These cars keep giving and giving, aren't they...

My daughter's S40 with 135k gave her a scare about 6 month ago. It died on her when she tried starting the car after fairly short stay at the friend's house. I came there and started the car with no problems so I kind of dismissed that event as her inability to start the car
Now the frequency of "not starting" or starting ding has increased dramatically and it is a big concern for me now.
She says it starts up fine but then immediately dies, like it's running out of gas i.e. "slow death", then she pushes a little on the gas and starts the car with no problems. I am not sure, but fortunately or unfortunately, I can't pull any codes from the ECM and there is of course not CES on at this point. I can't even fathom a thought of going to the dealer and have them diagnose the problem, so I am asking here.
Is there anything I can try before I start replacing random parts like a crank sensor etc. ? Has anyone here experienced the same problem and what did they do to fix it?
Thanks!

 

It's either the Idle Air Control motor or the Fuel Pressure Regulator. Unfortunately both are priced close to $200. The good news is both are super easy to fix yourself. I've replaced both on my 2001.

For me it was a long cranking time before the car would start. If I cracked the throttle a bit it would crank up and run as long as I held the throttle open a bit. I first replaced the IAC motor but this did not fix the issue. Then I read a thread describing the long cranking time to start and replaced the FPR which cured it for me.