bcg02

Hi all, Ive owned a 03 RX with 150k on it since last October. It has been great in the 20k miles that I have put on it.

3 days ago, I went to start it, and it would crank and start, but immediately die. As if there was no fuel getting to it.

After a few times of attempting to start it, I started pumping the gas pedal ...doing this helped, it would rev up and stay running after I gave it gas. A few revs later, it is finally idling properly.

It sounded fine and restarted with no issue. Just took it on a long trip with no problems and 23 mpg hwy. Runs and sounds exactly as it always has. No CEL.

Any idea what could have caused this hard start? Anything I should check?

gazi001

Search IACV cleaning in the forum.

hypervish

X2, on the IACV. It is more than likely the cause of the problem. Give it a good cleaning and it should be good to go.

bcg02

Thanks guys, I cleaned it out, stripped the oem screws out but vice grips had no problems. Replaced with SS hex head screws, washers, and anti seize. The **** was gummy and rough when rotating, after cleaning it is extremely smooth.

gazi001

What is the size of the SS hex head screws you used for holding the (two screws) IACV?

bcg02

5mm - 0.8 x 20 mm

Two 5 mm washers, one lock and one flat.

Any decent hardware store will have those

Be sure to not overtorque these bolts!! Use a nut driver to hand tight. Use of a ratchet will surely snap the heads off, resulting in a big mess to extract.