My 10-year-old pickup truck sometimes refuses to start. What should I do?
John Paul, AAA Northeast's Car Doctor, answers a question from a reader baffled by his 2009 Chevy Colorado's behavior.
Q. I purchased a 2009 Chevrolet Colorado about two years ago. It has about 112,000 miles on it and is reliable most days. However, four or five times since I’ve owned this truck the engine doesn’t start. When I try to start it, I get complete silence. This typically happens when I have been running around doing errands, making multiple stops during maybe an hour of driving. I have tried a jump start and still nothing happens. However, if I wait 30 minutes, the truck starts right up and runs as well as ever. My local repair shop — which is really good — hasn’t offered much help, advising me to “tow it in when it won’t start.” Of course, when I wait, it restarts. Any ideas? A. I suspect the problem is with an intermittent failure of the anti-theft system. Your truck, like many General Motors vehicles, has a PASSKEY antitheft system that reads the key each time it is inserted into the ignition. If the ignition is worn (common with this vehicle), the truck will have the same symptoms as yours. Before changing the ignition switch, I would check all of the electrical connections. Trying to jump start the truck rules out a faulty battery, but not poor electrical connections.
John Paul is AAA Northeast’s Car Doctor. He has over 40 years of experience in the automotive business and is an ASE certified master technician. E-mail your car question to [email protected].
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