Ok so , i have a 2003 neon rt ( manual ) . Recently i have noticed, once in a while , on start up , the car would idle low for about 10 -15 seconds just when starting up, like it was going to possibly die, normally just under 1k RPM. This would only happen once in a while. Last night , i drove it about 1 mile away from home, turned it off, 5 minutes later went back home, everything worked fine. Came back out 5 minutes later to leave again , and on start up ,it would turn over , would fire up , but engine shook and idled low and died, tried numerous times to start it, same thing, wouldnt run, idled wierd , engine shook, died. So i left it alone for about 2 hours, came back tried again, fired right up , like most normal start ups. Then this am when i was going to work, tried to crank it, and it wouldnt fire up. Would turn over, just not fire up at all. Anyone got some ideas on what this is ? i was thinking maybe my starter ( hopefully cause id like a quick and easy find and fix here) .My car has about 140k miles on it. I normally drive it about 6 miles a day for work thats really it. Hoping i can find some answers here....

 

If it turns over, then the starter is fine. When was the last tune up? Possible dirty TB, or IAC bad. Any check engine light?

 

I havent had a tune up. What is a TB or bad IAC ? And no , check engine light has not been on while running any time . When im trying to crank it , it lights up, but so does everything else.

 

TB - Throttle body. IAC - Idle air control.

I'd start with a basic tune up.

 

hmmm, ok , im not mechanically inclined so ill have to take it to someone for that. If i can even get it cranked. i will clean the throttle body first myself, that i can do , and cross my fingers

 

what would a tune up be considered for this car?

 

Plugs, wires, distributor rotor and cap (if it has one), air filter, oil and filter change. Your owners manual will tell you specifics for your car. Easy stuff if you can turn a wrench. Plenty of videos on you tube.

 

A tune up on a Neon would pretty much consist of changing the spark plugs, air filter and pcv valve. Maybe a throttle body cleaning and changing the plug wires if they look like they're original.
Intermittent problems can challenge even the best mechanics. They can be a pain in the ****. I'd start with the simple stuff like electrical connectors and ground wires. Sometimes just unplugging an electrical connector and plugging it back in can fix a problem. Same with ground wires; loosen the bolt/screw, turn the terminal lug a bit and tighten it back down.
I've seen bad crankshaft sensors cause starting problems like yours without setting a code, so that's another thing to check. Good luck.