Rodeo sputters on start/take off

I have a 2000 Isuzu Rodeo with 91,000 miles on it that just today sputtered and died about 3 seconds after I started it. The car started right back up but the "Check engine" light is now on and as soon as I hit the gas it sputters and then takes off. Once I get "up to speed" it runs fine, but anytime it idles for more than 10-15 seconds I run into the sputtering problem again. When starting the car it does not seem to have that "kick" that you feel when the engine starts.

I know very little about cars in general but does it seem like a fuel system problem? One person I spoke with mentioned something about the vacuum in the fuel pump.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

It could be something as simple as a plugged fuel filter.

How old are your spark plugs? Just curious. And do you have the original coil packs/wires?

Get the code read for us.

The spark plugs are at least 2 years old with the original wires.

Well after a can of sTp Fuel Injection Cleaner the Check Engine light went away and it seems to have cleared up but I am just afraid that its a temporary solution.
It was just strange because the problem persisted for 5 or 6 ours of stop/start while running errands. I had the truck turned off at least 4 times and had the same symptoms each time.

Will I still be able to read the code with the light not on?


Thanks again!

yup the code should still come up. If you have an autozone near by they will read it for free.

maybe you had some water in the gas? Or some bad gas?

Hopefully just a bad tankful!

Thanks a lot for the reply. I will pop over to autozone this weekend and have them read it. I'm also going to replace the fuel filter when I get my oil changed.

Thanks again.

Well after 3 weeks of no problems the same issue came up. I was on my way to get an oil change and fuel filter but they did not have a fuel filter that fit. I took it to a local mechanic to get the computer read but they can not get a reading from it. He said it could be the computer causing the issue but not being able to read it he can't be sure. I will take it to the dealer next week to see if they can read/fix it. Hopefully its just a computer issue and not that AND something else!

Dealer read code P1404 - EGR System Stuck/Closed.

Turns out the EGR valve was sticking, did an emissions service and cleaned the valve and I was good to go for under $200.

Thanks again for the replies.