volcomboy390

Mine seemed to take a few extra turns to start as well and it ended up that for some reason my valves would tighten up after about 1000 miles... when it got hot it would be very noticeable. I know our cars need to be adjusted every 10 or 15k miles..... mines a 07 with about 70k on it. Maybe a valve adjustment would help......

mMoS2000

I have had a similar issue, and although I would categorize my problem also as "hard starting when hot", I'm not sure what your symptoms really are. So, a few questions to determine if your issue is the same as mine...
What do you mean by hard starting? Does it crank strongly but takes longer to fire up? Or, does it seem to crank very slowly and laboriously and then speeds up before it finally fires?
If you wait for 10 or 15 minutes to cool down, then does it start normally?

windhund116

This hot start issue just began? Maybe, fuel pump's tolerance is getting a little sloppy. Dropping the pressure, when it is hot.

CR EH

I have not had my valves adjusted yet. Probably wouldnt hurt to do that I agree.

I don't know exactly how long it would take to cool down to the point where it doesnt crank hard. I have waited about 15 minutes (gone into store to buy something) and it still cranks hard but it doesnt cool down much at all in that short time when its out in the sun. After a few hours sitting in the garage it is fine.

The two types of cranking you described are both somewhat similar to what is happening. It cranks hard and slow for a little longer than it normally would and then fires up. Further description I can think of is that normally it would crank consistently about 3 times and fire up without a hiccup. When hot the cranks are spaced apart at different time intervals, sometimes long, sometimes short, its very abnormal.

Perhaps my question should be what would cause abnormal starting after engine is at operating temperature?

I know how it cranks when the battery is low and that is not what is happening so we can void that possibility (besides it wouldnt make sense that it cranks better after sitting for a while).

The problem just started to my awareness about 1-2 weeks ago.

EDIT: I checked the oil today when car was cold and it was a little low, about halfway on the dipstick (between low and high). I will top it up and confirm whether that made a difference.

windhund116

This sounds like an electrical or fuel delivery issue. At least, I'd rule out battery, starter, solenoid, plugs, fuel filter, fuel pump, coils first.

Car Analogy

He's only got like 37k miles on the car. Plugs should be fine.

Car Analogy

I dont think you answered above questions in a way that is understandable. Your answer included the phrase 'cranks hard', but its not clear if that means it cranks nice and hard like normal, or if its laboring, and it seems hard for it to crank.

When the problem occurs, does it crank slower than normal, or crank at normal speed?

CR EH

LOL thanks for giving me a list of things to check

CR EH

Honestly I wish I could get you a video clip lol its very strange. But I would say it cranks more on the laboured side. Its a strong crank, like does not seem weak due to lack of power. But what I mean by "hard" is that its not a smooth start at all. Its easier for me to describe other starting issues I have had, very difficult to describe this one.

This is how I would describe the following situations:
Ex. normal, steady consistent cranks with a smooth fire.
Ex. weak battery, slow long cranks.
Ex. no spark/no fuel, strong short consistent cranks but no fire. (had this happen before with bad sensors and bad plugs on other vehicles, like a security fuel cut off)
Ex. Hot start (problem), strong short crank, 1 second pause, long crank, 3 short cranks, then fire. Its not always consistent but that was today's rough start.

I apologize if my descriptions are not clear enough.

45bravo

I have about 180k miles on my 00 and had the same issues for a while. Do you have the heat shield for the battery still? If you don't the battery gets heat soak really bad. If you do check the draw of the starter, mine was going bad and trying to over draw the battery on start up which kept making the battery go bad.