Starting Issue
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Starting Issue
Hello everyone,
Was hoping for some feedback on an issue I've been having with my 2003 f150 v6.
A couple months back I started having troubles starting my truck. It would start, but just die out right away. No check engine light, etc. Initially it did it a few times and then finally went without dying out and runs fine from that point. A few weeks later, the same issue happened... but this time a tried over a dozen times and still nothing. The following morning it was still happening, but was lucky enough to finally get it started and drove it over to a local mechanic.
When I first brought it there, it was still doing it and the mechanic was able to see for himself. I ended up going home and by the end of the day they called me and said it was no longer doing it. They said they initially tested it and the reading they got indicated that it could be an O2 sensor, but said it could also could have been due to a handful of other things and since it was no longer doing it, they couldn't test further and weren't just going to start replacing things....understandable.
So I get it back and no starting issue for a good month. About a week ago it happened a couple times when I was starting it up to leave for my lunch break at work, same issue...start it and dies out right away...then it was fine again. It seems that pumping the gas pedal sometimes helps. Once it's running, there's no issues.
Last night and this morning... same issue. I called a couple places that were open today and the Firestone I talked to said that initial diagnostics would be $30 bucks and engine diagnostics if need be would be another $125....and there's no guarantee they'll find and/or fix the issue.
I understand they need to paid for their time regardless... it's just very frustrating that my truck is now unreliable and taking it in to a shop is apparently a gamble in itself, potentially dropping more money for someone else to tell me they couldn't find/fix the issue before it stopped doing it again.
Both places said they've never encountered this situation before. I figured it'd be worth a shot to post here and see if anyone else had a similar experience and could offer any insight.
Thanks!
Was hoping for some feedback on an issue I've been having with my 2003 f150 v6.
A couple months back I started having troubles starting my truck. It would start, but just die out right away. No check engine light, etc. Initially it did it a few times and then finally went without dying out and runs fine from that point. A few weeks later, the same issue happened... but this time a tried over a dozen times and still nothing. The following morning it was still happening, but was lucky enough to finally get it started and drove it over to a local mechanic.
When I first brought it there, it was still doing it and the mechanic was able to see for himself. I ended up going home and by the end of the day they called me and said it was no longer doing it. They said they initially tested it and the reading they got indicated that it could be an O2 sensor, but said it could also could have been due to a handful of other things and since it was no longer doing it, they couldn't test further and weren't just going to start replacing things....understandable.
So I get it back and no starting issue for a good month. About a week ago it happened a couple times when I was starting it up to leave for my lunch break at work, same issue...start it and dies out right away...then it was fine again. It seems that pumping the gas pedal sometimes helps. Once it's running, there's no issues.
Last night and this morning... same issue. I called a couple places that were open today and the Firestone I talked to said that initial diagnostics would be $30 bucks and engine diagnostics if need be would be another $125....and there's no guarantee they'll find and/or fix the issue.
I understand they need to paid for their time regardless... it's just very frustrating that my truck is now unreliable and taking it in to a shop is apparently a gamble in itself, potentially dropping more money for someone else to tell me they couldn't find/fix the issue before it stopped doing it again.
Both places said they've never encountered this situation before. I figured it'd be worth a shot to post here and see if anyone else had a similar experience and could offer any insight.
Thanks!
Last edited by FordTrucksUSA; Feb 12, 2012 at 01:26 PM.
Senior Member
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 1,867
Likes: 9
How many miles on the truck. I'm with glc, replace fuel filter and clean MAF. The other thing I was thinking was a possible itermitent issue with the fuel pump relay. As far as I know the O2 sensor won't stop the truck from running and would throw a code and go to a stay alive mode.