starting and brake issues, please help

My girlfriend has a 96 achieva that has about 90,000 miles on it. We've been having problems starting it lately. about half of the time you have to give it gas to get it to start. otherwise is will not stay running. after you give it gas for a few seconds then it will stay running fine. What can be done to fix that? I dont know if it needs new fuel injectors or not. or if it is something different. if anyone could help i would appreciate it

also the brakes on this car are very touchy. you barley tap them and it stops and a lot of times it will just lock up. It will lock up on perfect road conditions, but when the roads are wet they really lock up a lot. could there be a bad brake sensor causing them to lock up all the time?

thanks
Josh

What engine do you have? Are the front or rear wheels locking up? Sounds like the car could use a rear brake job.

the engine is a 2.4 liter. we took it into the shop and they replaced part of the fuel line because they thought there might be a gas fume leak causing the problems. that wasnt it. sometimes it will die when you put it in gear. but most of the time you have to give it gas to get it to start

we are just getting tired of it and need some help. could it be a bad throttle positioning sensor?

the engine is a 2.4 liter. we took it into the shop and they replaced part of the fuel line because they thought there might be a gas fume leak causing the problems. that wasnt it. sometimes it will die when you put it in gear. but most of the time you have to give it gas to get it to start

we are just getting tired of it and need some help. could it be a bad throttle positioning sensor?

Try cleaning the throttle body, take the intake off and get some carb/throttle body cleaner and a rag and clean out the throttle body as much as you can, try to keep the gunk out of the intake while cleaning, be sure to get in front and behind the throttle plate, or just buy the gasket(if it requires one, I dont have the 2.4 so I dont know)and remove the throttle body and clean out all the build up.

When was the last time the spark plugs were changed? air filter etc? try these easy things before you replace exspensive sensors, Im not positive of the 2.4 setup, but the stock 2.3 setup intake draws in alot of engine vapors that build up around the throttle body and in the intake manifold after awhile, that can cause hard starting, hesitation, reduction in overall power and more.

For the brakes, I would have to ask as the other person did: are the front or rear brakes locking up? if its the rear you might just need an adjustment, in most cases the rear should lock up under very hard braking in wet conditions.