P0213
Cold Start Injector 1
- Severity
- Medium
- Driving
- Drivable — book it in
A fault with cold start injector 1. Some engines use an extra injector that runs only during a cold start, adding fuel to help the engine catch and run smoothly before it warms up. A fault here typically shows as hard starting on a cold morning and nothing at all once the engine is warm.
Possible causes
- CommonFailed cold start injector
- CommonCorroded connector or damaged wiring
- CommonBlocked injector or fuel passage
- PossibleFaulty thermo-time switch or temperature sensor controlling it
- PossibleInjector leaking, causing a rich cold start and flooding
What you might notice
- Hard starting when cold
- Engine catching and stalling on a cold start
- Rough running until warm
- Strong fuel smell on a cold start
- No symptom at all once warm
What to check, in order
- Test from a genuinely cold start. A warm engine will start perfectly with this fault, so testing at the garage on a hot engine proves nothing.
- Check the connector and wiring at the injector.
- Measure the injector winding resistance against specification.
- Check the temperature sensor or switch that decides when the injector operates.
- If the engine floods on a cold start rather than refusing to catch, suspect the injector leaking rather than failing to open.
Read this code from your own car
Plug an ELM327 adapter into the OBD-II port under the dashboard. Pin16 reads every stored, pending and permanent code, explains each one like this page does — offline, with no account — and shows what the car recorded when the fault was set.
Where this code sits
P00xxP01xxP02xxP03xxP04xxP05xxP06xxP07xxP08xxP09xxP0AxxP0BxxP0CxxP0DxxP0ExxP0FxxP10xxP11xxP12xxP13xxP14xxP15xxP16xxP17xxP18xxP19xxP1AxxP1BxxP1CxxP1DxxP1ExxP1FxxP20xxP21xxP22xxP23xxP24xxP25xxP26xxP27xxP28xxP29xxP2AxxP2BxxP2CxxP2DxxP2ExxP2FxxP30xxP31xxP32xxP33xxP34xxP35xxP36xxP37xxP38xxP39xxP3AxxP3BxxP3CxxP3DxxP3ExxP3Fxx
Fuel and air metering - injector circuits
P0200P0201P0202P0203P0204P0205P0206P0207P0208P0209P0210P0211P0212P0213P0214P0215P0216P0217P0218P0219P0220P0221P0222P0223P0224P0225P0226P0227P0228P0229P0230P0231P0232P0233P0234P0235P0236P0237P0238P0239P0240P0241P0242P0243P0244P0245P0246P0247P0248P0249P0250P0251P0252P0253P0254P0255P0256P0257P0258P0259P0260P0261P0262P0263P0264P0265P0266P0267P0268P0269P0270P0271P0272P0273P0274P0275P0276P0277P0278P0279P0280P0281P0282P0283P0284P0285P0286P0287P0288P0289P0290P0291P0292P0293P0294P0295P0296P0297P0298P0299