Soo my 2013 tacoma is having some trouble starting up in the cold weather (20-40F, not even that cold).
It takes a a few seconds (3-8) of turning the ignition while the engine starts to flip over before it starts. Is there anything I can do to fix this?
Posted Jan 17, 2018, 1:49 PM UTC
How’s the condition of your battery?
it was the battery thank you!
Check your🔋. Might be time for a replace. Keep an eye on alternator as well.
you are correct it was the battery thanks!
AutoZone and such can test it
thanks for the recommendation i went to autozone and they were pretty helpful, it was the battery.
Awesome glad to hear it. Not a bad idea to get it tested before winter if you have had it a few years just to be safe.
good idea will definitely be doing that down the line
It does this because its cold.
If you have a block heater, i would start using it.
I would also look into a battery warmer and a oil pan heater.
I dont have a link for either, sorry.
i've got a Kat's 22200 battery thermal wrap. They sell for around $ 30 bucks now on AMAZON. ( 60 watts ) I bought it for 60 in canada 5 years ago. ( Lordco in canada )
oil pan heater... Kat's 1160 magnetic heater...dont know if they make them anymore, work really well, but it is a pain to get under my truck and slap that thing on there after i get home...( also lordco in canada. Lordco out here is like your AUTOZONE in the usa ).
The only other thing i bought was a 50 ft 12/3 extension cord and made my own extension bar out of a 4x4 water proof box so i could plug everything in on one outlet to my outdoor plug.
You can get the parts to assemble your own at any hardware store or a home depot.
You could ask the electrical guy at home depot to walk you through assembling it, or buy an heavy gauge extension cord with extra plugs or go with and a power bar, stash it under your engine hood.
Just remember to remove them all before you start you engine :)
20-40 degrees F is not enough reason to waste money on engine heaters.
I would rather be safe than pay a whole lot more to a mechanic due to a cracked engine block when starting a cold motor on a colder morning...his truck is a '13...he's outside of the standard 3 yr. warranty by toyota.
There is a guy on the reddit 4x4 forum with a 2017 colorado zr2. It went to -54F at his place with his vehicle parked outside.
This guy has a cracked seal and most likely the block, because his engine is leaking both antifreeze and engine oil from the same spot/location under his truck, gas motor.
Dont say its the quality of the vehicle either...the cold does suprizing things and steel "shrinking" from the cold does happen. Ive seen it happen, its not funny or something to be ignored.
The fact this guy can still start his truck is really lucky...he needs the battery to be kept warm, the oil, the engine block(water system). It will help a lot.
Hopefully I dont need to go to all that trouble. Turns out this issue was just the battery. If things start to act up when it hits negative temps I may have to look into this stuff, but I grew up in Wisconsin and never heard of anyone having to go to those kind of lengths just to get tehir car started in the winter.
Thanks for the advice!
How old is you battery? Have you recently unhooked your battery?
it was the battery thanks! battery was allegedly new, but the autozone guy told me dealerships often throw in shitty batteries just to help sell the car, which appears to be what happened.
Awesome! Your truck might seem like it’s struggling when you put a new battery in, but it is just re-figuring out engine optimizations.