Hello DF, it's been a while. I'm hearing a grinding sound when starting the van for the first time in the morning. It doesn't make the sound on warm starts or even on cold starts later in the day. The sound lasts for less than a second and it happens right as the engine starts to run on its own. I suspect that the PCM is running the starter about a second longer than it should be. Since the van's PCM will override me commanding START if the engine is running, I got in my Honda which doesn't have a computerized starter and briefly turned the key to start while the engine was running, and the sound was very similar to the sound the van is making.

I know that the starter has an overrun clutch to protect it from blowing up if it's engaged when the engine is running, but is it bad to keep engaging it? And could there be a root cause like a bad crankshaft or camshaft positioning sensor sending faulty readings to the PCM? I have no MIL.

 

I would guess (without a sound clip) that the Bendix (over run clutch) on the starter has problems. Cheap to fix by replacing the starter or getting a rebuild. The root cause is unit failure and not related to anything else.

 

I've been having the same problem on my 2005 Grand Caravan the past several winters. It started shortly after I got the vehicle from my parents. They lived in a warmer area so it wasn't much of an issue for them. I've replaced the starter twice in the past 4 years and have had the same problem. I was doing door dash for a couple years after I got it so I wore the starter out faster than usual. I have talked to several mechanics and could never get a good answer to what could cause this or how to resolve it. Everyone suggested a shim kit or just replacing the starter. It happens even with a brand new starter and they don't make shim kits for it.
On mine it can take 10 to 20 seconds (or more in below zero temps) for the bendix to disengage. Sometimes I crank it over and stop before it starts to warm up the starter a bit or start and immediately shut it off then retry and that seems to allow it to disengage a little quicker. It's obviously not a good solution to the problem though.