Starting problem

'99 Intrigue (3.5L) with 65k miles. The car has sporadic starting problems where turning the key in the ignition turns the starter motor and results in one of the following scenarios:
1) The engine does not turn on.
2) The engine turns on, RPMs drop and the engine sputters and dies.
3) The engine turns on with no problems (like this morning).

It does not appear to matter whether the engine is hot or cold.

Reading forum posts of people that have seen similar problems, several different solutions would seem to be in order:
1) Replace fuel pressure regulator.
2) Replace crankshaft position sensor
3) Replace camshaft position sensor
4) Replace fuel filter
5) Replace spark plugs
6) Replace idle air control valve
7) Clean the throttle body

Since I rather not start throwing money at the car by replacing parts one by one until the problem is gone, I was hoping for some more specific advice as to what could be causing this issue. Thank you!

Vehicle scanned for "P", "B", and "U" codes?

P0442 - Evaporative emission control system leak.

The code came back even though the gas cap has been replaced. I highly doubt, however, that it's related to the starting problems that the car has been experiencing.

Turn key to "on", do not crank.....

Does your dash have a SECURITY light? If yes, does it go out after 3-5 seconds?

Was it scanned for "B" codes?

If the SECURITY goes out, then crank the car....does it start and run ok?

If it stays on, does the car not crank or crank and then die?

You will have to start the vehicle like this every time....turn to "on", and observe the SECURITY light, before you crank, since this seems to be an intermittant problem....

Does your ignition key have a black resistor pellet on it?

P0442 should have no effect on starting......changing the gas cap is about the easiest thing to try.....since that didn't work, the only way to know for sure where the evap leak is, is to go to a garage that is capable of sealing the system and using a smoke machine to find the leak.....

When you place the key in the ignition and turn it the on position but without cranking the engine and wait for several seconds, the only lights that will eventually stay on the dashboard are an orange 'Service Engine Soon' light and a red 'Security' light. The lights remain on until you turn the key. When you turn the key one of two things happens:
1) Most of the time, the starter cranks and the engine fires and stays on.
2) Occasionally, the starter cranks, the engine turns on, but then the RPMs drop to around 200-300 and the engine dies.

I tried doing this seven (7) times today at different times of the day, with the engine cold and hot, and there does not appear to be a pattern to when the engine dies after starting up. In all situations, after the key is turned the 'On' position and after waiting for several seconds, the only lights on the dashboard were the orange 'Service Engine Soon' light and the red 'Security' light. In 5 out of the 7 times, the engine started and remained on with. The remaining 2 times, the engine started, the RPMs dropped, and the engine died.

The key does not have a black resistor pellet on it. (I would say that this is not related to the ignition lock cylinder problem as I've had a similar problem with a 1991 Buick Park Avenue which did have a resistor pallet. In the case of the Buick, which eventually needed an ignition lock cylinder replacement, turning the key did not result in the starter cranking or the engine firing; turning the key did nothing as the security system would cut power to the starter and to the fuel pump since it was not reading the resistor pellet value properly.)

I scanned the car with an AutoXray Ez-Scan 6000, the only code that it showed was the P0442 one. Not quite sure what you mean when you say whether or not the car was scanned for "B codes"? I would think that the scanner would show all codes, but I could be wrong. Could you please elaborate on that?

You need a scanner capable of reading "B", or body codes......code readers can't read "B" codes....cheap scannners can't either......

If your ignition key does not have a black resistor pellet, then you either have PassKey III(ignition key will have "PK3" stamped on it, or in some cases, a circular symbol)......if you have PassLock, there will be nothing since it is a blank key......

Read your owner's manual to see which system, PK III or PassLock, you have.....

With PK III, the SECURITY light will go out after 3-5 seconds, before cranking....

With PassLock, the light will stay on until the vehicle starts.....this system is famous for B2958 or B2960 codes....

Looks like a PassLock key (no pellet, PK3, or circular symbol). If this is a PassLock problem why would the starter turn over, the engine start up and then sputter and die? I would think that if this was an ignition lock cylinder problem then the starter would either not turn over or the engine would not start at all....

If a PassLock system, and a code is set, there is no fuel enable signal sent to the PCM, and so after an initial "squirt", the injectors are disabled and the car dies...

I should probably mention that when I start the car and the RPMs start dropping, IF I press the gas pedal, it does not die... which would seem to rule out a PassLock system issue.

Yes, that would rule out the PassLock......if you step on the accelerator pedal, the idle comes up? Yet, there are no codes? Possible IAC problem? I know you replaced it, but is it working(harness/PCM problem)?

Yeah, after you hit the gas pedal the car returns to a normal idle in 2-3 seconds after letting off the gas. No codes except for the P0442 one.

Replacing the spark plugs, fuel pressure regulator and idle air control valve fixed the problem. I actually think the problem was with the fuel pressure regulator.