For the past two days, when I start my 2004 MCS for the first time of the day, the ignition fails.

When I turn the key and release, the engine stumbles a bit and dies right away. Then I try again, the engine will start no problem. And for the rest of the day, it will have no problem starting.

I'm due for an oil change and the oil level is very low. Could this be due to the oil? I don't understand...

 

ok ill edit this out. didnt know it was a mistake. and no slick, your not supposed to put the exact same content in many areas...just makes the mods have to track them down and condense them

 

Low oil would not cause spotty starts. there could be many simple answers, starting with your battery. there could be loose connections, weak battery. but, not low oil. good luck and please forgive the poor manners of WASHMYCAR.

 

I would try using a different battery, but thats still a bit of a stretch. Not even a stumble if you leave it out ALL day (no lunch commuting) and then start it up to go home? Quite the odd symptom.

+1 about iwashmycar; multiple opinions/forums are the most thorough way of getting your questions answered.

 

Hmm..maybe I do need a new battery. I'll keep my eyes on it for the next couple of weeks.

Sorry about the multiple posts. I made mistakes and posted in Drive train and interior/exterior modification area.

 

and i also have an idea on the problem.. Depending on your mileage, has the feul filter ever been changed? I had a similar symptom on a Mustang before... It just wasnt letting the feul pressure up fast enough on startup, but it would start better later because it hadnt been sitting all night...just maybe a few hours


battery does sound feasible but i dont know why it would start fine later

 

The fuel filter has never been changed. My millage is around 60,000 km.

The fact that I often get unsteady idles point the fingers to fuel filter as well? Often, when I'm stuck at the light, the rpm will go little below 1000 and start stumbling. It goes away by itself or if I'm impatient I tap on the gas pedal and rev it out.

Is this what I need for fuel filter change?
http://www.coopersport.com/product.htm?veh=53&item=MFF
Seems really cheap compared to Minimania. Why is there such a huge price difference?

Thanks guys

 

This problem is most commonly caused by getting some "bad" gas or by driving a very short time and parking the car for overnight. When the car is cold it runs real rich and can puddle some gas in the engine causing it to run rough when first started.

Try a different gas station for a bit. And try to make sure the engine is warmed up before parking it.

 

Your link appears to just be the Dust Filter for the feul system ventillation

I think the actual Fuel Filter is in the tank...inside what appears to be the fuel level sensor..

see these:

#2 is that dust filter
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...26&hg=16&fg=10

#2 on this one is the fuel filter
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...07&hg=16&fg=15

probably not a bad idea to change this sort of stuff anyway...

 

Yeah, I'm going to place an order at pelicanparts.com and try to get it changed myself.

I'll be on vacation for the month of June and my car will be sitting in the garage for the entire month. I certainly don't want to come back to a car that won't start because of low fuel pressure due to clogged up fuel filter (like iwashmycar's mustang suggested).

One question for iwashmycar: Did your mustang idle rpm stumble up and down often? When I'm waiting for a light my rpm sometimes go below 1000 and stumble up and down until it goes away by itself or I give it a rev. Did this ever happen to your mustang? What symptoms did it show? I just want to make sure it's the fuel filter.

Thanks for the help guys.

 

i want to say yes, a little but it was an old 1990 5 liter pushrod engine and well, it always stumbled a little.

I had a similar "almost dying at stop lights" situation, but it turned out to be O2 sensors...

a 'going bad' fuel pump can also make for hard starts, but a filter is kind of a cheap test...they can clog. If it continues you'll have to probably check other things

and as far as coming back after a month.. i think it should start just fine, even if you have to turn it over more than once

 

Thanks iwashmycar

I'll start with the fuel filter and see what happens. If that doesn't fix, I'll get the fuel pump checked.

I'm just scared about the car sitting motionless for a long time because last time I was on vacation for a month and returned, the steering column joint has seized up and had to get it replaced haha...

 

Did you read my post? Don't waste money on something you might not need.

The 07 and newer cars do have fuel pump/filter issues, but the first gen don't.
What kind of gas do you normally get?

 

Yes I did read your post. I don't think it makes sense. The engine fails only in the first ignition. If it's gas, shouldn't it be causing fail starts all the time?

I get my gas at the same gas station for the last four years and I've never had this problem before.

Did you ever have fail starts due to poor gas?

 

if anything, once replaced, these little things are piece of mind for another 50K miles or whatever...

Rule them out before bigger things.... might as well even check the battery voltage and all that while your in it, like stated above


I was unaware 2nd gens even have 'issues' moreso than 1st... Ill keep an eye on it

 

No......because low quality gas or gas from a discount dealer may have more gunk in it so,the injectors get a bit clogged that go away with use. If the car sits for awhile, it can affect the start up. A bad fule filter would show as a continious problem, not intermitten. It also might be a problem with ethanol. Does your gas station have ethanol in it's gas now? If so it might have too much water in it.

And yes this was a problem for me after getting gas from a different dealer.

And the problem with not getting the car warmed up before shutting it down has been documented. This also happened to me. Most commonly after washing the car outside and then running it into the garage after.

 

There is probably nothing wrong with your car. I've had mine for 5 years and every spring this happens when the formulation of gasoline changes (they add ethonol for the summer months). It seems to take the ECU a couple weeks to adjust to the new fuel mixture, then the problem stops.

This is very common.