civic 8th gen cold starting problem
 

hello

I have done a lot of researching and I see that I am not the only one to have starting issues on my civic. its a 2008 civic lx automatic with 200 000km. there are no drivability issues. once started it runs fine (other than a regular clicking wich apparently is the injectors and normal on these).

when colder than -15 Celsius and car was stopped for more than about 6 hours. the engine turns over fast enough that it should start. I installed a 690cca (800 amp) battery. starter engages fine. but its like its not getting any gas.
I crank the engine for about 10 seconds, stop and wait a bit. turn over another 10 seconds and stop.... eventually it will fire up when it give it some gas. once started I can stop it and it will restart again even if it only ran 10 seconds.
I have a autoenginuity obd2 reader connected to my laptop. this is not a cheap code reader. I checked everything on the damn thing. no fault codes or pending codes. every sensor seems to read fine.
here is what I found to be maybe abnormal.
intake air temperature is a bit high (it reads about 10 to 15 degrees Celsius over what I feel it should be. even with hood open and box cover removed. so I will be trying another sensor. but coolant temperature sensor reads very close to real temperature hot and cold, so computer should know that its very cold and choke the engine appropriately.
long term and short-term fuel trim together are always around -15% added up (-10% for long term and -5% for short term) with a stable rpm. idle, 1500, 2500rpm... this seems irregular for a 200 000km engine. fuel trim normally rises with engine wear when everything is functional and no air leaks. what are your fuel trims ?

has anybody found a solution to this common issue ?
thanks for your help

welcome to the forum. check your compression to see if they are with in parameters, low compression can cause longer cranking to start. and low or no fuel pressure.

i will check the compression when i get a chance. but January in Canada is too cold to work on engines. I'm thinking maybe the valves are sticking upon first starting when cold. wich would explain the no start. and that it restarts once started even for a couple of seconds. once the valve guides get oil in them everything starts. and when engine warms up the valve move freely so it stops sounding like crap.
so yesterday i did an intake seafoam treatment and added seafoam to the oil to clean all the crap out. tomorrow i will change the oil and hope for the best.
its just a theory but at this point i don't know what else to do. changing battery's and starters is not a good solution.
I'm probably gonna sell it in spring and buy a Toyota. never had any issues like this on my Toyotas. and wife drive 50 000km a year. so we need something that lasts and is reliable.

i don't get it. my friends accord starts fine and has no major problems. my Honda mower, snowblower, pressure washer, all are great engines. but this civic is a piece of crap. my wifes co-worker has a 2007 civic and she also had a ton of problems including starting issues, she will also be going back to Toyota.

maybe this can help you,http://www.autoserviceprofessional.c...for-you?Page=2