Assistance needed for a difficult and chilly start of a machine

[Carishme]

Could someone kindly assist me with a problem I am experiencing with my 2020 R8? The vehicle seems to have intermittent difficulties while starting in cold conditions, maybe accompanied by a misfiring engine. The revolutions per minute fluctuate and there is a noticeable smell of petrol. The engine emits a very unpleasant sound and is experiencing difficulty. I suspect that there may have been a release of smoke, however I was unable to verify this since I immediately became alarmed and turned off the vehicle. I brought it to both the dealer and a tuner business, but they were unable to get any diagnostic information. Upon restarting the vehicle, it seems to be in optimal condition and running flawlessly. Attempted to record throughout several instances of starting the device under chilly conditions, but the occurrences seem to be too irregular for me to capture.

[PopeyeR]

Injectors, coils, or spark plugs.

[Radiantecon]

I am the owner of a V8 vehicle from 2009. You have accurately depicted around 10-15% of the instances when my vehicle's engine is started when it is cold. Without a video, it is impracticable to make a definitive statement. While acknowledging that you may perhaps have a concern, I would like to point out that I have personally had my own vehicle for a duration of 8 years and have driven it for a total distance of 12,000 miles, without encountering any issues. Furthermore, the vehicle continues to perform admirably.

If you deactivate the engine during the cold start operation, it will not continue when you attempt to restart it. Not on my device, at the very least.

If I disconnect the battery, the engine will run unevenly at the next startup, consistently. Although I acknowledge that my statement may lack credibility, I believe that it is just an idiosyncrasy of the engine. More precisely, in my opinion, the environment has undergone changes since you parked your vehicle. I have observed that this occurrence occurs with more frequency, particularly when I park my vehicle in an area where the temperature is 25 degrees Celsius and then start it up the following day in a climate where the temperature is 10 degrees Celsius. Perhaps the fuel trim requires adjustment or some other adjustment is needed. I have not dedicated much time to concern myself with it, since it often resolves itself over a span of 5 to 10 seconds. I too own the RT model, which exhibits similar behaviour. It sometimes has periods of reduced performance and seems to return to normal when I park it in ambient settings distinct from those in which I first started it.

Regarding the misfire, I can assure you that the automobile has a proficient error logging system and is quite adept at detecting misfires. Nevertheless. It seems that the detection of misfires on cold starts is less aggressive. My device has never recorded an error when it has had a rough start, even when it is evident that it is skipping some beats.

Interpret the statement how you choose. Posting a video here could be more advantageous, since there is a possibility that my understanding might be significantly incorrect. However, I am only providing you with my own experience in comparison to what you have said.

[NarrativePsych]

I am experiencing a similar scenario with my 2009 V8 vehicle. If more than 24 hours have passed since the last cold start, the engine will have a quite hard start for around 10 seconds. The vehicle will have a sensation of imminent failure during the first 2 or 3 seconds. The situation will fully resolve itself after a span of 10 seconds. Although I can plainly hear the misfire, I never get a code indicating a misfire. The issue seems to exacerbate as the duration since the last chilly start increases.

I am preparing to do a carbon cleaning procedure this week, as I believe it may alleviate the issue. However, based on my study, I am guessing that it is typical for the V8 engine to exhibit this behaviour.

Correction: I would like to add that my vehicle emits a distinct smell of petrol when it is started in chilly conditions. My spouse consistently expresses dissatisfaction with the unpleasant odour that permeates the garage 😂. I never observe any emissions of smoke.

[Meltarb]

I wouldn't dismiss that as usual - there must be something off. I agree with @PopeyeR assertion that it would be prudent to examine components such as coils, spark plugs, and injectors in this case. Although I lack expertise in mechanics, I have seen that oxygen sensors and similar components may also induce similar malfunctions in other vehicles, excluding the R8.

In the past, I had a BMW that exhibited similar behaviour. Specifically, during cold starts, the engine would experience rough idling and fluctuating RPMs, almost to the point of stalling. I had to leave it at the dealer for a few days so that they could replicate the issue many times after it had been parked overnight. I am unable to remember the specific details at the moment, but it pertained to a matter with the fuel system and the sensors' inability to effectively control. I lived in a region where they alternated between winter and summer petrol, which seemed to worsen the issue.

[Radiantecon]

No, I did not claim that it was completely OK. However, the concept of "normal" is difficult to precisely define. Particularly in the absence of a video. Although I do not want to endorse the acceptance of abnormal behaviour, I have seen that every high-strung engine I have owned or been in close proximity to has had regular difficulties when starting in cold conditions.

In my opinion, I would refrain from randomly replacing components if the vehicle has not recorded any malfunctions, and if the issue only occurs during cold starts when the engine runs and idles normally. Injectors and coil packs are rather expensive, and there is no sufficient evidence to indicate that either of them is the origin of the issue, or even whether there is a problem at all.

If the pre-catalytic converter oxygen sensors are defective, it is quite likely that they would cause consistent rough running of the engine, rather than simply during cold starts as the original poster (OP) suggests, unless the issue is related to the heating coil. However, such action would trigger the Electromagnetic Lock (EML). Pre-catalytic lambda sensors are mostly used to fine-tune the closed loop fuel mixture, whereas post-catalytic sensors are only employed to check the condition of the catalytic converters. In any case, the Electronic Control Unit (ECU) would activate the Engine Management Light (EML) and record a problem.

Building upon my previous statement, I believe that the first startup process is more lenient towards detecting and recording instances of failed ignition, also known as log misfires.

[Adv3nture]

My 2009 R8 exhibits a surly disposition when I rouse it after an extended period of inactivity, much to the situation described by the original poster. Introducing a titanium exhaust into the system intensifies the snarls, growls, vibrations, and misfires, even after driving for a few hundred yards.

However, as there are no Check Engine Light (CEL) or error codes being shown, I just attribute it to the normal lifespan of a R8.

[Bridgenix]

I experienced it once and never encountered it again. It seems peculiar, but the establishment I frequent informed me that such occurrences are not uncommon. That occurred in the past, many years ago.

[Tearcarl]

The sound like this. Upon my first purchase of the Gen 2 automobile last year, I saw that it was exhibiting a certain behaviour. At that time, the car had around half a tank of gasoline. I deduced that this behaviour may have been caused by the previous owner acquiring a poor quality batch of petrol. After depleting my gasoline to a quarter tank, I refuelled with new petrol, and thereafter, the issue ceased to occur. I am uncertain if that is the issue you are facing.

[SushySosa]

Does it possess a valved exhaust system equipped with a valve controller? If the valves are forcefully closed during a cold start, you may experience harsh engine behaviour.