Starter grinds sometimes?

[GrayYaris]

Originally Posted by BennyLava

2009 Sedan. I'm having some trouble with my starter. It seems to want to grind, for seemingly no reason. When I start the car when the engine is cold, the starter will grind. Doesn't matter how long you hold the key down. Also doesn't matter if I use the remote start I had installed. It will grind. But when the engine is warmed up, it never grinds.

The car has 210k on it, and its the original starter. Do old, worn starters grind? In my experience they just get weak and won't turn the engine over fast enough to start it, or they just quit working altogether. Never heard of one that would grind when the engine is cold.

If you determine it's the starter I have a new Denso starter in the box. I ordered it when I had to replace my starter (fairly easy job, btw), but decided to go with a reman unit that was local. Never bothered returning it. I would have to take a look at what it's worth, but obviously I would sell it cheaper than buying it from a parts store.

That said, a reman unit would probably be even cheaper. The reman starter I have in my car has lasted over 100k.