Car: 1996 Honda Odyssey, 4-cylinder, 2.2 litre engine, 152,000 trouble-free miles.
Problem, beginning four months ago:
Sometimes the car will start only after many tries of a few seconds each. With some of those attempts the engine may fire then immediately die. It may start fine for a few weeks before the problem returns. The problem seems more likely to happen after standing for a few hours, but not necessarily. It cranks just fine, so the battery is good. Temperatures have not been below 50 F. On a couple occasions the car would run all right, but not idle at a stop without using the accelerator. On one occasion the speedometer needle swung wildly while driving at 35. Some weeks later the speedometer jumped wildly while in the garage trying (unsuccessfully) to start. I suspect that on two occasions the starting problem was preceded (on the day before) by the engine bucking slightly during mild acceleration (and that was probably before the engine was completely warmed up). I do not recall there being a smell of fumes after a starting problem, but only now have I thought about checking for that.
My own analysis: successful engine operation requires fuel, air, spark and compression. There has been no loss of power, so compression is unlikely to be the problem. An electrical problem seems more likely to be intermittent than would problems with fuel or air, but I have the sense that the real problem is with control of fuel or air.
Has anyone seen similar symptoms?