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Starter motor runs for 3 seconds or more after 2009 toyota corolla has been sitting 30 minutes or more and engine is still warm.

If engine is cold it starts fine. If engine is warm but only sitting less than 5 minutes it also starts fine.

The longer it's been sitting the longer it takes to start, if when starting the engine is still warm.

Pushing down the accelerator when starting doesn't seem to help much.

There is definitely a linear relation between how long it takes to start vs how long its been sitting, if the engine is warm. If its been sitting for 1:30, the engine is still a little warm and it may take 6 seconds for engine to finally start.

What could be causing this ?

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  • Welcome to Motor Vehicle Maintenance & Repair! Jul 29, 2020 at 22:41

1 Answer 1

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The fuel injectors may be leaking, due to wear, sticky build-up, or o-ring failure. The warmth of the engine vaporizes the leaking gasoline in the intake manifold, causing an abnormally rich condition upon starting. The longer the car sits, the more excessively rich, requiring more cranking time to clear the intake manifold.

You could check for this possibility by removing the plastic cover on the air filter after the warm engine has sat for some time. Remove the air filter and put your nose into the induction housing, close to the throttle body shutter. If you smell a strong gasoline oder, the injectors are leaking.

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  • would it also be a good test to try leaving the car sitting with the spark plugs removed? the idea being that gas vapors will escape out the spark plug holes ... if i put them back in after its been sitting 1:30 and it starts easily that would confirm your suggestion
    – kinidkinid
    Jul 30, 2020 at 14:51
  • replaced fuel injectors with 4 remanufactured and after one day of testing the difficulty starting problem seems to be fixed
    – kinidkinid
    Aug 13, 2020 at 13:07
  • gotta add one more thing, the reman injectors came with low quality o-ring seals at the top, visibly thinner than OEM so i spent another $11 and put OEM o-ring seals on them before installing
    – kinidkinid
    Aug 13, 2020 at 13:13
  • Thank you for the follow-up information. I'm glad you resolved your issue.
    – Carguy
    Nov 7, 2020 at 9:18

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