To preface this issue, I will say that I have noticed this OCCASIONALLY over the summer before I replaced my purge valve solenoid. What would happen is OCCASIONALLY when the car was already warm (usually while I was delivering), I would start the car and it would stumble a little bit, fire up, and then die if I didn't give it gas right away. It would go away if I drove/applied gas constantly for a few blocks, and then it would be fine. I replaced the solenoid, and then the car was fine until the last time I filled gas.
Now fast forward to my issue now. I filled gas last week (basically a full tank) and when I went to leave the starting/idling issue started again OCCASIONALLY. First time I started it, it stumbled and died. The car was warmed up since I was in the middle of a delivery shift. And now there is a new issue that (I hope) is just related to the gas and possibly too much water mixed in or something (it was a Holiday station, so a bigger chain, but one of the lower-grade Holidays):
-Car runs fine when first starting. No idle or running issues.
-When the car has been running for a couple hours (stop-and-go, idling for maybe 15 minutes at a time), after I shut it off, the car doesn't want to idle after I start it again. No matter what. There is no change until the car cools down.
-No CEL, hasn't been one since I replaced the solenoid.
Here's one other thing that might be contributing to the issue. One night (same tank of gas) I noticed my oil light came on while I was taking a corner a little fast. Checked and sure enough, I was down over a quart of oil (it's been a LONG time since I've had an oil change. (oops) ). So I ran home and added a quart of oil. My mistake was that I added oil that had been in my garage for, well, ever. It was cold, and I should've made sure to warm it up to at least room temp, but I didn't have time and just dumped it in. This was when the car started refusing to idle. As soon as I started it after adding the oil, it wouldn't idle at all. I drove it for a couple more deliveries and then got fed up and switched to my other car. I drove the Protege again a few days later, and the idle issue started after the first time I shut it off. Same thing happened the next day that I drove it.
Sorry for the long-winded starter, but does anyone have an idea if this is simply a gas issue? Do I need an oil change to get rid of the issue? I feel like it shouldn't be related to that, but it's when my issue really got bad. I know I'm way overdue for an oil change, but that's beside the point.
Now fast forward to my issue now. I filled gas last week (basically a full tank) and when I went to leave the starting/idling issue started again OCCASIONALLY. First time I started it, it stumbled and died. The car was warmed up since I was in the middle of a delivery shift. And now there is a new issue that (I hope) is just related to the gas and possibly too much water mixed in or something (it was a Holiday station, so a bigger chain, but one of the lower-grade Holidays):
-Car runs fine when first starting. No idle or running issues.
-When the car has been running for a couple hours (stop-and-go, idling for maybe 15 minutes at a time), after I shut it off, the car doesn't want to idle after I start it again. No matter what. There is no change until the car cools down.
-No CEL, hasn't been one since I replaced the solenoid.
Here's one other thing that might be contributing to the issue. One night (same tank of gas) I noticed my oil light came on while I was taking a corner a little fast. Checked and sure enough, I was down over a quart of oil (it's been a LONG time since I've had an oil change. (oops) ). So I ran home and added a quart of oil. My mistake was that I added oil that had been in my garage for, well, ever. It was cold, and I should've made sure to warm it up to at least room temp, but I didn't have time and just dumped it in. This was when the car started refusing to idle. As soon as I started it after adding the oil, it wouldn't idle at all. I drove it for a couple more deliveries and then got fed up and switched to my other car. I drove the Protege again a few days later, and the idle issue started after the first time I shut it off. Same thing happened the next day that I drove it.
Sorry for the long-winded starter, but does anyone have an idea if this is simply a gas issue? Do I need an oil change to get rid of the issue? I feel like it shouldn't be related to that, but it's when my issue really got bad. I know I'm way overdue for an oil change, but that's beside the point.
