Push button start issue?

jnmarshall · Feb 24, 2013

My new jsw came with the kessey or whatever it's called. But I'm not sure if its working correctly or I'm using correctly. In our kia you press and release the button with you foot on the brake and it starts the car. If you leave your foot off the brake you press and release the button once and it turns on the accessories, press and release again it puts the car in the on/run and press and release it turns it all off.

On our new jsw you put your foot on the brake and it turns the car on like the on/run. Then you keep your foot on the brake and you have to press AND HOLD the button till the engine starts. Is this normal? Due to my habit with our other car I usually release the button and the engine doesn't completely turn over. I'm sure in the long run it isn't good that I have to crank it 2 or three times to start either.

poweredbytdi · Feb 24, 2013

Press and hold is the way it starts. Disappointing but I got over it.

Conrad -JSW · Feb 25, 2013

Believe it or not, this info is in the owner's manual.

Pressing the Start button, without pressing the brake, turns on the ignition AND the glowplugs. If you press Start again without stepping on the brake everything gets shut off. Pressing the Start button (and holding it in) while pressing the brake turns on the ignition, the glowplugs, and after a slight delay, starts the car. Pressing the Start button while the cars is running shuts everything off.

jnmarshall · Feb 25, 2013

Conrad -JSW said:
Believe it or not, this info is in the owner's manual.

Pressing the Start button, without pressing the brake, turns on the ignition AND the glowplugs. If you press Start again without stepping on the brake everything gets shut off. Pressing the Start button (and holding it in) while pressing the brake turns on the ignition, the glowplugs, and after a slight delay, starts the car. Pressing the Start button while the cars is running shuts everything off.

Well I understand the manual is NOT specific to our cars. And because of the glow plugs I expect there would be a possible difference. What I describe above is different then what you describe. Foot on the brake press and hold simply turns the car on and nothing else. I have to release and press and hold again for the car to start. It doesn't seem to matter if the glow plug light has gone out on the second press it will start to crank the motor anyway.

Conrad -JSW · Feb 25, 2013

My owner's manual is very specific to my car, I don't know why your's wouldn't be.

Here's my routine. I get in the car, press the Start button (without touching the brake) and while the glowplugs are doing their thing I put my seatbelt on, then I step on the brake and press the Start button and away she goes.

There is a difference with the glowplugs. If I do as you mentioned above, step, and hold, the brake and then press, and hold, the Start button, there is a delay while the glowplugs heat, then the car starts and I release the Start button.

jnmarshall · Feb 25, 2013

Conrad -JSW said:
My owner's manual is very specific to my car, I don't know why your's wouldn't be.

Here's my routine. I get in the car, press the Start button (without touching the brake) and while the glowplugs are doing their thing I put my seatbelt on, then I step on the brake and press the Start button and away she goes.

There is a difference with the glowplugs. If I do as you mentioned above, step, and hold, the brake and then press, and hold, the Start button, there is a delay while the glowplugs heat, then the car starts and I release the Start button.

So yours sounds like it's working the same as mine. You have to press it twice and hold it on the second. That's all I was trying to confirm.

Conrad -JSW · Feb 25, 2013

jnmarshall said:
So yours sounds like it's working the same as mine. You have to press it twice and hold it on the second. That's all I was trying to confirm.

No, that's not the case. Did you read this?

"There is a difference with the glowplugs. If I do as you mentioned above, step, and hold, the brake and then press, and hold, the Start button, there is a delay while the glowplugs heat, then the car starts and I release the Start button. "

The above is with me pressing the Start button ONE TIME.

Step on the brake, while holding it down, press the Start button, hold it in, the glow plugs heat and after that small delay the car starts then release the Start button. That's one press of the button.

jnmarshall · Feb 26, 2013

Conrad -JSW said:
No, that's not the case. Did you read this?

"There is a difference with the glowplugs. If I do as you mentioned above, step, and hold, the brake and then press, and hold, the Start button, there is a delay while the glowplugs heat, then the car starts and I release the Start button. "

The above is with me pressing the Start button ONE TIME.

Step on the brake, while holding it down, press the Start button, hold it in, the glow plugs heat and after that small delay the car starts then release the Start button. That's one press of the button.

Ok, then it sounds like something changed for 2013 OR sometings not right. Guess when I go in for my 3K checkup I'll ask.

STRANGETDI · Feb 27, 2013

jnmarshall said:
Ok, then it sounds like something changed for 2013 OR sometings not right. Guess when I go in for my 3K checkup I'll ask.

It doesn't sound like anything is different. Some choose to push and hold (one time, accessories and starting), while others push twice as you do (once for accessories to turn on and then again to start (twice).

You'll be alright.

I personally like the push and hold method.

jnmarshall · Feb 27, 2013

STRANGETDI said:
It doesn't sound like anything is different. Some choose to push and hold (one time, accessories and starting), while others push twice as you do (once for accessories to turn on and then again to start (twice).

You'll be alright.

I personally like the push and hold method.

Reread the thread. my car REQUIRES 2 pushes of the starter. If I push and hold it never starts. I have to release and push and hold again.

STRANGETDI · Feb 27, 2013

Whoops. Yup yours seems to be different. I read it too quickly.

Conrad -JSW · Feb 28, 2013

jnmarshall said:
Reread the thread. my car REQUIRES 2 pushes of the starter. If I push and hold it never starts. I have to release and push and hold again.

How long are you waiting after you press the Start button (with your foot on the brake) before you release it and press it a second time?

jnmarshall · Feb 28, 2013

I sat there and held it for a minute once as a test. The glowplug light went out long before. I looked around with vcds yesterday. I found some settings releated to starting and stopping but didn't want to mess with them. It wouldn't be the first time for this car. I had some other issue before I left the lot, it went over to service and they said two options were miscoded and corrected it. When I hit 3K and take it in for my first visit I'll let them know.

Conrad -JSW · Feb 28, 2013

A minute? Yeah, something isn't right.

jnmarshall · Mar 9, 2013

Fixed. The dealer had the car last week and said some coding was wrong and corrected it. It now works where I can press and hold and once the light goes off it fires up.

Conrad -JSW · Mar 10, 2013

Good to hear.

JCM · Mar 23, 2014

I had this issue come up with my 2013 jsw keyless. The dealer I purchased from instructed me to push brake and hold start button until it fires, with glow plugs automatically delaying ignition until ready. My manual is consistent with those instructions. That has been a several-second delay with winter temps here in Oregon, during which time the engine does not crank.
A few weeks ago I had a check engine light (emissions, the yellow engine icon) come on for several days then go off and stay off. At a different service center I was told I was starting incorrectly - that I should briefly push the button to turn on the ignition and glow plugs, watch for the glow plug light to go off, then depress brake and hit start button again to start.
They also replaced/updated a glow plug relay (or relays), so it's not clear to me what the actual problems was. Included with the paperwork they provided me was this:
"Instruct the customer to slow down their starting of the vehicle to avoid cranking during the glow phase." and this:
"For "Push Button Start" vehicles: Depress the start/stop switch once to switch the ignition "ON" and observe the glow plug light, once the glow plug light goes "Out", press and hold the start button a second time to start the vehicle Avoid cranking the engine while the glow plug light is illuminated."
I did try to explain to them that simply pushing the switch and holding, as originally instructed, resulted in an apparent automatic delay while the glow plugs were apparently functioning as intended, during which the engine was not cranking.

The engine starts without problem either way, but the second method is significantly less convenient.
I'm going to pursue this with the dealer of purchase and with VW to try to get some clarification.

EvilEvo · Mar 23, 2014

You can push and hold. The car will start when ready. Either way works, but if you push and let go, you can push it again before the glow plug light goes off.

Do it whichever way is more convenient to you.

03_01_TDI · Mar 24, 2014

I've got three cars with keyless entry and start. Dodge, corvette, and tdi. All three are different.

. Sometimes it takes me a second to figure out how to turn the damn car off, depending in which car!

I think my tdi is two pushes and wait. But if I kill the engine with the clutch, it will restart with quid single button push.

poweredbytdi · Mar 24, 2014

JCM said:
I had this issue come up with my 2013 jsw keyless. The dealer I purchased from instructed me to push brake and hold start button until it fires, with glow plugs automatically delaying ignition until ready. My manual is consistent with those instructions. That has been a several-second delay with winter temps here in Oregon, during which time the engine does not crank.
A few weeks ago I had a check engine light (emissions, the yellow engine icon) come on for several days then go off and stay off. At a different service center I was told I was starting incorrectly - that I should briefly push the button to turn on the ignition and glow plugs, watch for the glow plug light to go off, then depress brake and hit start button again to start.
They also replaced/updated a glow plug relay (or relays), so it's not clear to me what the actual problems was. Included with the paperwork they provided me was this:
"Instruct the customer to slow down their starting of the vehicle to avoid cranking during the glow phase." and this:
"For "Push Button Start" vehicles: Depress the start/stop switch once to switch the ignition "ON" and observe the glow plug light, once the glow plug light goes "Out", press and hold the start button a second time to start the vehicle Avoid cranking the engine while the glow plug light is illuminated."
I did try to explain to them that simply pushing the switch and holding, as originally instructed, resulted in an apparent automatic delay while the glow plugs were apparently functioning as intended, during which the engine was not cranking.

The engine starts without problem either way, but the second method is significantly less convenient.
I'm going to pursue this with the dealer of purchase and with VW to try to get some clarification.

Once they replace the starting relay, you can press and hold. It should not throw a CEL or code.This has been my experience.

CR125Honda · Oct 16, 2017

Daughters 2013 Sportwagen TDI (with 85k) started acting up about a two months ago.

She lives in a different state so I don't get to drive the car very often.
Noticed the change the last time she was home.
I remember when we first got it (15k), there was no monkey motion involved in starting.
No pushing and holding, no pushing twice, etc.

The first few years, when we pushed the button, it started cranking right away.
Didn't matter if it was cold or hot outside or if the engine was cold or hot.

Last month, the battery tested bad with my Solar BA9 meter, so I replaced it.
Seemed to help a little but still was not right.
Had a feeling it was the switch but this was the only thread I read on the subject back then.
Made me think this "push and hold" was normal ops.

Found this thread on the site here - http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=430031
Makes much more sense to me.
Going to clean the switch when I get a little time with the car.

Ken

CR125Honda · Oct 28, 2017

Just an update..
Removed the push button switch and cleaned it.
Used alcohol, q-tip, and product called de-oxit.
Back to normal operation now.
Get in car, step on brake, push start button.
Car starts instantly.

Push button start issue?

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