Why is the car hard to start in winter?

Question

I know it has something to do with the engine, but what exactly is it that makes cars hard to start in winter?

Answer 1

The cold is hard on the battery.

Answer 2

The whole "starting your car in cold weather" thing can be a big problem for people who live up north, and especially for people who live in really cold places like Alaska. There are three reasons why cars are hard to start when it is cold.

Reason 1 - Gasoline, like any other liquid, evaporates less when it is cold. You have seen this -- if you pour water onto a hot sidewalk it will evaporate a lot faster than it will from a cooler place like a shady sidewalk. When it gets really cold, gasoline evaporates slowly so it is harder to burn it (the gasoline must be vaporized to burn). Sometimes you will see people spray ether into their engines in cold weather to help them start -- ether evaporates better than gasoline in cold weather.

Reason 2 - Oil gets a lot thicker in cold weather. You probably know that cold pancake syrup or honey from the refrigerator is a lot thicker than hot syrup or honey. Oil does the same thing. So when you try to start a cold engine, the engine has to push around the cold, gooey oil and that makes it harder for the engine to spin. In really cold places people must use synthetic motor oils because these oils stay liquid in cold temperatures.

Reason 3 - Batteries have problems in cold weather, too. A battery is a can full of chemicals that produce electrons (see How Batteries Work for more information). The chemical reactions inside of batteries take place more slowly when the battery is cold, so the battery produces fewer electrons. The starter motor therefore has less energy to work with when it tries to start the engine, and this causes the engine to crank slowly.

All three of these problems can make it impossible to start an engine in really cold weather. People either keep their cars in heated garages or use "block heaters" to get around these problems. A block heater is a little electric heater that you plug into the wall to keep the engine warm.

Answer 3

I'm no car expert but if it's only in the cold weather you may just need to plug it in overnight. Or park in the garage. I'm from Minnesota and when I had an older car my dad plugged it in over night. Just keeps juice flowing through the battery so it doesn't freeze. I think...

Answer 4

cars are hard to start during winter due to the low temperature of the environment, usually it takes about a few times before it starts continiously.. its called the cold start, just step on the gas once it starts, if it stops try another one,,, in about three or four times that one will continue to roll..

Answer 5

the cold weather can make it difficult to run. sometimes you get condensation in the fuel line which waters down the gas going to the engine. the oil can congeal at colder temperatures. batteries can die in the cold (even freeze and burst when very cold). if it's a diesel motor, the diesel gels and won't ignite.

when I was a child I remember my father trying to go to work, but being unable as the rear axle shattered from the cold. (it was below -50C at the time)

Answer 6

i recon. because the engine oil get thicken in the winter and when u try to start a car in that situation , gas doesn't create enough or non energy to get car starting

Answer 7

The oil is much thicker in the cold and the gas doesn't burn as well either untill the engine warms up.

Answer 8

You take longer to start in the cold.

So be nice to your car, it has been outside all night in the cold and it doesn't complain.

Answer 9

not only does the oil thicken, sometimes if its really cold, the gas lines will freeze up and the battery will go low or dead from the cold. it takes more cold cranking amps in cold weather to start your car.

Answer 10

The battery often finds it harder to cope with the massive drain that is the starter motor....Also the engines oil is at the bottom of the sump and takes longer to circulate.