My 2000 VP Sedan (105,000 miles) is hard to start after sitting overnight. It has started to give me problems after sitting for just a few hours. I have to crank it 5-10 times for it to start. It dies if I have to stop at a stop sign or traffic light before it's been running for a while. Once it's been running for a while it cranks fine, and runs fine, until it sits again. I have had the starter, battery, spark plugs, fuel filter, oil filter and air filter replaced. I have had the oil and transmission fluid changed very recently. Nothing has helped. Any ideas?

 

Try pressing on the gas pedal very slightly when trying to start. That should also keep it running at stoplights. If all that helps, it sounds like both are the same problem related to idle control. That is usually caused by dirt in the IACV.

 

That could be the problem. Pressing on the gas pedal when starting the car doesn't help at all though. It still takes about 5-10 tries to get it to crank. Putting the car in park at a stop sign and pressing the gas pedal does keep it from stalling when it's stopped though. The idle also seems to change sporadically when the car is not moving, so the IACV seems to be a good suspect there. I recently ran a bottle of fuel injector cleaner through the gas system, but that didn't help either. Do you think I'll have to replace the IACV or just get it cleaned? Do you have any idea what the approximate prices would be for both of those services? If there's not much difference in cost, I may as well just get the valve replaced.