This has been getting worse over the summer, but I think it's finally reached the breaking point. My car, when hot, has been giving me a lot of trouble starting. It'll turn over normally for a few seconds, and then slow down. I can try again, and it spins normal, and then slows down. Eventually, the car would start, and usually giving it a little gas would help it out.

But tonight, I didn't think it was going to start at all. It had been parked for several hours and was not hot. It sounded like it was going to start, but the whole car was shaking side to side, and sounded pretty odd. After a few minutes of trying, it finally started.

Once its running, and I'm driving down the road, the car runs fine. And it's still fast as hell when I floor it. It's only starting and at low rpms when it gives me any trouble.

Any ideas? I'm not confident in the two local Mazda dealers around here, as they were unable to diagnose a boost leak in 7 hours (and charged me for it anyway).

Any help would be so greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Jason

'94 Touring (manual trans) 83k miles
HKS Dual Intake
Greddy Sport catback

 

Just by saying that the engine slows down when you try to crank it almost sounds as if it is a battery related problem.

At the moment, it could be several things. The engine might not be getting enough fuel. The ignition may be failing, you might have a bad gasket somewhere. It could be a bunch of things.

It WILL take some time to diagnose. If you can't, then try to take it to a good rotary shop.