Intermittent starting issues

KIA-NONSTARTING

MEMBER
2005 KIA PICANTO
4 CYL
FWD
MANUAL
64,000 MILES

My car is the 1.1 LX. It has an intermittent starting problem. Sometimes starts and sometimes not, there is no consistent behavior. I took it back to my car specialist twice and he could not find anything wrong. I read on various forums (and Hello Peter) that I am not the only one experiencing this problem on this make of car, and I can see that the agents are trying in various ways to sort the problem (changes fuel pumps replaced, relays changed, keys re-coded at huge cost, etc etc). One solution a customer was given by the mechanic was to get rid of the car as a batch of these cars were "lemons" and has this starting problem on these "lemons". I cannot go on using this unreliable car, which may get me stuck somewhere at any time!

Two weeks ago and this has started happening. It just randomly will not start and then leave it for a while and it will start perfectly. I also brought it to a mechanic and he could not find anything wrong with it. It is so frustrating!

Most probably the reason why the previous owner sold this car! Very annoying, embarrassing and a shame that Kia is unable to acknowledge or solve the problem. My car still happily non-starting at times. :) I bought a Huyndai i20 now, as I drive long distances frequently, and passed the problem on to my daughter, with strict instructions to always be aware of this problem, to keep herself safe. She uses the car for runarounds town only.

Does anybody have any ideas?

Please help. Christelle

10 Replies

AARON_OC94

MEMBER
1 POST

I think in the past few days I have got the nak of it because its been happening a lot. This is hard to explain because I do not know the technical words. But When you turn the key it does not twist it all the way as far as it goes, just twist it lightly as far as the car will turn over and start. And also the second you twist the key press the accelerator (in neutral of course) lightly to about half way. Since I have been doing this it has not been a problem. I hope this will work for your daughter. : )

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Tuesday, September 13th, 2011 AT 10:43 PM

PHILLIP PHOGOLE

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2 POSTS

Hi, I am also driving Kia Picanto I bought it on 2011 since I drove it and I am having your problems, should I run the codes?

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Wednesday, March 13th, 2013 AT 1:33 PM

WINANT

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I have had variations on Picanto starting problems on our second car. Principally used by my wife. Consequently the car is used sporadically and mainly for short local journeys. If it is used for a longer journey the problem abates for a while. The battery is very small. If the car is started frequently without the battery having a chance to recharge it slowly loses power. The resulting faults/symptoms can vary, depending on the cars most recent history of temperature, journey times, the batteries electro/chemical activities. If there is just enough charge to get you started to the local garage. You drive there (charging) surprise surprise! No problem!

Drive home, leave it in the drive a few days and, depending on any, or all, of the above factors the car has degrees of difficulty starting.

My personal solution is to give a good period on the battery charger, that should get you going. Give it some more periods over a few days with gaps to let the chemical reaction work. If your driving patern consists of short journeys you need to give regular battery topups.

It works for me!

It also occurs to me that the car may accommodate a bigger battery but I would need to take professional advice on that. Good luck!

Allard

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Saturday, March 12th, 2016 AT 7:37 AM

KEN L

MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
48,363 POSTS

Hey Guys,

This sounds like classic crankshaft angle sensor that is going out which is a big problem in these cars.

Here is a guide and a diagram of where it is on your car:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/crankshaft-angle-sensor-replacement

Here is a guide so you can run the codes but a crankshaft sensor most of the time will not show up as a problem:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/checking-a-service-engine-soon-or-check-engine-light-on-or-flashing

Please let us know happens so it will help others.

Best, Ken

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Thursday, December 15th, 2016 AT 11:53 AM

FOONA

MEMBER
1 POST

Had a similar problem on a Kia Picanto 2009 where it would occasionally turn over but fail to start. It could occur several times in a row and then go a week without occurring.

After searching the internet, others were reporting that it can be related to the immobiliser aerial that picks up the signal from the key and is situated in the bezel surrounding the lock that has "LOCK ACC ON START PUSH" printed on it.

I noticed that on turning the ignition that if the immobilizer light (car with key symbol inside on bottom right of dashboard) did not come on, then the car would turn over but not start.

I removed the antenna (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lK67Ii0UUVk) contacts and speculatively rubbed down them with fine grit paper. It was not possible to access the other half of the mating connector to inspect it. It has been back together three weeks now and has started every time. In the meantime I've ordered a replacement to try if it fails again. I struggle to appreciate how a coil of wire in the bezel with two flying leads could fail though.

Its manufacturer's part number is 9544017050 and available off eBay from Korea for around � 15. It seems to be used on Hyundai cars too.

The thread below on a different forum suggests that it is best to solder the connection, but I am a bit dubious about some of the assertions in the thread.

http://www.hyundai-forums.com/getz-forum/115289-immobilizer-fault.html#post2931186

I hope this information may be useful to others with the same symptoms in diagnosing the cause of their problem.