Honda Ridgeline Owners Club Forums banner

Why are Honda's hard to start in the cold?

6K views 26 replies 18 participants last post by  CLiVE 
#1 ·
i have had a Honda scooter, 250ex, 300ex, cr125, cbr 600rr, 04 civic si and the RL. They all seem to hate the cold weather.(not as much as its owner) But they have always have giving me hell in the winter. Its seems my Honda experience in the winter seems like if its red and has an H, it has a crappy initial start up. Just my 2 cents.

But this said honda has the best stuff on earth and will continue to buy them for a long time. _jason
 
#4 ·
I've noticed this, too. Both my wife's car and my RL are a little harder to start after sitting in really cold temps for a while - especially the RL. They still start and have never given me an issue doing so. It's just like they really don't like it. I replaced both batteries with strong Duralast Golds last fall with CCA's of well over 700. The old batteries were the ones that came with them when we bought them used, so I really had no idea how hold each of them were. The RL was really getting difficult with some of the single-digit and sub-zero temps we had the winter before, so I just replaced them both for good measure. Both new batteries have been load tested and are fine, but the cold temps still make both vehicles start slowly. Guess it's just another Honda quirk.
 
#11 ·
That temp (-40*C) is the minimum limit for starting any turbine engine I've ever operated... be it Garrett, P&W, or GE. It's the red line for the minimum oil temp for starting.

That's so cold that the LCD displays will take a while to display anything. Shucks, I don't even want to be out in that kind of weather anyway. ;)

All that to say that I wonder if there's a minimum published limit for starting a gas engine? I've never seen one in automotive use. But the oil is not gonna flow in those conditions unless a block heater is in use.
 
#12 ·
I started my '91 suburban at minus 56F one time. I had the electric block heater on overnight so the comparison is not fair. Interestingly though, after about 5 miles the engine started overheating. turns out the anti-freeze coolant had turned to slush and would not circulate.

That was a freak weather system. Even here in Northern MN it doesn't normally get that cold.
 
#14 ·
I have to wonder about how the tires handle that kind of cold. Brake fluid? PS fluid? Etc.

I have to wonder why you were out in weather that cold. Would that not normally shut most everything down? Or maybe it's not that big a deal if you're used to those kind of temps?
 
#17 ·
Citation 650 (Citation III). Certified to FL510. I don't know how it would ever make it up that high though. By the time you burn off enough gas to climb that high, you have to start coming down to refuel somewhere. ;)

FL450 was pretty routine for long range stuff. Even FL470 on occasion... like Seattle to Raleigh, which is a pretty good haul non-stop.
 
#19 ·
Yep, just came back from Iceland and a 7-1/2 hour flight at flight level 370 and the temp most of the flight was -76 degrees on an old Icelandair 757. I'd say for that period of time that that plane was "cold soaked".

I flew many hours over the Tonkin Gulf at 35,000 and never saw a temp lower than about -55 below.
 
#21 ·
I wouldn't start either in those temps!
 
#23 ·
Its seems my Honda experience in the winter seems like if its red and has an H, it has a crappy initial start up. Just my 2 cents.
I'm on my 7th Honda, and we get real cold weather here in Canada, and I've never had a problem with a Honda! EVER!

P.S. I don't use a block heater!
 
#27 ·
I have no issues starting my Ridgeline, or crosstour at temperatures below -30. With that being said, my OEM ridgeline battery did die without warning after playing my radio in a parking lot for 10 mins. Replace the OEM battery, and you won't have any problems...
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top