Car Advice Please

[Janicka]

If you know anything about cars, I'd like to exploit your knowledge for a moment.

It's been really, really, really hot here for the last few days (think 105+), with humidity under 10%. This is pretty abnormal for where I live.

Today, when I was leaving work (it was 106), I had trouble starting my car. I had to turn it over 3-4 times before it started. I just about gave up, but it finally started. Last week, the same thing happenned with my husband's car. We walked home (2 miles) in the heat. We went back to get the car a couple of hours later (at night) and it started just fine.

There are no problems with the batteries in either car. Can this be related to heat?

[Scrapheap]

What kind of car?? what year specifically.

Yes, heat can affect a car, your exact problem is hard to diagnose without more information.

[Janicka]

Mine - 2001 Subaru Impreza Outback Sport

Husband's - 1996 Subaru Legacy

[Scrapheap]

Ford Taurus' suffer a simmilar problem and it was caused by a bad fuel pump.

Since both of your cars are Subaru's, they likely use the same fuel pump.

I can't say for certian, but that's a good place to start looking.

[Janicka]

I'm suspicious that this problem may be heat-related, since both cars had the problem within the last week.  We've had all sorts of heat records broken in the last week in Utah.

[Scrapheap]

Heat can expose a weak fuel pump, because without sufficient pressure, the gas boils inside the fuel lines. This is known as "Vapor lock"

[Janicka]

Would this cause a check engine light to come on?  It's come on in my husband's car, but not mine.

[Scrapheap]

Would this cause a check engine light to come on?  It's come on in my husband's car, but not mine.

I don't know much about Subaru's specifically, but my guess would be no, there's likely something else causing the light to go on.

You can buy a scanner to get the error codes out of your cars computer for pretty cheap.

On GM's you used to be able to short out the bottom right two terminals, and the check engine light would fash the errror codes at you.

[Janicka]

Well, I googled vapor lock, and it sounds quite like the problem with my husband's car.  I don't know about mine, though.  It was standing all day in the parking lot, so it seems unlikely.  With my husband's car, though, we were running errands, so vapor lock sounds plausible. I guess I may have overreacted with my car, because of what happenned with my husband's car.

[richard]

you dont know shit about subarus because there a grim mountian town car, not none of this pussy shit you drive out on the beach

[DirtDawg]

Would this cause a check engine light to come on?  It's come on in my husband's car, but not mine.

I don't know much about Subaru's specifically, but my guess would be no, there's likely something else causing the light to go on.

You can buy a scanner to get the error codes out of your cars computer for pretty cheap.

On GM's you used to be able to short out the bottom right two terminals, and the check engine light would fash the errror codes at you.

Vapor lock would be my first guess as well, but it could also be caused from any pressure leak, but there would be a smell of gasoline in the case of a leak, of course, but there may be no sign of liquid at that temperature. Couldn't a vapor lock cause the oxygen sensor to misread and display a failure code?

[vodz]

Ride a bike. Aircon as standard.

[Janicka]

No gas smell at all.  My husband's car is totally normal now. 

[Tesla]

You can buy a scanner to get the error codes out of your cars computer for pretty cheap.

Just to point out you don't have to buy one... some auto places let you rent equipment, and there's also SAM:
http://www.iamsam.com/