My Vehicle: 1996 Honda Accord Sedan EX—4 Cylinder.

Problem: Vehicle only starts on the 3rd try. During the first 2 tries, the vehicle pretty much starts fine but dies the exact millisecond it actually starts. The vehicle also has brief moments of lag while on the road. A feeling that the engine is inconsistent (it basically hiccups) maybe 1-3 times per drive. Usually very briefly and very inconsistently so.

Things to note:
1. Sometimes the car randomly starts on the first try. It seems to happen more when the fuel tank has more gas in it. I suspect the problem occurs more when the gas tank is well-above empty, but just below the half or 1/4th mark. But I don’t drive very often so it’s very hard to tell if this is the case or not. But I will be watching closely to see.
2. This car was taken down LOTS of dirt roads by the previous owner. And it has tons of dirt everywhere. I’ve cleaned it up quite a bit. But there’s still dirt in weird places.

Things I have tried:
1. Removed and thoroughly cleaned the Idle Air Control Valve and Throttle Body with carb cleaner. It’s immaculately clean.
2. When I turned the key to let the fuel prime. Waited about 5-10 seconds. Turned it off, and rinsed and repeated this 4-5 times before the first try. It STILL takes 3 tries. Letting it prime first does nothing to help the issue.
3. The coolant is full, and 100% free of all air bubbles. The temperature gauge never rises above where It should.
4. The battery seems to be great. The terminal connections are clean and very tight.
5. The Air Filter is brand new and clean (most likely super irrelevant but still…)

 

I would suspect the fuel pump is on it's way out. It's working, but it sounds weak. that would be my first guess.

Second guess is fuel filter. It could be clogged (you mentioned dirt everywhere and in weird places).