# 2000 Altima: Starter won't engage! Help!!



## Phishin (Dec 13, 2011)

So, I'm not a mechanical genius...but I'm not an idiot either. 

Never had this happen to me before.

My starter motor spins, but does NOT engage the flywheel. Just started happening this morning. So, I let it spin for like 5-7 seconds, and it "clunked/grinded" for a split second, and the motor turned over and started. I know I have to fix this ASAP.

What do you think is wrong? Is the starter just crapped out? Could it be something else? I'm on a budget, so I don't want to buy a starter if I don't have to. 

My wife drives this car mostly, and she had a pesky habit of keeping the key pushed to the "start" position too long. Everytime she starts it, she could have let go of the key about a second or two earlier than she does. Is this contributing to the starter failure?

Thanks in advance.


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## Asleep (Jan 19, 2003)

does it have a super fast spinning whining sound? sounds like the bendix isnt kicking out.


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