Cold weather influence.

[cw17s0n]

The last couple days have been quite cold here in ohio.
I have an automatic 03 accent, and I have several symptoms.
When I start the car it has a hard time starting, similar to when you've left your lights on and the battery is nearly drained. Until the engine warms up it smells rich, and seems to lag between shifts. It's only been an issue the last few days.

Any pointers would be appreciated,
Chuck

[Jed118]

It is running rich, the ATF is thicker so it moves more slowly, and when a battery is cold, the acid catalyzes the lead plates less effectively.

These are all normal things. Just be sure to warm up your car well.

[Asian_907]

There's not really much you can do besides getting a battery blanket or a batter warmer. How many CCA does yuor battery produce?

What viscocity oil are you using during the winter? Having a less viscious oil helps greatly during start up because the colder it gets, the thicker it gets. Personally, I use Mobil 1 5w30 in the winter and 10w30 in the summer. Try it out and see what happens

Howie~

[cw17s0n]

Thanks for the thoughts and suggestions.

Asian_907
My battery is actually the original, I'd have to check to find the cca, I'm sure it's probably also nearing the end of its life. I will try the oil switch next time I change it, I believe I currently have in 10w30 or 10w40.

Thanks again

[jay173]

I live in a cold climate if you want run better with less time warming up you need to use 5w 30 0w 30 as 10w 30 can be to thick still in ver cold weather, your car will crank easier. Also you can have synthetic transmission fluid put in I use redlineoil.com transmission fluid. For oil you can choose what brand you like best. My car cranks slow in cold if the w wich is the winter rating is to high for the little engines in our cars. You need to also make sure cause cheap batteries suck or crank slow in cold because it slows the moluculus so a high cca is prefurred.

[g4ebguyGTX]

im saving up for a optima although i dont really think they do a much better job then other batteries

[grimmy]

Regarding the ATF fluid and Auto transmission - the older accents have picky transmissions, so servicing properly and regularly helps the transmissions life a great deal.

Regardless - in the winter time - as Jed already mentioned the ATF is a little thicker than normal.

Allow a FULL minute prior to driving to warm up the oil and ATF fluid a wee bit prior to driving. The slow shifting of the transmission is a common issue with cold fluid. Forced driving and hard shifting may cause damage in the long run.