My new 04 SXT is having a bizarre idle problem that nobody can figure out.

What it's doing: After I have driven the car and stopped a few times(appr. 1-2 mins of driving or 2 stops), after about 5 seconds of idling my idle RPMs start dropping to about 500-600 and the engine starts running very rough like its about to die or something. BUT, and here's the strangest part- when I give it just a bit of gas, just enough to rev the engine a bit, the RPM goes back up to 700-800 and STAYS there no matter how long I idle. It only does this in Drive, never in any other gear. There are absolutely no driving issues, no hiccups, shudders, funny noises or anything. The car drives beautifully other than the idle issue. Initially the car was throwing misfire codes- P0300 & 0304, which I thought were what was causing the problem so I did everything I could to fix the codes, and they have gone away & not returned. What I have done so far: Changed out spark plugs- Champion copper cores, all gapped at .035, new plug wires, new battery, and a new coil pack all to no avail. Yesterday I even took it to a dodge dealership & had the PCM reflashed- but no dice.

I am truly stumped. Anyone have any idea what this could be? I'm inclined to believe it is not a mechanical problem simply because of the fact that giving it a bit of gas seems to "trick" it into idling properly. I'm due to take it back to the dealership sometime this week & the guy there seems to think it's a problem with a throttle or cam sensor. I've also been told it could be the PCV valve. I dunno. I'm just freaking out here cause the last car I had turned out to be "unfixable"(that's really what the mechanic said too) & the dealer had to swap it out with this one, I really don't wanna find out I have another lemon.

 

I heard of vacuum leaks causing idling probelms.My car will sometimes idle at 1500, then slowly drop down.

Mat

 

Yeah I was doing some research & came across that idea. How would I go about checking/fixing that?

 

biggest spot is the bellows tube (the accordian tube between the TB and intake manifold) that is mostly what causes the problems in most cases

 

i'm gonna look at mine and check that. Cause mine will run rough at lights, but if i put it in neutral and back in drive it stops. However it will run like a champ after i swap the plugs or get the injectors cleaned.

 

Oh yeah, I've also cleaned the injectors with no luck either.

The wierdest thing is the gas deal. Once I tap the gas, it runs fine no matter how long I sit idling. So strange.

 

one thiing thati have learned is that neons have minds of their own. My car does the most random **** & sometimes i have no clue why! But she runs like a champ

 

Yea I'm also having the same problem with my 05 and she only has 14,000 miles. I thoght I heard a strange clicking sound coming from the pcv valve one day but never heard it again. So you guys are saying it could be a loose accordian hose from the intake manifold? I,ll have to try it out

 

I'd do some checking with the IAC. Sounds like it may be bad or have issues. Since it's an idle problem the Idle Air Control would be the first place I'd look, also maybe the up stream O2 sensor might have something to do with it.

 

Well my gf had that same problem and she had to have the cam sensor went bad. Find electrical 2000 dollars later it still does it. thats after she blew up the tranny.