05 wouldn't start - Dealer said "It's not the car, it's the gas."

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Old 06-10-2008, 09:41 PM
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05 wouldn't start - Dealer said "It's not the car, it's the gas."

05TL with 30,000 mi. Drove it 150 miles, parked it overnight, then next morning started right up, drove a mile, stopped, got back in and drove 5 miles, turned off engine, then tried starting & it wouldn't start. At first the lights, radio, etc. worked, but after a few tries to start, power was gone completely.
Service showed up to Jump start me - tried & tried & tried - engine just wouldn't turn over, despite full power. Just as we were about to do a tow, tried one more time & it started right up! That was a few weeks ago - no problems since.

Took it to dealer. When I described it to the Service Mgr, he said it's not the car, it's the gas! He said in the NY area there is so much alcohol in the gas that sometimes the car's computer gets fooled into not allowing it to start. Siad there is a very specific temperature at which this will occur. There solutions are to wait a little bit (It took about 1 hour for it to start that one time), or, what will sometimes work is to pound on the accelerator a few times to override the computer.

Does any of this make sense?

If it does, why wouldn't there be a software fix to accomodate the alcohol levels now being used in gasoline?
Old 06-10-2008, 09:45 PM
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i dont know much but that doesnt sound right to me..
Old 06-10-2008, 10:18 PM
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Sounds like to me.
Old 06-10-2008, 10:22 PM
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Sounds like total BS. Something is wrong with that car... Since the car is used with 30,000 miles, you should have a 90 day full warranty by the dealer. Be strong! Your car should not take 1hr to start!
Old 06-10-2008, 10:26 PM
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Originally Posted by Zigma
Sounds like total BS. Something is wrong with that car... Since the car is used with 30,000 miles, you should have a 90 day full warranty by the dealer. Be strong! Your car should not take 1hr to start!

Car is not Used - except by me for the past 3 years. New car - still under warranty.

Service Mgr said there have been many cars brought in to him with same problem & there's nothing that can be done. I don't believe it, either.
Old 06-10-2008, 10:34 PM
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It could be the factory switch to summer gas blends, and as the storage tanks get empty and refilled.....
The alcohol amount should never exceed the govt allowed spec. All cars will run on that

I would run seafoam or redline fuel cleaner in the tank, and try a different brand of gas
Is this 91 octane, from name brand stations?
Old 06-10-2008, 10:38 PM
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Originally Posted by 01tl4tl
It could be the factory switch to summer gas blends, and as the storage tanks get empty and refilled.....
The alcohol amount should never exceed the govt allowed spec. All cars will run on that

I would run seafoam or redline fuel cleaner in the tank, and try a different brand of gas
Is this 91 octane, from name brand stations?
Gas was bought on the NJ Turnpike. WHo knows WHAT I got there!
Old 06-10-2008, 11:13 PM
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Originally Posted by LiPhotoman
Car is not Used - except by me for the past 3 years. New car - still under warranty.

Service Mgr said there have been many cars brought in to him with same problem & there's nothing that can be done. I don't believe it, either.

Oh, Sorry, I read wrong, I read, "05TL with 30,000 mi Drove it 150 milesDrove it 150 miles." So I assumed it was used and you drove it for 150 miles before problem started.
Old 06-10-2008, 11:35 PM
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go buy a can of redline SI-1 fuel injector cleaner, or can of seafoam engine cleaner
Put full can into 1/2 tank of gas- that will pick up the crud and get it processed thru the system
Stick with chevron-texaco BP-76 type places- called Tier 1 brands, are supposed to have better stuff in them with built in cleaners
Old 06-10-2008, 11:53 PM
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http://www.toptiergas.com/retailers.html
Old 06-10-2008, 11:58 PM
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Anything can happen. We had a situation here last week where a gas tanker was filled with diesal (?) instead of gasoline. It made deliveries to about 10 stations in 2-3 cities prior to noticing what happened. Some of the stations were Costcos. Refiner admitted the problem and is paying to have all the cars fixed by area dealers.

I tried to go to one of the stations (Valero) prior to hearing about it but the pumps were all taped off. The fix included cleaning out the gas tanks and fuel lines of the cars.

Your dealer may be correct imho but it should be on the news or something if so. It pays to know where you got your last tank of gas and helps to keep a receipt just in case.
Old 06-11-2008, 03:23 AM
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Originally Posted by LiPhotoman
05TL with 30,000 mi. Drove it 150 miles, parked it overnight, then next morning started right up, drove a mile, stopped, got back in and drove 5 miles, turned off engine, then tried starting & it wouldn't start. At first the lights, radio, etc. worked, but after a few tries to start, power was gone completely.
Service showed up to Jump start me - tried & tried & tried - engine just wouldn't turn over, despite full power. Just as we were about to do a tow, tried one more time & it started right up! That was a few weeks ago - no problems since.

Took it to dealer. When I described it to the Service Mgr, he said it's not the car, it's the gas! He said in the NY area there is so much alcohol in the gas that sometimes the car's computer gets fooled into not allowing it to start. Siad there is a very specific temperature at which this will occur. There solutions are to wait a little bit (It took about 1 hour for it to start that one time), or, what will sometimes work is to pound on the accelerator a few times to override the computer.

Does any of this make sense?

If it does, why wouldn't there be a software fix to accomodate the alcohol levels now being used in gasoline?
When you say you turned off your engine, were you sitting in the car for a long period of time while the engine was off and the car was still unlocked, did you leave the car unlocked at all?

I had an experience where I was outside the car but it was unlocked and stayed unlocked because one of my doors was open for a period of time (on purpose). Anyways, I closed the door and the car remained unlocked. About 15 or so minutes later, I got in and attempted to start the car but it wouldn't start. I was wondering what happened. However, I pulled the key out of the ignition and pressed lock, unlock, lock, unlock. Put the key back in and the car started right up. It turned out that the car was armed and it did not allow the car to start for this reason.

The reason why I am mentioning this is because that whole gas that the dealer gave you makes no sense. This could be an option to why this happened to you. Try it one day.
Old 06-11-2008, 07:45 AM
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Originally Posted by aSPECtL06
When you say you turned off your engine, were you sitting in the car for a long period of time while the engine was off and the car was still unlocked, did you leave the car unlocked at all?

I had an experience where I was outside the car but it was unlocked and stayed unlocked because one of my doors was open for a period of time (on purpose). Anyways, I closed the door and the car remained unlocked. About 15 or so minutes later, I got in and attempted to start the car but it wouldn't start. I was wondering what happened. However, I pulled the key out of the ignition and pressed lock, unlock, lock, unlock. Put the key back in and the car started right up. It turned out that the car was armed and it did not allow the car to start for this reason.

The reason why I am mentioning this is because that whole gas that the dealer gave you makes no sense. This could be an option to why this happened to you. Try it one day.

YES YES YES!!!!!
That is Exactly what happened. Someone was sitting in the car for those few minutes with the door unlocked & the key in the ignition but turned off. Then it wouldn't start. I wonder if I might have done that same thing - lock - unlock - lock - unlock -before it finally did start.
Old 06-11-2008, 08:27 AM
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Originally Posted by LiPhotoman
Gas was bought on the NJ Turnpike. WHo knows WHAT I got there!
Was probably Sunoco which I've never had a problem with. Those NJ Tpke stations have high turnover so the gas was probably fresh. Did you fill up on 91 or 93? The NJ Tpke Service area I passed yesterday had Ultra 93 posted for $4.139.
Old 06-11-2008, 08:41 PM
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Originally Posted by LiPhotoman
YES YES YES!!!!!
That is Exactly what happened. Someone was sitting in the car for those few minutes with the door unlocked & the key in the ignition but turned off. Then it wouldn't start. I wonder if I might have done that same thing - lock - unlock - lock - unlock -before it finally did start.
So this was the problem?

If so, glad I can be of assistance!
Old 06-11-2008, 11:08 PM
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So this could really be about the engine security?- the famed ~immobilzer chip~ in action~!

If you shut off the car and sit inside, then try to start after too long,,, according to its programming, there must be a security problem, so it wont start until you remove the key.
That activates the immobilzer--- so it wants to recognize the key and allow starting.
Watch when you use the key normally, and the green key dash symbol flashes
Its like how the radio security locks when you disconnect battery,

Using the remote to lock unlock lock= probably had less to do with it,,, than the key got removed and reinserted--thats my neverhumble opinion
Old 06-12-2008, 03:43 AM
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Originally Posted by 01tl4tl
So this could really be about the engine security?- the famed ~immobilzer chip~ in action~!

If you shut off the car and sit inside, then try to start after too long,,, according to its programming, there must be a security problem, so it wont start until you remove the key.
That activates the immobilzer--- so it wants to recognize the key and allow starting.
Watch when you use the key normally, and the green key dash symbol flashes
Its like how the radio security locks when you disconnect battery,

Using the remote to lock unlock lock= probably had less to do with it,,, than the key got removed and reinserted--thats my neverhumble opinion
Actually, when this happened to me (story above), I had the key in my pocket and when I got in to start it up, I had just put the key in the ignition and no go. So I don't think it is about the car 'recognizing' the key.
Old 06-12-2008, 08:07 AM
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it could still be about the built in security!!
that ignition key is a special device that cost big $ for a key, AND has to be programmed to the car!!!
Check owner book to see its effective range, functions, and timer limits.

Some cars and motorcycles now have a key that allows you to start engine with the physical key in your pocket, or let you start engine- then put the key in your pocket.
Walk a certain distance away with the key... and the engine stops... and wont restart until the real key is inserted into ignition and recognized
Everything is about theft protection these days
Old 06-12-2008, 02:37 PM
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It is about the security. The alarm arms if the car is off and unlocked; maybe I wasn't too clear above.
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