Hi, I have an 04 g35 coupe with 110,000 km on it. I live in windsor Ontario Canada (next to Detroit) and we are getting really cold weather.
Now recently my car has been acting up. Whenever my car has been sitting in the cold wither for a few hours, I have a hard time starting up. I put in the key and crank the car, the crank feels powerful and i don't think its a battery issue. after cranking the car the revs just drop back down and shuts the car off (seems like a gas issue?). After starting up the car 3 times, it finally starts.
another method im trying so i don't have to crank it 3 times, is i give it a little gas when I crank it. then it starts up no problem. Let' say i let the car only sit for 2 hours in the cold, the car starts up no problem. It is only when the car sits overnight or longer then 4-12 hours is when it has a hard time starting up. I just recently changed my plugs. everything else is fine, car runs perfectly normal other then the start up problem.

any advice?

 

Sounds like water in the line. Once you start try to runa as much gas out of the tank. Put in fuel line antifreeze (dry gas) then fill tank to manufacturers recommended amount. Ice in the line isn't fully blocking the line just enough to impede normal flow. Hence I feel you have just a little H20 in tank. I had a car that had this problem it got worse as it got colder. Until I had total fuel line freeze. This is what I did to it after letting it sit in my garage overnight with a space heater on. Good luck I hope it is a simple fix for you.
Nate

 

I'd start with the battery. It may sound like a powerful crank, but it's just not strong enough. Mine started doing that before it stopped cranking altogether. Battery was the issue.

 

My car dropped the RPMS back down upon start-up and only worked after I gave it gas the SECOND I cranked it and it turned out to be the TB on my car. It was replaced under warranty.

 

Did it start doing this right after you changed the plugs? If so, what kind of plugs are you using?

 

check the plugs, then maybe put a trickle charger on your battery overnight. i don't know how cold you mean by your cold, but i live in winnipeg, and my car starts in -40 celcius or fahrenheight (its the same at this temperature ). shouldn't be just because of the cold.

like others have said, try some gas line anti freeze, my brothers honda that was from the US had that problem, the car had just never really seen any cold temperatures. You can pick up a 6 pack for like 10 bucks at canadian tire. put 1 or 1 1/2 in there, let your car sit for atleast 5 hours to let the antifreeze do its job, then try it. if it starts, take a nice long drive, and put another gas line anti freeze in your next tank right before you fill up to be sure you get any frozen gas out....you might have just got a bad batch of gas and it happened to get unordinarely cold.

 

I have this same issue! I'm going to try the gas line stuff, old thread bump but i'm searching and looking for suggestions lol

 

This is just crazy. I just picked up an '04 G35x and have the exact same issue. I took it back to the dealer and they spen a day and half looking at it. they said it was a butterfly valve out of calibration from a power surge like changing the battery or jump starting. It seems to be a bit better, but still drops the RPM's way down when starting on cold mornings. Anxiously watching this thread for updates before trying anything.

 

sounds just like my issue as well. i have an 03 and live in Calgary where winter is cold!! I bought a new battery recently just in case it was a cranking issue but nothing has changed. i start the car in the morning (car is parked in my unheated garage), it immediately revs high, then the revs drop like a rock to zero, then it usually catches on to a normal idle, but not always... sometimes when it drops down, it just dies, and then it takes a longer crank to start again... if i give it gas during the crank it seem to help start it, but then i get a bit of a smoke show!.... guess i'll try gas line antifreeze and see if it helps, but i'm not very hopeful... i'm wondering if this isn't a throttle body/idle control valve issue? my wife's 2007 FX35 is having the same issue...

 

I vaguely remember reading about this problem in another thread and it was a problem with the Throttle body. They're pretty sensitive. I believe there's a throttle body re-learn procedure, and if that doesn't work it's pretty easy to swap in a new throttle body to test it.

 

I'm dropping it off at the dealer Sunday night so it can sit out in the cold for them to start Monday morning. We'll see what happens. Good luck with yours as well.

 

ok... good luck! let us know what they find out. thanks DZ

 

Diagnosis is the Idle Volumn Air Sensor, getting it replaced today. Hope this is the issue.

 

hmmm... hope its not to pricey to fix! let us know if it fixes the problem!

 

Who told you this, the dealership? I don't think there is an Idle Volume Air Sensor on our cars, it's a combination between the ECU and Throttle Body. I would reset both of those first before doing anything.

If that doesn't work, and you go to the dealership, request to see the part and exactly where it plugs into.