I have a 1997 honda accord Automatic V6 with 183,000 miles on it, I have had the car since its had 16k on it, and have always done all mantinence on the car...
The problem
When i get in my car in the morning after it has been sitting over night, it has trouble starting, the past 3 times i have started it, it sounds like the starter my be missaligned and the flywheel may be hitting wrong? Not sure how common that is, the starter was replaced about 3 years ago, and has worked fine since....

 

When you start your car the gear is in P or N so the transmission is not doing anything: don't think yo have to worry about the trransmission.

I think the problem can be with the starter motor or the battery not having enough power to properly run the starter motor.
You don't have the problem during daytime when you (re)start the engine after it has run for a while? Then I would suspect a weak battery (battery losing charge overnight).

 

Yea i have been thinking more of the starter, the battery it still pretty new, but i could also look at that just in case.....correct no problem with the car if it has sat restarting it, or even while i am at work, its weird becuase it only does it when it seems to be really cold at night...i have heard it a few time this winter but this week it has been pretty constant

 

You could try a cold start using a second car and jumper cables, or give the battery a 1 hour charge before starting: if you still get the noise then it's not the battery.
You might want to check the battery connectors for corrosion too: costs you nothing.

 

bad ignition switch. when cold, contacts points are not making contact?

 

I am going to start by making sure the 2 bolts that hold the starter in place are tight, then check battery, if nothing is wrong with either i will replace the starter in hopes that will fix the problem....*crosses fingers*

 

what is weird about a "cold start" is it is usually just first thing in the morning, my car sits for 9+ hours while i am at work and has no problem starting after....how can you tell if its a bad ignition switch?