ichitaka86

Hello fellow NX owners,

I have 2017 NX that I have been enjoying but lately I am having some starting issues.
This difficult start is not always consistent so I cannot say when it is worse or better. Most time the car does start eventually but requires more cranking. Some bad days it does not even start as seen in the 3rd video but eventually can start up. It is definitely not related to temperature (where I live goes down to -20C) or the amount of fuel that is in my tank.

I have taken my car to a local dealership twice and they cannot figure out the problem as well. They think that it can be a battery problem or some moisture in the gas. They suggest that I get my gas from Shell instead of Esso. What they are saying at the dealership is if they can't reproduce the symptoms ie difficult start at the dealership they can't figure things out. They seem to scan codes only the last two time I visited them.

Now I turn to any of you guys who may have more insight in this matter since my dealership cannot diagnosis this problem. My guess is fuel pump related issue but I am no expert in this. If anyone has ideas please help me diagnosis this issue with me. I would really appreciate any comments.

1st video

2nd video

3rd video

Lex2000TL

Check injectors and fuel pump. I suspect injector(s) leak fuel, drop pressure over time and it takes more time to pump up fuel to fill and pressurize fuel rail.
Does your oil smell like gasoline?

no1SomeGuy

Agreed, injectors or at least something fuel related...keeping in mind the vehicle has both direct injection and port injection. Eventually if it gets worse it should result in some misfire codes to help narrow it down. With techstream they should be able to monitor fuel pressure everywhere at startup and validate. Does it get worse depending on how long the vehicle sits? Like is a hot restart fine? Is it worse after sitting overnight versus a couple of hours?

If it were my vehicle I'd probably let it sit overnight and then pull the plugs and have a look/smell and see what I see.

ichitaka86

It does not matter how long the vehicle sits. It happens if the vehicle has been sitting for 3-4 hours or 8-10 hours. Again, it is very random and inconsistent. I would say this difficult start happens about 20-30% of the starts.

My main problem is the dealership wouldn't accept these videos as proof for a problem. If they can't reproduce the same problem at the shop, they can't help me.

no1SomeGuy

How about just shutting it off and then starting it again within a minute?

It's very difficult for a mechanic to track down a problem when they can't recreate it. They could guess about it but they need to follow the lexus troubleshooting steps rather than just throwing parts at it.

ichitaka86

If it is within a few minutes (5-10 minutes), it starts like new. This happens if the car restarts as early as one hour. Also it’s not for certain but sometimes if there is slight slope when I’m starting the car it can have a more difficult time starting. Does this narrow down the problem in anyway?

coolsaber

have you checked the basics in the battery life?

I would get a battery load test with a printout of Cold Cranking Amps Spec on the battery vs tested CCA, and battery voltage to rule the easiest. From there it would be more complex in terms of a troubleshooting.


other ideas:

-Fuel gelling
-Dont know if this has an Idle air control valve, but that could be another possibilty

ichitaka86

The dealership checked the battery and it was all good. It seems as though the car starts better when it is colder (-20C) without cranking more.

Lex2000TL

Based on your 3rd video, your battery and started seem good.
Since the car does not start right away, it is either no fuel or no spark. Fuel issue I mentioned already before. In regards of spark, if there is a problem with ignition, mechanic (dealer or indi) should be able to read the codes and identify it.
Check what time delay is between last engine run and next start when the problem happens. I suspect it does not happen if you attempt to start within very short time, 30 min or even hour, or so. If the car does not start normally after long delay, concentrate on fuel system. If car does not start normally even after short break, this may be electrical issue.
BTW, diesel fuel can only jell when it is really cold and if it is not a winter type. Gasoline does not jell. It may not ignite well when it is cold and if it is summer type (summer gas has less of light fractions vs winter gas).
Good luck with your car!

ichitaka86

As others have said, sounds like it is more related to fuel. Now when I have taken my car to the dealership I have mentioned fuel pressure related issues and they say there is no related issues. I just don't know what to tell the dealership anymore other than start changing parts my own.

This is what the dealership wrote on my invoice
"Scanned for codes, none stored. No calibration updates available. No fuel pressure related issues. Battery tests 562 Amps at 12.2 Volts. Tried starting several times, no issues. Reviewed guest video. Starting within acceptable parameters. No correction required/available."

coolsaber

Have you tried a different dealership?
Have you tried running different top tier gasoline for a couple of refills to see if the issue persists?

Also when your hard on the accelerator, say highway onramp or merging etc any hesitation?

If its fuel pump related, a strong high rpm acceleration/loads will surface. If its fuel quality related then the only way they can test it is a) physically take a sample, or B) leave it at the dealership overnight out in the cold, and see if it stutters on startup

no1SomeGuy

What's the mileage on it?

The more I hear, the more it sounds like injector problems.

ichitaka86

There are only 2 dealerships in the city I live in. I paid about $200 at one dealership already for the diagnosis. I am hesitant to try another dealership just to fork out another $200 and end up in the same situation I am in.

I tried Shell premium gas over a month now but not much of difference noticed. I do notice when I am pushing on accelerator there is some delay/hesitation but I am not sure if that is how it is with NX's 2.0L engines. Again, it is never about leaving overnight and starting after 12 hour or so. The difficult starting issue is so random. It can do this after 2 hours of resting or 12 hours of resting. What could it mean if there is some delay/hesitation during acceleration?

To change a fuel pump, a Toyota dealership quoted about $1000 for the work.

ichitaka86

The car has 50,000KM on it. So how do I reproduce the problem or have them diagnosis this at the dealership?

The G Man

The 3rd video almost sounds like your engine is flooded, as in leaky injectors.