Nissan Repair: 1996 nissan maxima, throttle position sensor, air control valve

Question
recently my 96 maxima died as i was pulling into my friends driveway. i tried to restart it but it would die instantly, unless i gave it some trottle and it would "catch" and run as long as it wasn't idling. sumtimes it would sit and idle too, but its gone through the same spell a few times since, then it would run fine for a short time, but never completely 100%. ive been told to clean the air idle control valve, but ive read online that it can't be cleaned, only replaced. is that true? and would there be any other reasons for the cars behavior? i also found that a small vaccum line had been unhooked, i thought that would cure the problem but no luck there. can u help me please

Answer
David,

You could remove the idle air control valve and clean the pintle and passage and the connector itself.  But, since your car is over ten years old I would just replace it.  Also, check the throttle position sensor to make sure it is not worn out too.  These are the two most likely causes for your problem.  Also, if you have not done a tune up now would be a good time to replace the plugs.