P5 trouble starting

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davemsc

Member
:
mazda protege5
Hey all,

Bought a used p5 with 200,000KM on it and having a bit of an issue....

IN the morning, the car will start fine. I drive it for a bit around town (maybe 10 minutes). Park somewhere. Now when I try and start it up again, it cranks, almost stalls, and on occasion does stall. Then I retry it and starts no problem. This NEVER happens first thing in the morning.

Any ideas? It is a 5-speed if that matters. I haven't changed out the spark plugs yet (not sure if they need changing). The battery was tested and was fine and a new alternator was installed (but I beleive it was doing this before the installation anyway)>

ANy suggestions?

Thanks!
 
Dumb Mazda engine management problem? Yeah, sounds about right. I'd just wait a few months and see if it fixes itself.

I had the same problem through spring and summer this year. My car would start right up after work, I would drive 30 minutes somewhere (the store or whatever), park for an hour, go to start it up, and it was bound and determined to stall on me. If I let it stall, and then just started it back up, all was well, and it would not try to do it again.

And if I didn't let it stall, I would have to keep my foot on the gas the entire time of backing out of the parking space, maneuvering the lot, and any stop signs along my drive. Mine is manual so this requires some effort.

One time, I was determined to not let it stall after stopping at the store after work for an hour. I had to commute home from the store for 40 minutes. I never let it stall in the parking lot or along the 5 mile drive to the freeway (including 6ish lights/stop signs), hit cruise control on the freeway for 25 minutes, and as soon as I stepped on the clutch while exiting the freeway it stalled.

Doesn't do it anymore. Why? Who the hell knows. It's something computer related (like I said, dumb Mazda engine management). If it were mechanical (like the EGR or a vacuum leak) it would not let you start it right back up with no issue.
 
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Maroon said:
Dumb Mazda engine management problem? Yeah, sounds about right. I'd just wait a few months and see if it fixes itself.

I had the same problem through spring and summer this year. My car would start right up after work, I would drive 30 minutes somewhere (the store or whatever), park for an hour, go to start it up, and it was bound and determined to stall on me. If I let it stall, and then just started it back up, all was well, and it would not try to do it again.

And if I didn't let it stall, I would have to keep my foot on the gas the entire time of backing out of the parking space, maneuvering the lot, and any stop signs along my drive. Mine is manual so this requires some effort.

One time, I was determined to not let it stall after stopping at the store after work for an hour. I had to commute home from the store for 40 minutes. I never let it stall in the parking lot or along the 5 mile drive to the freeway (including 6ish lights/stop signs), hit cruise control on the freeway for 25 minutes, and as soon as I stepped on the clutch while exiting the freeway it stalled.

Doesn't do it anymore. Why? Who the hell knows. It's something computer related (like I said, dumb Mazda engine management). If it were mechanical (like the EGR or a vacuum leak) it would not let you start it right back up with no issue.
Click to expand...

haha..I know! I don't understand how it is so intermittent. I used to own a p5 years ago and never had this issue, so i'm not sure what is going on....
 
IDK, sounds pretty similar. It insisted on being started twice after sitting only a short period, but there were no performance issues. It wasn't low on power or misfiring.
 
Maroon said:
IDK, sounds pretty similar. It insisted on being started twice after sitting only a short period, but there were no performance issues. It wasn't low on power or misfiring.
Click to expand...

It does sounds the same, but so far mine hasn't had the complications if I don't let it stall. I've been battling it for a a few weeks and today was the first time it stalled. However, I have never had any issues if I didn't let it stall, whereas you had.

I'm hoping to replace the plugs this weekend anyway....I guess you never know!
 
Maroon said:
Dumb Mazda engine management problem? Yeah, sounds about right. I'd just wait a few months and see if it fixes itself.

I had the same problem through spring and summer this year. My car would start right up after work, I would drive 30 minutes somewhere (the store or whatever), park for an hour, go to start it up, and it was bound and determined to stall on me. If I let it stall, and then just started it back up, all was well, and it would not try to do it again.

And if I didn't let it stall, I would have to keep my foot on the gas the entire time of backing out of the parking space, maneuvering the lot, and any stop signs along my drive. Mine is manual so this requires some effort.

One time, I was determined to not let it stall after stopping at the store after work for an hour. I had to commute home from the store for 40 minutes. I never let it stall in the parking lot or along the 5 mile drive to the freeway (including 6ish lights/stop signs), hit cruise control on the freeway for 25 minutes, and as soon as I stepped on the clutch while exiting the freeway it stalled.

Doesn't do it anymore. Why? Who the hell knows. It's something computer related (like I said, dumb Mazda engine management). If it were mechanical (like the EGR or a vacuum leak) it would not let you start it right back up with no issue.
Click to expand...

The only reason I see why you are blaming the engine management system is because you don't know what its responsible for.

All cars have issues, but there is always an answer as to why its happening, if it involves "gremlins" or is intermittent, the cause if usually an electrical issue like a bad ground.

Check your fuses and relays, make sure everything is intact, make sure no relays are sticking.

If you are saying that the car has no issues starting in the cold but has trouble starting when it has warmed up then I would check the condition of the engine. Do a compression test and tell us what numbers you get.
 
You should definitely put on a pair of new coils if they haven't been done.

You can get them for about 60 bucks a pair.

Coils should be considered a wear item and be replaced regularly.

It may not fix your problem but it shouldn't be considered a waste of money either way.


Coils go bad in all kinds of strange and wonderful ways. They can test fine on the bench then not work in your car. Gremlins like to hang out in our coils...
 
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The_big_dill said:
The only reason I see why you are blaming the engine management system is because you don't know what its responsible for.

All cars have issues, but there is always an answer as to why its happening, if it involves "gremlins" or is intermittent, the cause if usually an electrical issue like a bad ground.

Check your fuses and relays, make sure everything is intact, make sure no relays are sticking.

If you are saying that the car has no issues starting in the cold but has trouble starting when it has warmed up then I would check the condition of the engine. Do a compression test and tell us what numbers you get.
Click to expand...

I think I'm more aware of what the computer does than you are. The computer has say in the way the engine is running 100% of the time. This engine has consistently inconsistent problems with rough idle, pinging, stalling, random power, and sometimes it's just fine. No matter if there's something broken or not.

Like I said in my case, the issue has gone away, and I bet that the OP's issue would disappear too if he left it alone. I'm not suggesting that he should just leave it alone, I'm just saying don't be surprised if you throw a bunch of time and money at it without fixing the problem.
 
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Maroon said:
I think I'm more aware of what the computer does than you are. The computer has say in the way the engine is running 100% of the time. This engine has consistently inconsistent problems with rough idle, pinging, stalling, random power, and sometimes it's just fine. No matter if there's something broken or not.
Click to expand...

This paragraph tells me that you know how cars operate "very well" and how its behavior is purely dependent on the EMS... -_-

OP, i think you should try what others have suggested.
 
I never said it operates purely based on the EMS. I said the computer has say in what the engine is doing 100% of the time. Unplug it and see what happens.

You're suggesting he go on a wild goose chase checking fuses and relays. Make sure your relays aren't sticking??? What relay specifically? When is the last time you had a fuse operate intermittently? And what fuse specifically?

Replacing coils, plugs, and wires is not a bad idea strictly from a maintenance standpoint, but they are not going to cause a problem limited to the first turn of a warm start up - what would be different about these components 5 seconds after the first turn?
 
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Hmmm...

I have no idea what to do lol.

My other car is getting a misfire code and has a hell of a time rattling and shuddering on start up. It throws a p0300 code each time it has been sitting a few days and then trying to start it. However once it does start, then there is no issues (almost the opposite of the mazda issue). The mechanic thinks coil packs.

So, can coil packs cause issues only AFTER the car has started up nicely but acts up only after the car has started? Like I said, I have new plugs which I am going to put in but I don't think that is the iussue.

There is no CEL so no code. I guess I can replace the coil packs and see if that does something. I assume all the wires need to be replaced as well?
 
I really don't think it is any of those things, but as mentioned, it won't really be lost money as all of those things will need replacement someday anyway.

You can only buy 2 spark plug wires for this engine. The other 2 are attached directly to the coil packs, and you have to buy them as a unit.
 
Yes coil packs. They get hot sitting on top of your hot engine with no wind blowing on them and loose their power (heat soak). This causes the computer to try and adjust for poor spark making your car run like s***.

DO NOT BUY cheap. Get the good coils from rock auto or from Mazda. Cheap aftermarket coils are far worse then aging packs. And while your at it buy the two plug wires. They are super cheap. Do all three plugs, wires, packs and then move on to the next thing.

manual oil change, brake fluid flush, radiator fluid flush, timing belt replacement, lubricate e-brake assemblys, muffler bearing repacking, ect....
 
I don't want to hijack this thread. I have a similar problem on my P5. Rough start stumbling, hard to keep running. I have noticed that when it is behaving this way, the gas pedal is very difficult to push, then it snaps down, kind of like the pedal is stuck on something.
I have checked the throttle body, thinking that buildup was causing the butterfly to stick but it moves super smooth.

Otherwise similar to davesmc. Happens after car has run a little bit but not hot. It stumbles for awhile, once I pat the gas pedal several times, it will often clear up but sometimes I just have to start over.
 
try unplugging the idle air control valve and replug it in may need to do it while its running this fixed a similar issue on my sisters 626 with the 2.0
 
I had this problem a few years ago. I tried cleaning the EGR valve and didn't get any improvement. I then cleaned out the IAC. There was some improvement, but the issue was still present. I cleaned the throttle body and put in a new EGR (Canadian version) and IAC. She ran great after that.
 
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