I have an '03 that I bought in March '09 and it was fine until winter hit and then a couple times when it's been really cold out the engine will fire up and die right away, even if I prime the fuel pump a couple times. I end up having to hold the gas down and it sputters for a few seconds and then smooths out and runs ok. The spark plugs are new and still look clean - no fouling, oil, gas, etc. on them. I was thinking maybe it's the IAC valve sticking since it wasn't used to moving so far when the weather was warmer. Any thoughts? TIA

How cold is cold?

About 20-25 F... I guess it's not that cold, but colder than it's been all year.

Got enough coolant in it? I buddy of mine wasjust having the same sorts of issues and had to refill his subie.

I had to ask about the cold, 'cause it gets cold here where that sort of thing becomes normal...

Classic symptoms. The throttle body has built up a ridge of carbon just below the throttle plate, which shuts off the little amount of air needed in the cold temps. Use an old toothbrush and some carb cleaner to clean this area. I have covered this subject on other forums in the past, maybe here too. I would place a bet that it is NOT the IAC motor.

I searched back and found this where I had answered this issue years ago:

http://www.jeepkj.com/forum/showthread.php?t=33926

Cool, thanks for the tip. I'll do that and get around to running Seafoam through it. Just need to find a place I can blow all the smoke without the neighbors freaking out.

I don't know if you need Seafoam at this point. Plus you may create some codes from the cats. I would not.