'98 Camry starts fine once in a while. Has trouble starting after multiple tries
 

Hi there!

So the main concern with my '98 Camry is that it seems to only start up properly right away after it hasn't been running after a few hours or overnight but after that initial start up, my car will rough idle, at around 2000-3000 rpms or it won't start at all. Sometimes I floor the gas pedal and it idles and runs perfectly. Other times that trick will not work and I drive the car anyway in fear that it will shut off but eventually after a few minutes, my car idles just fine. According to what I've been suggested by some mechanics and other forums, I've changed the fuel pump, the battery and cleaned out the air mass flow intake. Still hasn't fixed the problem. I've used 2 different code readers and nothing comes up which is incredibly frustrating because I know it might end up being a difficult diagnostic and consequently expensive. I'm a complete novice to car mechanics but I'm doing as much research as I can. I'm reaching out here in hopes that someone will have more educated insights as to what might be the problem. Thanks1

You mean cleaned the IAC valve? Did someone actually spray cleaner into the air intake for this valve or just spray cleaner into the throttle body area.

Fuel system is not monitored by check engine system.

Also check for sticking EGR valve. The valve can stick open at times due to carbon buildup.

You know what, I think it might have been that my boyfriend sprayed cleaner in the throttle body rather than fully cleaned out the IAC vavle. He did say there was a bit of gunk built up in the throttle and cleaned out as much as he could. He had feeling about the EGR vavle being faulty so maybe I'll have him take a look.

Would you think it's a good idea to look at the IAC vavle again and what would be the best way to clean it as I hear it's a tricky task to do?

Thank you so much for the help! At least now we can weed out unnecessary repairs.

Do an internet search on cleaning the IAC valve for your cars engine model.

4 cylinder is a 5S-FE.

V6 is a 1MZ-FE.

Should be able to find posts plus perhaps a YouTube video. Not tricky unless wanting to remove the valve. Try cleaning first.

The throttle bore has a hole on the bottom before the throttle plate. This is the air intake to the valve. Spray into this area. Makes sure the car is running when spraying and will need to rev engine to keep from dieing. Too much spray will kill the engine.

Use a throttle body cleaner that is safe for use on plastics as the IAC valve body is plastic. Use only spray in the IAC hole.

Use a tooth brush to clean throttle bore and throttle plate or debris.