Trouble Starting
 

We recently bought 2 Mazda's...a 2002 Protege and a 2002 Tribute. The Tribute has always instantly started when the key is turned, and the Pro has always taken a second or two, but now in the cold sometimes it takes up to 5 seconds of stuttering and cranking before it actually starts up. Any thoughts on this?

Unfortunately, slightly slow starting seems to be an inherent characteristic of many later-model Mazdas that use Japanese-built engines. (The Tribute has a Ford Duratec.) My Protege has intermittently done this since it was new, and my old 99 Miata was worse. This behavior has been blamed on the cars' cold-start emissions software. To rehash the overused service manager's line, "they all do that." :(

However, it's hard to diagnose this sort of problem over the 'Net. In my experience, the "normal" slow-start behavior is this: the car cranks for several seconds and then starts normally, and the car will sometimes fire instantly, but other times it will crank for 2-5 seconds. If it takes longer than 2-5 seconds, ALWAYS takes a long time to start, or sputters and stalls (rather than instantly firing up into a smooth idle) there may be something else wrong. You might want to have it checked out by a dealer.

Good luck! :D

I think it is the "they all have it" problem. After the engine is only off for a little bit, like at a gas station and it's still warm, it starts up just fine right away. I guess it's just the cold temperatures. I can live with it though. Thanks for the reply!

Next time when you're about to do a cold engine start, turn your key to the full-on position (but don't crank it), so that the fuel pump starts working for a few seconds. Then crank it.

Works like a charm for me. Started a freezing cold engine right up yesterday (really cold at -5 wind chill).

Sounds like a good idea, I will try it tomorrow morning on the way to school. Someone did once tell me to let the electronics "warm up" a few seconds before starting the engine but I had forgotten. Thanks man