Good morning from Maine.

Background is a 2005 that I bought late last year. It came with 100K on it. Everything works just the way it should, including that rather scary 6k second stage VTEC, which never gets used. Mechanically, I'd say the car is near perfect. Also, note that this car is used strictly for pleasure, maybe once a week and never driven hard. To put this in context, since last October, I have put 800 miles on the car. It's just a delight to drive and ride in. My partner, Joan, is one of those people who is most comfortable in a car when she's behind the wheel; she's a safe and competent driver, so I just hand her the keys and enjoy the ride.

One thing that bothers me - on a cold start, the engine is briefly noisy. It goes away pretty quick and any start after that is fine. My question is, is this normal or is this some indication that something is not right somewhere? Modern day cars start and run pretty well, even when cold although my son says his mini doesn't really run right until it's up to temperature and my '73 midget sure as heck didn't run right until it was up to temperature.

Thoughts?

 

Need to explain what you mean by noisy.

Yes, these cars do idle higher on startup to help warm up the engine and get things moving. My car idles at 2k rpm on a cold start and then slowly drops.

Maybe you have a sticky starter? Starters on these cars are known to sometimes stick after the car starts and make a grinding noise for a second or 2. That is usually on cold starts as well.

 

"Maybe you have a sticky starter?" That would be a pretty good description of what it sounds like. Is this an indication of a bad starter?

 

Yeah if it is a grinding sound for just a second or two after starting, it is the starter. There are threads about how to fix it (you can take the starter apart to repair it pretty easily). If it is something else, just need to know what the sound is so we can advise. Piston slap is not uncommon either, but is also not a real concern if it goes away after warming up. But again, just need a better description of the noise.

 

Mu Honda jetski is noisy when started cold, for about 60 seconds. (The engine looks like a mini S2000 engine). Unless it's a grating sound, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

It "sounds" like there might be a couple of explanations, no pun intended but willingly given, none of which sound tragic for a pleasure car. I appreciate your comments.

I apologize for throwing something like this out. If we have worked on cars, either as professionals or hobbyists, at some point we have been approached with "my car makes an odd sound", which the obvious response is, "well, if I heard it, I might have some ideas." I suppose in this high tech era, I could record it and post the audio clip.

On cue, my son just sent me a video of him trying to start his non-running CBR900RR that he bought for a pittance. It's his first whack at something like this and we all had to start somewhere. He rebuilt the carburetors. "Couldn't you start with something easier?" I wish he didn't live a half a country away, I'd have field day with that bad boy.

 

Its either:
-The secondary air pump making the noise you're hearing
-You made this thread to troll these fine people

This all smacks with trolling. I'm gonna act pretty tough for the time being....until I figure all this out

 

Certainly no troll. I just thought I'd ask the community about something that bugs me a little and I got some good advice. I do not know of another s2k in my area, so it's not like I can go to someone and say, "what does yours sound like when it starts?" and listen to it.

In my opinion, the forum did exactly what I figured it was intended for. Thank you.

 

Some S2000's have exhibited piston slap on cold start. It goes away as the engine warms and is exactly as you describe. Many engines have that trait and it is not harmful in any way, and it does not result in any abnormal wear. Some oils can help reduce the noise depending on their additive package.

 

Does it sound a little like a rattlesnake noise for a few seconds after a cold start? If so, this would indicate a starter issue and it is very common.