Starter won't crank in the cold

[TxThomas]

I have a 2014 Tahoe SSV with about 97,000 miles on it. I live in the Houston area and usually we don't have any cold weather. However with the big cold snap last week, I went out to find a Tahoe that wouldn't start. I'd get a "thunk" sound from the starter but the engine wouldn't turn over. The lights and electronics worked fine. I tried jump-starting the truck and that didn't help.

I thought it might be the battery was damaged so I took it out and had it tested (it's only 6 months old anyway). They said the battery was good.

I ordered a starter to put in, but just for fun I tried to start it again when the weather warmed up. It turned over and fired up on the first try once the weather got above 50 F. It's been running fine since then.

So has anyone ever heard of a starter that won't work in the cold? If it's not the battery, what else could it be? Since I have the starter coming anyway, should I just replace the old one to be safe? I had planned on taking this Tahoe to Colorado for part of the year so not starting in the cold is a deal-breaker for me.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

It could be that some condensation was in the starter solenoid assembly, that froze in your cold snap. It shouldn't happen, but.......

 

[Fless]

I have a 2014 Tahoe SSV with about 97,000 miles on it. I live in the Houston area and usually we don't have any cold weather. However with the big cold snap last week, I went out to find a Tahoe that wouldn't start. I'd get a "thunk" sound from the starter but the engine wouldn't turn over. The lights and electronics worked fine. I tried jump-starting the truck and that didn't help.

I thought it might be the battery was damaged so I took it out and had it tested (it's only 6 months old anyway). They said the battery was good.

I ordered a starter to put in, but just for fun I tried to start it again when the weather warmed up. It turned over and fired up on the first try once the weather got above 50 F. It's been running fine since then.

So has anyone ever heard of a starter that won't work in the cold? If it's not the battery, what else could it be? Since I have the starter coming anyway, should I just replace the old one to be safe? I had planned on taking this Tahoe to Colorado for part of the year so not starting in the cold is a deal-breaker for me.

Change it out before you come up this way -- we're into reliability and fewer issues.

 

[avalonandl]

Yes replace starter.

 

[TxThomas]

Thanks All. I'll replace it. Appreciate the insight!

 

[TxThomas]

New starter in and working as designed. Now it's back in the 70's in TX so I guess I will have to wait for another cold snap to see if the starter was the root cause. Thanks all.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

Thank you for your update. Much appreciated. Let us know your experience/confirmation during the next cold snap.