Hey guys, i am a noob at this automobile terms, so bear with me. My car hasn't been starting recently. Sometimes it will start fine, other times it won't start. But when it does start up, it starts up rough. If it doesn't start up, i have to go under the car and hit the starter with a hammer, then the car starts up fine. Does this mean my starter is the problem? Also, would this have an effect on my usage of gas? Recently, I've wasting soo much gas, but drove nowhere. If i drive for 10 minutes, i can noticably see the guage going down.......! It seems like everytime i start/turn off my car, the guage will go lower!

If you have to tap the starter to get it to engage, either the brushes are losing contact/sticking or the solenoid has some connection issues. Fortunately, the starter is relatively easy to remove and service or replace.

That probably has no bearing on your fuel mileage, however. That's likely a separate issue.

If you have to tap the starter to get it to engage, either the brushes are losing contact/sticking or the solenoid has some connection issues. Fortunately, the starter is relatively easy to remove and service or replace.

That probably has no bearing on your fuel mileage, however. That's likely a separate issue.

My '97 has been doing the same thing two years in a row, starts the first time the temp drops below 45 or so. Have to give the starter a whack to get it going. I did the same thing I did last year, hit the terminals on the starter with WD-40 and tightened the connections...it's fine now. But that's a fluke, generally it is bad brushes as described above.

But it's something free to try before buying a starter....