Strange idle problem
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Joined: Dec 2007
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Strange idle problem
Have a 2000 Stratus and when I first start it the idle is very rough almost wanting to stall out. If I turn the key off right away and restart the engine the idle seems to be fine but the car is still a little sluggish for the first couple minutes off driving. The car seems to run fine after that but I noticed that when driving for example down a hill at 45 miles an hour with your foot on the brake when you go to accelerate as soon as you step on the gas pedal there is a slight hesitation almost as if the engine cuts out for a second or two when you step on the gas but then everything is fine and away you go. Please any suggestions are appreciated. Also there are no codes being thrown and the check engine light is not on.
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Joined: Jul 2009
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idle problem
Hey there,
I have a 1998 V6 Dodge stratus and have had the same problem. The previous owner of the vehicle took a look at the idle control valve and found that it was quite clogged and dirty and cleaned it with carbon cleaner. About 1 month after I purchased the vehicle I noticed the same problems as you are describing. Some other things to point out; I noticed with my car that the problem seemed to occur when the fuel tank was towards the lower end. This suggests the idle control valve is again clogged and needs to be replaced (from what I heard) or they may be problems with the fuel getting from the tank to the engine (I forget the name of the part).
The problem I have seems more like that latter now because of it arising when the tank is low. If there's a low tank, there's less fluid pressure to drive the gas in and the car tends to sputter. If it's a full tank, there's greater hydrostatic pressure driving the fuel in and there's less problems seen.
I'm taking the car in now to get it checked out because I'm also having problems overheating.. will let you know. Please let me know if you find out something else. Good luck!
P.S. I also have times when the check engine light goes on and then off. On one occasion where the car sput out and the engine light was on, I had the car looked at and the computer did not show any codes either. They also couldn't duplicate the problem with stalling out! So I know it's frustrating.
I have a 1998 V6 Dodge stratus and have had the same problem. The previous owner of the vehicle took a look at the idle control valve and found that it was quite clogged and dirty and cleaned it with carbon cleaner. About 1 month after I purchased the vehicle I noticed the same problems as you are describing. Some other things to point out; I noticed with my car that the problem seemed to occur when the fuel tank was towards the lower end. This suggests the idle control valve is again clogged and needs to be replaced (from what I heard) or they may be problems with the fuel getting from the tank to the engine (I forget the name of the part).
The problem I have seems more like that latter now because of it arising when the tank is low. If there's a low tank, there's less fluid pressure to drive the gas in and the car tends to sputter. If it's a full tank, there's greater hydrostatic pressure driving the fuel in and there's less problems seen.
I'm taking the car in now to get it checked out because I'm also having problems overheating.. will let you know. Please let me know if you find out something else. Good luck!
P.S. I also have times when the check engine light goes on and then off. On one occasion where the car sput out and the engine light was on, I had the car looked at and the computer did not show any codes either. They also couldn't duplicate the problem with stalling out! So I know it's frustrating.
Last edited by discolphie; Jul 27, 2009 at 06:22 PM. Reason: additional information
