Nissan Repair: 2002 Nissan Sentra SE-R Starting Hesitation, nissan sentra, rainy weather

Question
I have a 2002 Nissan Sentra SE-R with the 2.5L motor.  It has ~40k miles, and the drivetrain is bone stock.

When I insert the key and start the car, It seems to crank strong, but sometimes there is a hesitation of several engine rotations before it fires.  It has had to crank for up to 5 seconds before starting.  The problem seems intermittent and appears to be independant to whether the car is cold or warmed up.  I can start and turn off the car repeatedly and the problem sometime surfaces, and sometimes doesn't.

I have not owned the car enough to see if it is correlated with dry or rainy weather.

Otherwise the car runs perfectly.

Any advice on what the issue could be?

Thanks for the help,
Chris

Answer
Chris,

After three years it probably needs a tuneup.  Change the PCV, the air filter and the plugs.  Yes, I know that the plugs are supposed to go to something like 60K miles.  But, I would do a tuneup.  Also, when you start the car turn the key to on and wait a second or two to let the fuel pressure build up so the car will crank over and start fast.