Mechanical Problems & Technical Chat - engine had trouble starting last night

the only thing i know that is wrong with my car is that im leaking oil (think from the engine) and randomly my side air bag indicator comes on and off within 3 minutes and always completely random. Last night i left my car in front of my friends house and i came back to my car, when i tried to start it, i had to turn the key like 3 times before it actually turned on. It made the sound like it was going to turn on but instead the sound was like extended

sorry i cant explain it better because i dont know what terms to use. all i know is that it scared me because thats the first time anything like this has happened to me

45k miles on an 04 civic lx auto 4dr. Just wondering what could cause ur engine to have trouble starting, btw i went to my car later that night and it was fine so i felt a lil better. am i just trippin ?

If you are saying that the engine turned over at lower than normal starting rpm, then either the battery is low or the battery connections are not making good electrical contact because they are corroded or loose. The remedy is to have your battery charged (some auto part chains offer this service for free) and to clean/tighten the battery connectors and electrodes so that they make good metal-to-metal electrical contact.

Happens to my car when i am getting low on gas. It takes a long time to start and sometimes catches immediatley and than stalls out.

hmm i guess it could be the battery, but definately not my gas it was at full almost. Also could the oil leakage have any correlation? it pretty much sounded like in the movies when a character has to use his car to get away but he turns the key and it wont turn on and he tries like 6 times and it works.

usually they have like an older car tho lol. anyways im gona go tighten that battery!

No, an oil leak would not have any effect on the car starting unless the oil is splashing on electrical components (most of which are protected anyways). I think a good place to start would be the battery. You can get it checked for free at autozone. However, I took my battery to autozone, they told me it wouldn't hold a charge, then I figured out that I had two wires backwards on my starter solenoid and the battery has been fine ever since. Beware! They might just try to sell u a battery!

Edit:

I noticed you said 45k on the motor, did you do your 30k tune-up? Plugs/wires/dist cap/rotor button/oil change/coolant/transmission fluid checkup, etc...

i got my car at like close to 40k it was my sisters, im not sure whats been done to it other then what ive done

I have rule of thumb when recieving or buying a vehicle. --- TUNE IT UP. So you know exactly what's been done. Also - Ask the previous owner for any records. If your starting to get a minor starting issue, I wouldn't think that a tune up would be out of the question, seeing as its about that time anyways.

You can never go wrong with a tune-up, like timmytim said, especially if your not sure when the last one was done :)

04 doesn't have a distributor cap and rotor [8D]

but yeah, sounds like the battery.

Also, take it to the dealer and have the air bag light diagnosed, you may be having some other electrical problems.