hi everyone ive had my 04 ap2 for about 7 months now with 76k on it never had a problem, well yesterday when i started it for the first time in a week, it made an abnormal grinding sound for about a split second right at startup(outside temp around 70degrees so not too cold)(sound sounded exauctly like a gear grind)like as if the starter wasnt pulling off the flywheel fast enough and grinded,but started up nicely, not a slow start, not a bad idle nothing wrong at all... let it warm up shut it off and started again sound was gone...? my question is this my starter going out? should i change it? i let the car get cold again for about 8 hrs and started it up again still no noise again. should i worry or was it just because it hadnt started for a week or so? any advice would help very much thankyou

 

starter is sticking like you suspected.

This problem is very random. My car does it once or twice a year. If it doesnt persist, let it slide.

 

thankyou for you quick responce makes me feel a bit better, just want to know if it does become a common issue what do i do from there? replace the starter? replace the flywheel? or both?

 

Just the starter. Flywheel is tough and will be fine.

 

ok thanks alot how much do you think it would cost to have a shop replace it

 

mine does this randomly too. i figure once it does it consistently i will replace the starter. its kinda buried in there behind the alternator i dont feel like cursing and yelling at the car for the foreseeable future.