2009 Toyota Corolla S Hard Starting And Smoking (American Spec) - Toyota Corolla (2009 until 2018-19 “TNGA”)

Please help me, I have a 2009 Toyota Corolla S (American Spec) it is doing Hard starting and smoking. It starts faster in the morning but during the day normal use, it'll not start on time... it'll kick for some times, return, I kick it again, it kick, then start shaking and spurting out black smelly smoke from the exhaust before starting... it does not smoke when running, only at start up and the smoke is choking. I have tried many mechanic, they changed plug, diagnosed, serviced nozzles, etc yet no solution.

PLEASE HELP!!!

Thanks.

what does the smoke smell like?

what does the smoke smell like?

Choking

Need to be more specific - color (bluish, white, gray/black), odor (sweet, acrid, oily, gasoline, etc), source (tailpile or underhood)?

An engine that cranks faster than normal in one instance and then fails to start at another sounds like a potential timing issue. Where are you taking the car to be looked at, which mechanic? A factory trained tech will NOT change the plugs on this car at this point. Unless the plugs were heavily fouled, which would indicate a potentially more serious issue.

The smoke is grey/black, the odour is gasoline but choking from the exhaust pipe.

When did the car start doing this? Did the mechanics do a compression check and verify timing?

Grey/black smoke from the exhaust with a strong gasoline odor is a sign of an excessively rich air/fuel mix. Can be caused by anumber of things - bad timing, no spark or misfire (should immediately flash the CEL), bad compression, sensor malfunction, wrong oil in the crankcase, etc.

First:

- pull any stored or current CEL codes (need a CAN compliant OBD-II scanner)

- verify you have spark / spark plugs are clean

- verify you have good timing / verify timing chain is operating correctly

- verify that induction system is getting air

- verify that you have good compression

If those check out - then you have a more complicated electrical issue / complex mechanic issue - will need further diagnosis to direct you to a possible solution.

I got this suggestion elsewhere, what do you think?

Although it would be super rare, it sounds like you have a leaking fuel injector flooding the engine on warm starts. (Black smoke is excess fuel) If the car has less than 36,000 miles on it the dealer will fix it for free! Source(s):

30 years Toyota tech

just take it to the dealer before you damage anything, you're under warranty!

I'm with Bitter - just take it in.

It is true that gray/balck smoke is a likely indication that you are running an excessively "rich" air/fuel mix. There are a number of potential causes for this case - including injecting too much fuel, not enough air, misfiring plug, etc.

Can't guess at it - needs to be properly diagnosed meaning you have to have it hooked up to a scanner and monitor what the sensors are telling you. Then go back and verify that the sensors are reading correctly. After that preliminary diagnostic work, only then will you have enough information to point you in the direction of a potential culprit.