2000 Toyota Avalon - Unable to hold RPM at start

[njavalonguy]

Hi,

I have a 2000 XLS and the odo shows almost 99L miles now. Have been due for an Oil change for almost 5 months now.

Recently I am experiencing starting troubles with my car. The car starts when I crank but the RPM drops down quickly till the point the engine goes dead and I have to crank again.

This doesn't happen all the time but the frequency of this has greatly increased recently when the car fails to hold RPM after cranking for 7 to 8 times, I have to press the gas pedal to maintain the rpm and shift into "D" after which the car drives perfectly OK.

Has anybody ever faced this before ? Any suggestions on what could be wrong and how to fix it ?


~A

[rapolonio]

You may have to clean your idle / cold start valve. I had the same problem and took it to a mechanic. He charged me $100 dollars for it. I don't really know specifically how to fix it but I believe this is your problem.

[edbro]

Cleaning the Idle Air Control Valve is fairly easy. There is a great walk through here:
http://clublexus.com/forums/rx-first...-write-up.html

Don't worry about it being for a Lexus RX7, it is the exact same engine.

[njavalonguy]

Thanks rapolonio and edbro.. appreciate your quick responses

[rapolonio]

No problem. That's what forums are for.

[ChiTDI]

If that doesn't do the trick you may have to replace it. There's an electronic side of the sensor that doesn't respond to cleaning, shows symptoms randomly, and was brought to light on another forum with the same design - helping others.

[njavalonguy]

Originally Posted by njavalonguy

Hi,

I have a 2000 XLS and the odo shows almost 99L miles now. Have been due for an Oil change for almost 5 months now.

Recently I am experiencing starting troubles with my car. The car starts when I crank but the RPM drops down quickly till the point the engine goes dead and I have to crank again.

This doesn't happen all the time but the frequency of this has greatly increased recently when the car fails to hold RPM after cranking for 7 to 8 times, I have to press the gas pedal to maintain the rpm and shift into "D" after which the car drives perfectly OK.

Has anybody ever faced this before ? Any suggestions on what could be wrong and how to fix it ?


~A

Would like to slightly rephrase the issue which I stated above :
5-10% of the time I restart the engine when it's warm, the car will idle at 100-200rpm. If I hit the gas pedal, it revs fine but drops back down to the low idle as soon as I let off. It will stall when I put it in drive unless I rev the engine, throw it in gear, and immediately start moving. If I have to reverse out of a parking spot, it becomes quite an ordeal. If I can manage to get onto an actual road and accelerate hard, the idle returns to normal at the next red light and no more problems. It's never happened on a cold start.
Could it still need an IAC and throttle body cleaning ?
~A

[edbro]

I would definitely clean the IACV. I would also clean the Mass Airflow Sensor. Start reading from this post:
http://www.clublexus.com/forums/2786279-post7.html

[avalonshoe]

the fins are stuck, or either the idle motor is stuck, or both. I've seen chunks of carbon from spraying mine out.

spray it inside out with brake cleaner or electronic cleaner. cost to fix is about $5. labor is much more.

[Riick]

Yes, it's the IAC.
Sometimes cleanable, sometimes not.
Car should start and if cold, idle high at maybe 1000-1200 rpm for a minute or three
Hardest part of changing the IAC is that you need a huge (#0 ?) Phillips screwdriver, and
some of those stupid screws still won't come unless you give them a nice tap.

EDIT: Just read the thread from Lexus.
The OP there has an error. There is a gasket on the IAC that needs to be either replaced, or,
use the old gasket and add some gasket glue; otherwise you may get an air leak you don't want.
Also, one fellow mentions using vise grips on the screwdriver.
A nice adjustable wrench fitted onto the handle does a better job of giving you leverage.

[bowlinm]

Spray some O2 sensor safe cleaner close to the throttle blades while at idle. Works for months for me. Insert the spray tube near the rear throttle blade and spray intermittently