I've been driving around my 2005 Neon SXT, 2.0l, manual for a little over 2 years now. I've had mainly sensor issues and all replaced as the codes came up. I've put close to 60k miles on it, totaling just over 103k for the car.

During this time, I've had an infrequent issue where sometimes the car just wont idle at all. It is not a 'rough' idle that results in a stall, it is simply NO idle. The car wont stay running unless my foot is on the gas. It is not 'missing' and there is nothing rough about the way it turns off, the RPMs simply trail off and the car turns off. Nothing violent and no shaking sputtering and trying to catch itself. It either idles fine, or simply turns off.

It would act up like this for a day or two, then return to normal operation for weeks at a time. Lately, it seems to ONLY start/idle if my foot is on the gas. There is still no rough operation, but it wont start unless my foot is on the gas keeping the RPMs around 900-1k.

I'm not receiving any trouble codes (I almost wish I was...). I have replaced spark plugs/wires - they were bad, but evidently not the issue. With my searching the internet and this forum, I think I've narrowed it down to the IAC (idle air control) motor.

Does the IAC seem to be a likely culprit?

 

Start and stall without applying throttle to keep it from dieing does make it seem like the IAC might be bad. Perhaps try cleaning it up with some carb cleaner first, and if that makes it better, then replace it.