Q&A

 Rookie

Have not tried to jump the car... When we do try to start it, it is trying to turn over but it is turning over really fast... could it be the starter?

 Master

It could be, but you could also just have a weak battery, which would be cheaper and easier to fix.

A weak battery can still power the lights, etc., but not be strong enough to start the car--especially in cold weather.

 Rookie

It doesnt act like a weak battery, because it really tries to turn over, when we had the really cold weather last week (7 degrees at my house) it was a little hard to start but has been doing fine since then. My husband is worried that the timing belt may have broke.

 Master

I really recommend trying to jump start. If that doesn't work, then move on to the starter or other parts of the ignition and starting charging system.

If it were the timing belt, you would have noticed it, as the car would have died immediately when the belt broke.

 Rookie

the car has 130,000 miles when i got it they said it had just had the timing belt replaced.. at approximately 115000 miles... no warning lights or anything, was running great, didnt have any reasons to think it was going to break down

 Master

I am curious what happens when you try to jump start the car as well. If I recall, these are interference engines, and a broken timing belt would likely cause serious internal damage. They also usually break while the car is running

If it was hard to start last week, it is worth the time to try jumping it. Cold weather wreaks havoc on batteries and remember their average life is 3 to 5 years on a modern car.

 Rookie

Thanks to both of you... I will let you know what we figure out, my husband is taking tomorrow off to check it out...