1999 Chevy Prizm Starting Problem

Your description is a little confusing because you say it will not start, then you say it will not stay running (which implies that the car started).

If the car has a long cranking time before it catches, check fuel pressure at the fuel after the car has been parked overnight to see if fuel pressure is bleeding down. If so, check the fuel pressure regulator.

If the car starts but doesn't continue to run, check the idle air control valve to make sure it is moving freely, check for vacuum leaks, check for cracks or holes in the black plastic intake snorkel between the air filter and throttle body.

The car has loooong cranking time before it catches, and then when it finally catches, you must immediately give it gas to keep it running until it just starts acting normally. Then, for days after that, it will start normally no matter where it is parking or for how long. It is parked each night inside an unheating garage.

OK, check

Fuel pressure and fuel pressure regulator Idle air control valve to make sure it is not sticking Coolant temperature sender.

Hey, Ray, this car have a Cold Start injector? My guess would be if it does, it may not be functioning and is making the fuel pump force enough fuel to get the car started, hence the long starting time...?

I do not know whether that car has a cold start injector or not, but if I had to guess, I would say not. When Toyota first came out with electronic fuel injection, cold start injectors were the favorite things for people to condemn and replace, then cold start injector timers became popular to replace because it sounded cooler to replace a part with a more technical-sounding name. Somewhere along the line, I'm not sure when, cold start injectors and injector timers went away in favor or just having the regular injectors squirt a little longer.

So, my guess is no cold start injector.

If it makes any difference, the car has the 1.8 liter engine in it. My husband bought fuel injector cleaner & put in in the tank but the car did it again this morning. It wasn't very cold last compared to the last two weeks, and the car was in the garage as usual. Should I pump the gas pedal a couple of times after I shut the car off for the night to pump gas into the engine?

Fuel injector cleaner may help with a drivability problem but it generally does not have any effect on long cranking times unless the injectors are really bad. Fuel injector cleaner that is added to the fuel tank takes a while to work - you need to at least use up the fuel that was in the tank when you added the cleaner.

Pumping the gas pedal before you shut off the engine will not help and will just waste fuel.

Have the stuff I mentioned previously checked out before you spend time and money on other home remedies ;-)

I am waiting for my tax refund check to arrive so I can take it into the shop to get those things checked. I myself don't know enough about cars to check these things out but I don't want to sound like a complete moron when I take it into the shop. I figured it was a fuel system problem right away. I should get my refund within a week.

When you take your car to a shop for diagnosis, it is not a good idea to ask the to check specific things or components. The best thing to do is to describe the symptoms as completely as possible and let the shop decide what to check.