Expert: Rob Painter - 7/2/2011

Question
Drove home from work, parked the car and went out two hours later, car cranks, wont start. Should a Cadi with a 120.000 miles act like that? I have a 91 toyo truck with twice the miles and the air still works great, I know, should of bought a jap car.....! Can Ya help me out?

Answer
Hello,

Don't get me going on you should have gotten a Jap car. In the 80's and early 90's their quality was better, but not after about 1995. I guess you don't stay up to date with Consumer reports and like kind info. Toyota has more recalls than any car these days. Just saw yet another the other days.

Now, you have a totally open question here. Your complaint could be anything. There is not just one fix for an engine that sits for a little while and then doesn't start. You have an ignition system, fuel system, computer system and thousands of components in between.

In fact, your symptom could even cover being out of gas or a plugged fuel filter.

You ask if a car with a 120,000 miles act like that? A car with 12 miles can act like that.
See, what your complaint is, is only a symptom and not the cause.

To give you an example; a check engine light comes on. the check engine light will record diagnostic codes to find the exact problem, but the reason for that light being on can be for maybe a hundred different problems.

Just because you have a starting problem all of a sudden doesn't mean that the American car is junk. The same symptom can happen to any car at any time, any place no matter what the mileage is.

In fact, pre-80's cars were much more reliable because they didn't have all the computer crap, the fuel injection.

What many are led to believe is that newer cars are safer and actually, this is not a true fact. I am also a vehicle fire origin and cause examiner and cars do self-combust. Many defects and it is just going to get worst while we have to protect the polar bears- Ignitable plastics are stuffed in the engine area right next to an ignition source.

Here is something you don't know about your Cadillac and many don't until they have an engine fire. I know vehicles and I know fire. Many arson investigators who may be good at determining house fires, are not familiar with what can cause a vehicle fire. I know, because I instruct these people.


Not just your Cadillac, but many different makes and models to be cheap and for weight use rigid plastic fuel lines under the hood. Generally there is about 60 psi going to the fuel injection unit.
Over time and engine area heat, these lines get brittle. Say the transmission is worked on where everything gets jossled around, I have seen the main fuel line fracture and spray fuel on the hot exhaust manifold, puddling creating a flame and starting the surrounding plastics on fire.

The GMs were real good for this. never a recall, but you might find 50 owner complaints with the exact same description of the fire. One guy said the fire from the gas line would go out when he turned the key of. That's because the fuel pump is shut off.

The fuel line I am referring to, I investigated these fires from a very localized event to a complete engine area fire. All cars have similar problems. Obviously this isn't your problem, but I wanted you to realize that any car at any time can have any type of problem.

I think it was around 2000, when Nissan on one of their models had to stop production until they found the reason for their car fires.

I had Durangos with a instrument panel wiring harness issue, in which during transport from the factory, these vehicles were catching on fire.

As for your immediate starting problem, you may have to have the car taken to a service center (not the dealer) to find out what is wrong.

Just don't think that if you have a starting problem, the car is junk. Its quite often to assume that the car will always start and with all the emissions garbage they have on them these days, the crappy gasoline with 7 different blends across the country its a miracle that these cars are as reliable as they are.



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