Q: Car starts but keeps dying

It sounds like you may have a dirty or faulty idle control valve or potentially a fuel pressure problem. The idle air control valve monitors the air intake as it is mixed with fuel prior to being injected into the engine at low speeds and at idle. This valve is controlled by the vehicle’s computer and will adjust idle speed based upon other measurements such as engine temperature, intake air temperature and electrical system load or voltage. This is also an important function when starting the motor as it allows the motor to run and idle on it’s own once the motor fires.

In the case of low fuel pressure, the motor may be starving for fuel. As you know, when you turn the key to on, the fuel pump is activated and the fuel system is primed with fuel at a specific pressure in order to supply the fuel injectors with enough fuel to start the motor. When this is less than what is needed in order for the motor to fire or in some cases higher than normal, you may notice an erratic fluctuation in engine RPMs, hard starting or a lack of power when accelerating as the engine may be starved for fuel if insufficient fuel pressure exists in the fuel system. This can happen when the pump itself is not working properly or when the fuel pressure regulator is not maintaining the proper fuel pressure in the fuel system causing the engine to starve for fuel. This can also happen when there is insufficient connectivity to the fuel injectors which can cause an intermittent fuel spray pattern into the intake system resulting in a lean fuel condition or the motor otherwise starving for fuel. I would recommend having an expert from YourMechanic come to your location to diagnose and inspect your vehicle.