Car does not start (in cold weather)

[nycrogue]

I have a 2008 Rogue with 3000 miles on it. Today the car did not start. When I was turning the "key" the car was shaking pretty hard and wasn't starting. After couple of tries it finally started and worked without problems (the car was started about 8 times after this). I had a similar situation several weeks ago only then it did not start when remote starter was used and car started ok when I tried from inside. I noticed that both times the problem occurred after the car was standing in cold weather. The first time it was outside in -8C (17F) for a day, 2nd time it was in garage for several days with temperature varying from (-8C to +2C, 17F to 35F)

Any ideas what this could be? I always get fuel from the same place, maybe it's an issue related to gas?

Thanks in advance to your replies.

[Pescakl1]

Did you check the voltage of your battery?

With the cold weather and the car sitting for some time, the battery can weaken (happened to me with my car garaged for the week as I used public transportation to go to work).

Maybe check also your remote start system, it may drain too much power from your battery or got a problem with the wiring.

[nycrogue]

Lights, CD, etc was were working fine. Is it possible that the battery had enough power for that but not enough to start? Also, could bad battery cause the car to shake? I forgot to mention that once the car started there was an unusual amount of white "bitter" smoke coming out of exhaust.

[ahhbeebee]

The battery sounds like it might be the cause. The radio and lights will draw much less current than the starter so its common for those two elements to work perfectly.

My mechanical understanding is limited, but the 'shaking' is the engine turning over, but with no spark from the starter (due to inadequate current), it keeps trying to turn over. You can feel this on a normal start, but only once. The engine 'shudder' is not uncommon for us up in the Great White North.

But... a low voltage at for such a new battery should not happen (even at 17F) unless you accidently left the lights on recently and have not gone on a 20+ min drive to where the battery can recharge. This is the long winded version of you might want to have someone look at the car because it could be indicative of a problem in electrical.

[nycrogue]

Thanks for your reply. The car was never in a situation where lights were left on. I drive rarely, maybe once-twice a week, otherwise there's nothing unusual about the car.How about large amounts of white smoke? Could it indicate a specific problem?

Hope it's nothing serious. I'm going to the dealer tomorrow; will write back with results.

If anyone has any other suggestions of what this could be, please let me know.

[RubenTheRogue]

If it sits frequently for periods of time, the battery is most likely culprit....also the white exhaust is common in extremely cold temps, that's not an issue...white exhaust in warm weather = issue.

[nycrogue]

If it sits frequently for periods of time, the battery is most likely culprit....also the white exhaust is common in extremely cold temps, that's not an issue...white exhaust in warm weather = issue.

I always had white exhaust when starting the car in winter but this time it was just too much of it. The garage was of smoke after the car started -- this never happened before. After some time exhaust became normal.

[ahhbeebee]

If the smoke is really really white, and tonnes of it, then it could be coolant being burned off. This is very bad. - but, the chances of a blown head gasket or something else so major would be very very miniscule for such a new vehicle.

Good luck and let us know how it goes. If it was a single incident (both not starting and the white smoke), then its likely due to the temperature.

[philipa_240sx]

The car was never in a situation where lights were left on.

All newer Nissan's come equipped with a battery saver feature. The interior lights turn off automatically 30 minutes (5 minutes for exterior lights ie. headlights) after the key is removed from the ignition. It would be near impossible to drain the battery by leaving the lights on.

I suspect your starting problems are largely due to leaving the vehicle sitting for such long periods of time. The quality of gas may also have an impact here. I would not be concerned about 'white smoke' as it is nothing more than water vapor that is a normal part of vehicle exhaust. It becomes more noticeable in cold weather. However if the white smoke has a very sweet smell it could indicate a coolant leak and needs to be looked at ASAP.

[nycrogue]

I've just picked up the car from the dealer. They found no problems and could not give any suggestions on what might have caused the car not to start. They told me they ran a lot of different tests and did not find anything. I also did an oil change, so at least I've got something done

I noticed a strange thing -- I don't know if I'm going nuts or something happened to the car. It sounds differently when starting up and also feels differently. Now I feel some kind of movement (shake?) when it starts up, I don't think it was there before. I had a recording of car startup before it went for service, so I've made another one to compare. The sound is (a lot) different. If you could point out what this could be (if anything) I'd really appreciate it. Here are the links to the audio files:

Before service: http://www.mediafire.com/file/...e.mp3After service: http://www.mediafire.com/file/...r.mp3

Thanks!

[RubenTheRogue]

I have noticed that in the cold weather (sub 20*) that my Rogue makes a nosie like lifter ticking or clattering until it's sufficiently warmed up, then it goes away.

I aint worrying about it...I got a lifetime powertrain warranty from my dealership.

[philipa_240sx]

I have noticed that in the cold weather (sub 20*) that my Rogue makes a nosie like lifter ticking or clattering until it's sufficiently warmed up, then it goes away.

I aint worrying about it...I got a lifetime powertrain warranty from my dealership.

The noise you hear is indeed from the valves or rather the camshaft and valve lifters. It's normal for this engine. Read more here:

zerothread?id=392210

[kerrton]

nycrogue: I listeded to your two sound clips over and over, comparing them in detail, and I don't notice any major difference between the two. If anything, the "after" sound clip sounds a little smoother, but they are really close.

I have to ask: do you "double crank" the car when starting it? It sounds like you start it, then crank the key forward again.....or are you giving it a burst of throttle right after starting it?

Either way, your engine sounds great to me, and exactly the same as mine. In cold weather the engine will rattle a bit until it starts to warm up - the details are covered in this forum.

[nycrogue]

Thanks for your helpful replies, philipa_240sx and kerrton. I release the "key" (ignition switch, knob?) as soon as the car is started, although maybe sometimes I push it a little longer. I also do not press on gas right after ignition. I feel that after the service, engine start up sound is much shorter than before. I also feel engine rattle at the moment of startup. Maybe I didn't notice that before... Hopefully this is a normal behavior. Thanks again for your input.

On the cold weather startup problem: I was recommended to try Dryice, it should remove water condensate from the fuel lines and improve startups during cold weather. Has anyone tried it?

[RubenTheRogue]

The white exhaust is normal for cold weather, like stated before. It is water vapor in the exhaust...

[Mainiac]

It's possible the oil change may have helped you here, if, for example your old oil was a higher viscosity "summer" (10w30) vs lower "winter" oil (5w30), the 10w30 would be considerably thicker (harder to move engine parts in) at lower temperatures than the lower 5w30 would be, thus making the cranking the engine to start it harder, and sound different.

As for "dry gas" if your country/state use a 10% ethanol mix gas you don't need it, it's nothing more than ethanol (or possibly methanol or isopropyl alcohol) which you already have premixed (the 10%) with your gas.

[AznJohn22]

All newer Nissan's come equipped with a battery saver feature. The interior lights turn off automatically 30 minutes (5 minutes for exterior lights ie. headlights) after the key is removed from the ignition. It would be near impossible to drain the battery by leaving the lights on.

so, the headlights will turn off after five minutes even if i left it at the On position?

[philipa_240sx]

so, the headlights will turn off after five minutes even if i left it at the On position?

Yup. Go ahead and try it!

[bovoril]

I have a 2013 Rogue. Two years ago the dealership replaced the onboard computer as in low temps (-30 C or more) there were power problems, such as no power or dash lights. Ten minutes later everything would run normal. Then another day If I shut it off after ten miuntes idling, no power, no lights or anything for ten minutes or so..... when trying to start again.

Anyway. Last two times the temperatures have been below -30 the dash settings default to factory. Or again, no power. It seems to be a problem with Rogues as my neighbour down the road today (-32 C) also had no power at all. Twice so far this year.

just FYI