Car slow to start -check engine light Code P00C6 Fuel Pressure
 

When I tried to start my car yesterday morning the engine wouldn't fire. I had to crank it twice to get the car to start. During the second attempt I got a check engine light. I checked the code and it was P00C6, which is lack of fuel pressure in the fuel rails.

Since I first got my car in February, it has been somewhat slow to start when it hasn't been driven for a few days, but it seems to have gotten worse now that the weather is warmer. Once it started it seemed to run fine. I used my ScanGuage to check the code. Has anyone else experienced this issue? I posted in the technical forum about the issue in the same thread someone else started about having the same issue in 2018, but there have been no replies so I decided to post here.

Obviously I need to take it to a dealership to get checked out, but didn't know if this is a common/known issue. BTW the car started with no issues this morning.

Not sure what your description of "slow to start" is, so this may not be the same...

If my car sits for a period of time, it will sometimes crank for a long time before it catches. And, when it does start, it will backfire and run like garbage for about ten seconds while the fuel "catches up" with the rest of what's going on.

When this has happened, I have simply turned the car off immediately, waited about five seconds, and cranked it over again. Zero issues.

I have also tried holding the start button until the car goes into service mode (everything powered on but car not running) as a way to try and pre-pressurize the fuel rails but it didn't help.

I haven't gotten a CEL out of it.

Thanks for the reply. That's exactly what I mean. The car will crank (the engine will turn over) for several seconds without the engine firing. Before when I'd had the issue it would crank for 4 or 5 seconds and then finally start. On Saturday it cranked for 5 seconds or so, but did fire and then stopped cranking. When I tried to crank it a second time it turned over for 4 or 5 seconds and then the engine started, but the check engine light came on. I've never had a car with a fuel injected engine take so long to start once I pushed the start button or turned the key after sitting for a few days.

The first time I had to wait for it to crank I thought it wasn't going to start.

In two years of owning the car, I've had this happen maybe 3-4 times. It has commonly been after sitting for a more extended period (no less than a week) and I've never gotten a CEL.

Even when I tried powering everything up in an effort to prime / pre-charge the fuel system when starting it this spring, it didn't help - the car still cranked for a while and when it caught it backfired badly. The only difference was that this time I just let it run and it eventually smoothed out and ran correctly after about 5-6 seconds and a couple of presses on the accelerator to get it to rev.

The fact that you got a CEL could work in your favor if you're still under bumper-to-bumper. Might be worth talking with the service manager about opening a case with Chevy and seeing if you can get one of the more senior techs that would travel around to different dealerships for odd issues to get involved.

Thanks. I plan to get the dealer to look at the CEL. In fact I didn't clear the code for that very reason. I've only had my car for 3 months so it is certainly well inside the bumper to bumper warranty period.

I think the CEL pushes it beyond any variation of "normal."
Any fuel pressure check is going to happen after a certain wait period.

Agreed. And the lack of CEL for me has meant that I couldn't get them to look for anything in particular. This either happened enough times in a row or was enough off center that it threw a code and it could be the key...

I agree. It has been somewhat disconcerting over the last couple of months when the engine takes a while to finally fire after sitting for several days. But after getting a CEL over the weekend and knowing that the code is for insufficient fuel pressure it needs to be checked out.

Just an fyi it is normal for a DI engine to need extra cranks in order to start up as it is building pressure. Yours obviously has an issue because of the CEL but don’t be too alarmed after it’s fixed if your car needs to crank an extra second or two when cold starting it after a few days.

Also I noticed you have a 1le which I usually associate with a manual (I know you can get an auto). I noticed sometimes if my foot is even the SLIGHTEST bit not all the way down on the clutch my car will take extra long to start and the start is a little “rougher”.

That hasn't been my experience before with DI engines. The car I sold before I purchased my Camaro was a BMW with a DI engine. It also had a high pressure fuel system. It started right up after sitting for a week or longer. It was a TT inline 6 though as opposed to a V8. Perhaps that makes some difference. The longer fuel rails on the V8 could cause it to take longer to build up pressure in the Camaro. I just haven't experienced such a long period of cranking before the motor fires after sitting for a period of time in another vehicle.

Yes my car is a manual. But I'm used to having to depress the clutch all the way in order to start a manual car. I've had several manuals that set up are the same way. In those the starter wouldn't engage unless the clutch was depressed all the way. I have once or twice forgot to put my foot on the brake too, which won't allow the car to start.

When I first got mine I thought it was weird that it cranked longer than other cars I’ve owned so I searched these forums and saw that others experienced the same as me and it was deemed normal. Here is one thread about it. https://www.camaro6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=463804

I had a slow start when the engine was hot, a new battery fixed my issue.

Are you sure that isn't the starter heat soak issue on yours? First couple of model years of the generation had that problem.

This has now happened again two more times. Has anyone else had this problem? The dealership looked at it after the first occurrence, but couldn't duplicate the problem. I should have recorded it today when I tried to start the car today. I also called the dealership again and all they can do is have me bring it in again.

The engine turns over and tries to start after 5 or 6 seconds and then cuts off like it isn't getting enough fuel, which makes sense if it is a fuel pressure issue. Once it starts in runs fine.

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