Startup when cold?

Easty-5

Member
 Aberdeen
Is it normal for the M to be a bit hesitant to start first thing in the morning? It always starts but usually takes a little bit longer. When its warm, it starts straight away.

So, just another 'charm' of the M or something I should be concerned about?
 
Hmm. Mine isn't garaged and only seems worse on colder mornings. It always starts but sometimes takes a second or 2 longer than when starting her up again later in the day.

Maybe time for some new spark plugs.
 
Easty-5 said:
Hmm. Mine isn't garaged and only seems worse on colder mornings. It always starts but sometimes takes a second or 2 longer than when starting her up again later in the day.

Maybe time for some new spark plugs.

A cold engine will always be harder to start - fuel is much harder to vaporise when cold, oil will be thicker, so making it harder to crank your engine, also your battery will be weaker when cold.
 
Haven't noticed any difference between warm & cold starting, but mine's left outside all the time and used daily, so the battery is always fully charged and everything lubricated well.

The gearbox/engine is a bit lumpy when cold though - which makes stop/start traffic a bit of a challenge in the first 5 minutes.
 
If you notice increased cranking time at any temp above 0°C, you may have a battery, fuel pressure or ignition issue. Even at -25°C the cranking time isn't significantly changed and should pretty well stay constant in terms of the number of revolutions of the engine before it fires. The engine does sound like rattling a can full of bolts at -25°C, though.
 
Easty-5 said:
Is it normal for the M to be a bit hesitant to start first thing in the morning? It always starts but usually takes a little bit longer. When its warm, it starts straight away.

So, just another 'charm' of the M or something I should be concerned about?

Don't worry, it's fine :thumbsup:

Mines been doing it since I got it
 
some cars hardly seem to turn a revolution before they fire, the M turns over two or three times whether hot or cold before firing, some one on here wrote that it is the ecu not allowing it to fire until it has built sufficient fuel pressure, so avoiding a weak mixture, sounded a fair explanation to me' :thumbsup:
 
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