slow to start 2002 Pathfinder

[coloradoride]

Needs some help with my 16 year old son's 2002 Pathfinder with 120K. We just purchased it a few months ago and recently it struggles to start after it's been parked for 20 minutes. We replaced the fuel filter and coil packs and also cleaned the battery terminals. Here's a sample of the situation: https://youtu.be/lsdeySzGscc Any help is appreciated. Thank you

[Rockwood]

I'm wondering if it is losing fuel pressure. Try turning the key to on for a couple of seconds, than back off. Repeat three or four times, then try to start. That should repressurize the fuel system if you are losing pressure, and it should start ok.

Does it start ok cold?

The video ran by in about 4 seconds - sorry, I couldn't tell much from that.

[coloradoride]

Hi Rockwood, thanks for the advice. I'll give it a try tomorrow. If it is the low pressure do you think its the fuel pump or something else? As far as the cold temperature, it's not been cold in Denver until today. Thanks for the help,

[fueler]

From the sound clip, I hear cranking but I cannot tell if it fired up or not.

Is it cranking for a couple seconds before firing up? Or is it not starting?

[Densetsu]

I have the same issue whenever I'm parked for more than an hour. If I turn the key to "ignition" right away, it just turns over for a few seconds before starting. My solution is exactly what Rockwood says; turn the key to "on" for a couple seconds so the fuel pump can re-prime, then ignition.

Since I've had no symptoms while driving, I haven't really investigated further. Since this began I bought a new fuel cap to get an unrelated engine code to stop appearing, and replaced the fuel filter a couple times. Still have the slow start issue, though.

[coloradoride]

Hello everyone, sorry for the poor recording quality. The engine always starts just slow to start after being driven and parked for a while. I've taken it to a shop and hope they can solve the issue. I'll keep you all posted on the results.

[coloradoride]

Hello All,

the shop believed that it was a clogged injector and suggested that I put BG44 fuel system cleaner in with the next tank. They charged me $25 for the diagnosis and the BG44 was another $25. It's been about a week and problem seems to be solved. I no longer have any issues with the start...thought I'd pass along this information. Thanks for all the feedback.