Hi Scotty,
I have a 2008 Toyota Camry with the 3.5 Liter V6. It has around 123,000 miles on it. It has a strange problem when starting it with a warm engine. The car will crank for 2-3 seconds longer than normal before it starts. After that it runs just fine.
This does not happen when the engine is cold. The car fires right up when the engine is cold. I let it sit over a week once and it started with no problem. The car will also start normally if the engine is still hot. If I shut the car off, then start it back up 10-15 minutes later, it will start normally.
This always happens once the car has been sitting for about an hour and the engine has cooled off some, but not all the way. Someone suggested that it might be the fuel pump, so tried priming the pump when the engine was warm. It didn't make any difference.
What could be causing this problem?
Thanks,
Dave
Yea, I'd be watching fuel pressure. Could be leaky injectors too slightly flooding some cylinders. If it consistently does it the way mentioned, after driving it and turning it off, bleed fuel pressure from fuel rail via the rail fitting. Come back in about an hour and see if problem resolved. If so, leaky injectors and I wouldn't worry about it.
Thanks HillBilly,
Can you elaborate on the injectors a bit more? Why would they only leak when the engine is warm, and not when the car has been sitting for days to weeks?
Thanks!
I know I'm a few years late, but here it is anyway 😉 .... While you shouldn't worry to much about a slightly leaky injector, do check for a strong fuel smell in your oil when you check the level on the dipstick. If it's strong when it's after 1500 mi or near time to change the oil, the leak is significant enough where you can cause dilution of your oil (bad) and varnish or deteriorate your cylinder walls and rings (also bad). If that's happening, try cleaning the injectors. (not the dump in tank stuff) Remove and clean.
Most materials, metal or otherwise, expand some when hot, so that'd cause the leak only when it's been run for while. My daughter's Camry is doing the exact same thing right now. It's likely a fuel pressure check valve issue, or leaky injector. but can also be a failing fuel pump or fuel filter is clogged. All of these have some similar symptoms, but if it's the pump or filter, then you'd likely experience issues like poor acceleration or surging as well as starting issues when warm or cold for that matter.
