Has anyone else experienced the following type of problem with starting with the 2004 Focus, 2.3 liter PZEV engine? Every few starting attempts, it cranks normally, seems to start, then immediately dies. Sometimes the next several attempts result in engine cranking fast but not starting. After a few more tries, it starts normally. The dealership has tried three things now - replaced idle air control valve, replaced fuel pump, reprogramming the PCM, and cleaned grounding ends (not sure what that means). Nothing has helped. The dealership has checked with Ford engineers, and those things were recommended by them. The car runs fine once it starts. Of course, the dealership rarely experiences the problem when I bring it in. But they do admit that they have seen it a few times on this car, and they say that Ford has seen this too.
Another message on this group mentioned a different driveability problem, where the engine would die while driving. The writer indicated that the problem was solved by removing metal objects from the keyring, as they were apparently causing interference between key microchip and whatever that interacts with. That made me realize that I have several other keys on my ring, but when I take the car to the dealer, I take off the ignition key and remote fob and just give them those. Could this be the solution? I'll separate the key from my other keys and see if that helps, but I'm curious about whether anyone has seen this problem and might know the solution.
Thanks, Darryl