I have a cold weather auto start feature in my auto start remote.

ANSWER : Hi there. The cold weather timer is a great feature to have, but you can adjust the time for the auto start to stay on for. I recommend setting the timer for 20 minutes to allow the engine to warm up. The hardest thing to do on an engine is start it up and shut it off before it warms up. This will gel up the engine oil and causing the engine to fail due to lack of engine oil. If you need further assistance with your auto start system, then seek out a professional, such as one from Your Mechanic, to help you.

ANSWER : Hi there. Given the description of not being able to start your vehicle, when it is cold and jump starting the vehicle without any problem. This leads me to believe the battery does not have enough cold cranking amp capacity. The engine needs to turn over fast enough to start. This may be nothing more than a weak battery. I recommend having this confirmed by a certified technician from YourMechanic.

ANSWER : Hi there. After replacing the battery in the key fob remote, you will need to reprogram the remote to the vehicle. This is why the alarm is being tripped for the computer is not recognizing the remote. If you need further assistance with your remote, then seek out a professional, such as one from Your Mechanic, to help you.

ANSWER : Hello. Thank you for writing in. There are several reasons your vehicle may only start when jump starting. The first and most common is a build up of resistance that is causing you to need a boost of voltage to get the engine started. This may be due to poor battery cables, a bad ground connection, a poor starter solenoid, and a couple of other issues. The first thing you want to do is perform a visual inspection of the starting system. Make sure there is no corrosion build up in the battery cables. You can also check the resistance across these wires and make sure you have a solid connection between components. You then want to make sure the starter solenoid is doing its job. It is responsible for taking the small amount of electricity sent by the ignition and turning it into a huge electrical charge that is strong enough to push over the engine with the help of some gear ratios in its favor. Do some more testing, and stick to the basics before assuming its something seriously complicated.

ANSWER : Hi there. First check the remote battery and make sure that it is working. If the battery has not been changed for a long time, I suggest replacing the battery first. If you still have the same problem then the fob seems to have a loose contact within the remote fob. Take apart the fob as you were to replace the battery and you will see two wires that are soldered. The solder has become dry and brittle and needs a new amount of solder to create a better contact. What is happening is contacts are too small to produce a far distance signal due to a less voltage transfer. This happens when the keys are dropped or the buttons are pushed too hard. If you need further assistance with your remote engine start, then seek out a professional, such as one from Your Mechanic, to help you.

ANSWER : Hi there. There could be two problems here. It is possible that your battery is bad and will not take a charge from your alternator while driving. In that case every time you shut your car off you will not have enough juice to start it again. Inspect your battery – it should have at least 12.5 to 13 volts to start your car, if it doesn’t you will need to replace the battery. The second problem could be that your alternator is bad and not charging your battery, in this case you will need to replace your alternator. Both the battery and the alternator can be tested in your car. If you would like to have the car checked for you, a certified professional from YourMechanic can come to your car’s location to diagnose the starting problem and proceed with repairs.

ANSWER : Has a mechanic’s stethoscope been used to track down the specific location of the noise? There are several solenoid valves in the engine bay that do not run all the time and may be pretty loud once they start, such as an evaporative emissions purge valve and the like. The high fuel trims on one bank sound like you may have a problem on one side with a vacuum leak. A positive trim means air is being added and the computer is trying to add fuel to compensate.

I recommend having an experienced technician, such as one from YourMechanic, come to your location to determine why the engine is making a noise and suggest the proper repair.

ANSWER : Hi There,
The idle air control valve is a small valve on the engine’s intake system that reads the air intake as it comes into the motor. This is controlled by the car’s ECM which uses this information to make adjustments to the air/fuel ratio depending on various inputs such as outside air temperature, intake air temperature, load and various other things. As you accelerate, your car’s engine is receiving a much higher dose of fuel than when at idle and conversely, when you let off the gas pedal, there is a sudden change in this fuel supply as a result of your foot letting off the pedal. When this happens, the job of the idle air control valve is to bring this deceleration down to a slow and smooth idle rather than suddenly cutting off the fuel supply causing the motor to die. When the idle air control valve is not working properly, this cause a disruption in this process resulting in the engine not being able to idle properly. I would recommend having a professional come to your location to diagnose and inspect your vehicle.