Just looking for some insight if anyone can help me,

my car runs pretty well but once in a while it seems to have a problem starting. The starter will crank but the car wont catch and when it does the car shutters as i would assume that its almost flooded... never noticed any black smoke but never looked. Like i say this doesn't happen all the time and really not that ofter but makes me wonder. Is there something to watch out for? Oh and it seems to be more of a problem when its warm out as opposed to cold but i wouldn't put money on it never happening in the cold.

As well my starter will not release fast enough sometimes... again once in a while but this and the problem above do not happen at the same time. I will start the car and let back on the key but the starter will make that noise as if someone tried to start the car when its already started... this has been a problem for a while. Again not all the time and it just happens whenever, maybe once a week and then not for a month. Is this just all linked to a bad starter?


By the way its a 2002 2.2l sunfire with about 100,000 kms on it.

Thanks again for any input you all may have.

Something cheap to try first would be to throw some fuel de-icer in the tank. Several cars in my area (including my own) have been affected by frequent temperature changes combined with suspect quality watery gas at the pump. The freezing and melting cycles tend to ensure that stuff gets to where it shouldn't be, and causes hard starting or worse.



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Somethign to try... always try and start with the easy cheap fix and go from there.

Was planning to put some injector cleaner in anyway.

Thats being said what about the starter sticking sometimes.. just a bad starter (still original)?

the starter can stick for a few reasons. One being a weak return spring, as GM's have sprung starter solenoids, not like some of the centrifugal throwout ones. Another being that there is still enough current running through the starter to overcome the spring. I have also seen the starter hang when it is improperly shimmed or not properly tightened. The third case isn't so likely. you can check the tightness of the bolts, but if it's original and it lasted that long, most likely it is shimmed correctly. I would check the wires going into the starter, make sure they are all still fully insulated, and that they don't have an excessive amount of grime on them. also, is your ignition switch sloppy?

The starter is original and i am the only owner of the car (its been taken car of since it rolled off the lot). So then you are saying that the chances of it not being shimmed are low since its still factory installed. I know that the starter has only started to act up in the past year maybe year and a half but that its never consistent. Sometimes it will happen at start on a cold day sometimes it would happen after the car has been driven on a highway trip and i pull in to get gas and go to leave and it acts up. One thing is that it does appear to be occurring more frequently now.. still maybe once twice a week at most.

I have looked at the wires and all seem in good condition, i do have to rotate my winter tires tonight so i will take another look. My ignition switch seems fine.. i have no complaints with it. It seems to be in good shape and responsive. I keep my keys to a minimum to prevent extra weight on the ignition and of course out of my pocket!

Would a crappy starter be linked to trouble starting (almost stalling) as well. I know as Geeky stated that there might be water in my gas, which i don't doubt one bit, but the trouble starting is about as common as the starter sticking. However both do not occur at the same time.

I appreciate all the info guys, thats why i love this site. Place to throw ideas around and get feedback.