Hi again! Back yet again with my list of constant repairs. Just hit 80k miles and have probably put over $4,000 in the car since I bought it at 40k. -_-

A little background: my Neon has been idling rough ever since I got a tune-up and practically my whole front end fixed. New motor mounts, sway bar links, bearings, bushings, etc. plus a tune up.

I took it back to the shop twice. Both times they swear they "can't feel it idling rough" (bullcrap), and then this second time he cleaned my IAC and TB, checked everything out, and said I may need a new IAC which is a dealer only item for $150.

I asked a friend of mine who is good with cars and he said it may be that they didn't gap my spark plugs correctly?

Main issue if you don't want to read the rest: It idles rough no matter what, the second I stop or brake. Sometimes it gets rough when it goes down to .5 RPM's, other times it skyrockets to 1.25 RPM's when I first turn on my car and the whole dash will even shake.

I'm at my wits end and have spent so much money on this car. I'm not exactly the most savvy with cars, but if anyone has some things I could look for myself that would be very helpful. It's running great other than the idling but the idling is just so frustrating!

I just paid over $300 for totally new brakes, calipers, rotors, etc. and then today got an alignment and my front right tire rod fixed. They said everything else *finally* looks good except for this dang idling.

Would a new IAC make that much of a difference? He cleaned it and it made NO difference, so I don't want to shell out the money if it isn't the issue.

I've had people tell me Neons just "idle rough", and I know they definitely don't always purr. But this is to the point that my whole dash, steering wheel and front end are shaking which shouldn't be considered normal.

Thanks so much!
Mandy

 

-One question. Did you replace the spark plug wires? Mine will start idling rough when the plug wires are going bad. You can especially tell while idling in Drive with the brakes on. There will be a light miss about every ten seconds or so. New wires cured that. If you already have them replaced, them I'm not sure what it could be unless maybe one of the injectors is clogged.

L8R,
Matt

 

well i call BS on the "$150 dealer only" part about the IAC..
Here's the Duralast Branded one @ Autozone for $112.00
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/par...er=363917_0_0_

Rock Auto has 3 brands/part numbers listed:
STANDARD MOTOR PRODUCTS Part # AC583 $76.79

AIRTEX / WELLS Part # 2H1088 $88.89 (does Not include Gasket)
AIRTEX / WELLS Part # 2H1512 $97.79

 

Go to a junk yard and get a idle air controller for $5. Did u replace the center engine mount and do a torque strut aligment? Check the tps wires and iac wires to make sure there not under stress.

 

Any chance you fixed your idle problem? My 2000 is in the same boat. It's a reliable beater with 177K bit I don't want to drop a lot of money to fix my rough idle. I've done plugs, wires, mounts, and more. The rough idle seems to be a major theme with many neon owners. Richard

 

Is that a Gen 4 Honda Magna in the garage?