoline wb 20W50. No weird noises,etc. Smooth as silk :^)

 

[glock19]

Originally Posted By: Miller88
Originally Posted By: addyguy
Originally Posted By: Miller88
How old is the battery?


If that was a question for me, the battery is exactly 1 year old.

Changed it just before Xmas last year in a -28C cold snap!


Guess I'm not the only one with slow cranking on a a new battery. The battery on my Cherokee is only a year old as is the starter.


My Subaru is under a year old and when it gets down below freezing it pulls the slow start. Still starts on the first crank just takes a little longer, and that's with 0W-20. However, I'm not too surprised because the battery is so tiny.

You would think Subaru would realize they build cars for cold climates and put a more robust battery in their cars.

 

[rslifkin]

Once it gets down to about 0*, my Jeep starts to sound like it's cranking weakly (starter sounds notably different even though it doesn't seem to be cranking particularly slow). It'll fire right off (around 3 seconds of cranking) and just runs a little rough for the first few seconds (never tried below -5* F though).

FWIW, battery is a 2.5 year old (doesn't seem to have changed as the battery has aged) group 34 deep cycle with 0ga cable to the starter and block ground.

 

[Duffman77]

My parents had some cars in the 90s (80s vintage vehicles) that would struggle on occasion when it would dip below -30C. I worked at a GM dealer part time in the late 90s, I had to go start a new GMC and it was -40 at the time and because it was a lot vehicle it was not plugged in and I have really no clue when it was run last (so as to have a charged battery). The truck cranked slow but went. I have put my 6.0 powerstroke through a -30C start with no blockheater (an outlet was not available), it went but it was painful to witness. I think anything from the mid 90s on with a half decent battery should be able to go unless there is some other problem with the engine.

 

[Kestas]

Decades ago, I couldn't start my Omni in 5°F weather. That was when I though "thicker is better" and ran 20W-50 year round.

 

[SLCraig]

When I was young, I remember my 88 LeBaron would have a hard time starting in the cold, extended cranking and had to give it some gas at times, but would always eventually start with some TLC.

Nowdays all my modern cars start no problem at any level of cold. Although my SI turns over fairly slow compared to some others I have had.