soldierguy
Veteran Member
I had a weird delayed start several days ago with my 2010 Golf TDI, 6-speed manual. I think I know what caused it...just seeing if I'm the only one who thinks the same thing.
I had the Golf on a car hauler trailer going from California to Colorado (all 4 wheels on the Golf were off the pavement and on the trailer). At times it was a rough ride (key point to my theory), particularly around Barstow on CA highway 58. When I went to drive the car off the trailer, it fired up immediately and then immediately died. In subsequent attempts to start, it would either not crank at all, or crank over with no start. The speed at which the starter motor was spinning the engine seemed normal. Finally after several attempts, it sputtered, but wouldn't hold an idle...had to keep my foot on the pedal to keep it running. That transitioned into sounding like it was running on 3 cylinders, then finally smoothing out into normal running. I only had time to drive it around the block, then put it in the garage. Due to snow, I parked the Golf in the garage for several days. This morning it fired right up with no issues. No check engine light, no weird smells, no weird sounds. The trip started at sea level, hit 7500 feet a couple times, and ended at about 5500 feet.
I'm thinking that the rough ride on the trailer jiggled some air into the fuel line, causing the no-start and rough running before finally running normally. The only other thing I can think of is that while on the trailer, the car was in 1st gear...maybe the crank sensor temporarily lost its mind because of all the jiggling. That might explain the attempts in which the Golf didn't crank at all. However, the shifter didn't feel like it was stuck in gear when I got in to pull it off the trailer...it slid right out of 1st gear into neutral with no clutch and no unusual effort.
No plans to take it to the dealer...just seeing what others think. Cheers!
EDIT: I saw MKVI and posted here...I'll repost in the Golf MKVI section that wasn't here last time I was on the site.
I had the Golf on a car hauler trailer going from California to Colorado (all 4 wheels on the Golf were off the pavement and on the trailer). At times it was a rough ride (key point to my theory), particularly around Barstow on CA highway 58. When I went to drive the car off the trailer, it fired up immediately and then immediately died. In subsequent attempts to start, it would either not crank at all, or crank over with no start. The speed at which the starter motor was spinning the engine seemed normal. Finally after several attempts, it sputtered, but wouldn't hold an idle...had to keep my foot on the pedal to keep it running. That transitioned into sounding like it was running on 3 cylinders, then finally smoothing out into normal running. I only had time to drive it around the block, then put it in the garage. Due to snow, I parked the Golf in the garage for several days. This morning it fired right up with no issues. No check engine light, no weird smells, no weird sounds. The trip started at sea level, hit 7500 feet a couple times, and ended at about 5500 feet.
I'm thinking that the rough ride on the trailer jiggled some air into the fuel line, causing the no-start and rough running before finally running normally. The only other thing I can think of is that while on the trailer, the car was in 1st gear...maybe the crank sensor temporarily lost its mind because of all the jiggling. That might explain the attempts in which the Golf didn't crank at all. However, the shifter didn't feel like it was stuck in gear when I got in to pull it off the trailer...it slid right out of 1st gear into neutral with no clutch and no unusual effort.
No plans to take it to the dealer...just seeing what others think. Cheers!
EDIT: I saw MKVI and posted here...I'll repost in the Golf MKVI section that wasn't here last time I was on the site.
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