Just found this forum and hoping someone can shed some light on my problem. I have a 2003 Tribute ES (V6) and this 'issue' started happening about 6 months ago, my husband was driving home from work (60 miles from home) and stopped at the store, when he came back out the car would try to turn over, but the idle would never catch and it would die, we had it towed to a local repair shop and they replaced some boot that was torn, they told him it effected the air intake. It worked fine for about a month, then I went on a long trip and when I stopped at a store, came out, it again bogged out, kinda thought it felt like a clogged fuel filter, chugging, gasping and finally nothing... in fact that is what they replaced next, they also mentioned that the computer wasn't showing any code errors, so they were basically "guessing" at what could be wrong. AGAIN, worked fine, until 2 weeks ago, we finally realized it was happening after the car was being driven for long periods of time, like something is heating up inside, this time, we let it sit for about 25 mins and it started up just fine. ANYONE?????

-Kim

 

The IAC valve is mounted on the top of the engine (very easy to replace). I had mine (2002 V6) replaced this summer when it was very hot here in Maryland and my car would not start up right away. No problems since then. Other forums (Ford Taurus and other Tribute) point to this component as failure-prone over time.

I brought mine to my dealer and he properly diagnosed the issue and performed the repair. Since the part is a lot less than a diagnostic charge, and the repair is very simple to perform, I would try the repair myself first.

Try another service center if that does not solve your problem.

 

Thanks Tom, I'll check into picking one up and getting it replaced myself.
THANKS again!!
Kim

 

Although this is an old post, it may help worth mentioning the problem I had and fixed. I have a Mazda Tribute ES 2001. Recently encountered problem with stalling/idling, at first I thought it might have been my battery, so I got it replaced. Everything seemed to work fine then on. However, just this month, I begin encounter the stalling/idling during ignition. I took it back to the battery shop and they check my battery and alternator, both were working fine. The tech suggested that it might be the starter. So, long story short, it came down to be the IAC (Idle Air Control) that was the problem. Because of the time at school and other duties, I didn't have time to take it in for a check-up. What I did as a remedy to my stalling, was to hit the IAC, suprisingly works.
As mentioned above, you probably don't need to replace the IAC, but just unscrew the two bolts holding it down, then use a "Carb & Choke Cleaner" to clean the dirt inside the two holes. After, apply some synthetic motor oil into the two holes and drip out the oil as much as possible without wiping the inside (point is to keep it greased up). Apply the same cleaning with the throttle joint and wipe it clean with cloth and use a Q-tip to rub some motor oil as much as you can reach. After the cleaning and greasing, screw everything back and plug in the connector, and the problem should be fixed. Good Luck!