by induction1, May 31, 2004
every so often when i start the engine it will not turn over right away but will chug and sputter for a couple of seconds before running smoothly. it runs fine otherwise, but today i turned it over once for 2 - 3 seconds and it didn't start! (it did on the second turn) it has no mods and only 300 miles on it and i'm breaking it in as instructed. is this typical or am i doing something wrong?
2004 S
Something similar happened to me last weekend (2004 at 5000 km) after my first oil change (I now doubt it had anything to do with the problem). It seemed to only happen on cold starts and went away after a comple days. Could have been something in the gas maybe. It was the first time I experienced a poor start though... and I've had it all winter at -20°C.
So I'd say wait a while and if it persists or gets worse take it to the dealership. A brand new corolla should *not* have issues like that. They don't seem to be quick starters but they should always start if you hold the key a few seconds and when they start they don't sputter or anything. If it doesn't sound like the engine is going to blow apart you might want to wait and try a different gas station too.
