Intermittent starting issues

[SpacegrayMe90]

Good day gents,

My 2010, with 66k miles, has had intermittent starting issues for a month. I highly suspect it may be attributed to my starter crapping out. All lights work fine car just won't start just click. If I wait 15 minutes it will fire up sometimes, or the next day. My battery is four years old, and the last time I checked the in car voltage, it was around 14.

I understand there could be other possible starting culprits, such as bad ground, IBS, etc..

I reached out to an indy shop here in NYC to find out the labor on a starter job, and I was told it would be $800 since it's a lot of work getting to the starter. Does this labor sound about right?

[Vuu]

Originally Posted by SpacegrayMe90

Good day gents,

My 2010, with 66k miles, has had intermittent starting issues for a month. I highly suspect it may be attributed to my starter crapping out. All lights work fine car just won't start just click. If I wait 15 minutes it will fire up sometimes, or the next day. My battery is four years old, and the last time I checked the in car voltage, it was around 14.

I understand there could be other possible starting culprits, such as bad ground, IBS, etc..

I reached out to an indy shop here in NYC to find out the labor on a starter job, and I was told it would be $800 since it's a lot of work getting to the starter. Does this labor sound about right?

It's time to change that battery.

The shop quote actually seems fairly cheap because I've helped change a starter and it's not a quick job at all.

I had starting issues not long ago where all of my comforts and lights worked but as soon as I pressed start, the whole car seemed like it would reset.

The battery was so dead, I couldn't even jump the car with my SQ5.

I was hoping it was just a bad ground because I didn't want to do another starter job or even an alternator job.

Do yourself a favor and change the battery first. It's the cheapest and quickest option to troubleshoot.

[Ajolives]

For what it’s worth, my battery, starter, and alternator all went within a month or two of each other. Possible both starter and battery are weak…it’s always a gamble without a proper diagnosis.

Quote seems in the range, gotta take out a bunch of crap to get to it.

Not to hijack the thread, Vuu we picked up a SQ5 earlier in the year and I love that thing.

[SpacegrayMe90]

Originally Posted by Vuu

It's time to change that battery.

The shop quote actually seems fairly cheap because I've helped change a starter and it's not a quick job at all.

I had starting issues not long ago where all of my comforts and lights worked but as soon as I pressed start, the whole car seemed like it would reset.

The battery was so dead, I couldn't even jump the car with my SQ5.

I was hoping it was just a bad ground because I didn't want to do another starter job or even an alternator job.

Do yourself a favor and change the battery first. It's the cheapest and quickest option to troubleshoot.

Thanks for the insight. I will revisit the battery, although that distinct click sound aligns with a starter-related issue.

I do wish I was more mechanically inclined like some of you guys. I have trust issues whenever my car needs to go in for work.

I assume it may be a good idea to change my TAs while the shop has the parts out. One of the banks threw a code a few months ago, and then it disappeared.

Originally Posted by Ajolives

For what it’s worth, my battery, starter, and alternator all went within a month or two of each other. Possible both starter and battery are weak…it’s always a gamble without a proper diagnosis.


Quote seems in the range, gotta take out a bunch of crap to get to it.


Not to hijack the thread, Vuu we picked up a SQ5 earlier in the year and I love that thing.

Sheesh! All three in the same month is nuts! It's beyond me why BMW would put the starter in that location. Well, I know it's to charge the crazy labor to get to it.


Ok, glad the quote seems inline.

[rich4life611]

Have the same issue currently. Noticed if I let the car sit for longer than a week it starts fine but if I let it sit for like 24-48 hours it has an issue starting. My mechanic said it’s a bad ground. Bought a new battery anyway just in case.

[spammysammich]

If you checked the voltage with the car running it should read 14 v with the alternator working. If it sits for a while and you measure the voltage with the car off, under 12.2 volts can do weird things at start and throw multiple codes.

[SpacegrayMe90]

Originally Posted by rich4life611

Have the same issue currently. Noticed if I let the car sit for longer than a week it starts fine but if I let it sit for like 24-48 hours it has an issue starting. My mechanic said it’s a bad ground. Bought a new battery anyway just in case.

Hopefully, you get your issue sorted. Keep us posted.

I'm waiting for an appointment slot to bring mines in.

[SpacegrayMe90]

Originally Posted by spammysammich

If you checked the voltage with the car running it should read 14 v with the alternator working. If it sits for a while and you measure the voltage with the car off, under 12.2 volts can do weird things at start and throw multiple codes.

Thanks for chiming in. My running voltage was 14V at the time.