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!

 

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