I've had my check engine light on for over a year now. The codes it gave was for all four cylinders misfiring and a random misfire. Most people who looked at it kept saying that if you've already replaced the spark plugs then its probably just coils or some wiring issue and "dont worry about it." I guess it finally caught up with me and after putting 20k miles on the light check engine light started flashing today and the car started driving super weird. I dropped it off at a dealership and they'll give me a quote tomorrow. In the meantime, anyone possibly know whats going on? what kinda damage am i looking at? worth taking student loans and fixing? etc etc. any help would be appreciated.

 

Need to know what is wrong before suggestions can be made

 

so WORST case scenario it'll be a blown piston? is it possible for the car to still run on 3 cylinders?

 

[QUOTE=Raza,Mar 16 2010, 05:43 PM]I've had my check engine light on for over a year now. The codes it gave was for all four cylinders misfiring and a random misfire... after putting 20k miles on the light

 

Yeah, it would help to know more details like what year your car is, what exactly "super weird" is and what codes it threw. You could probabry take those codes and plug them into a search in the Under The Hood section. Help us help you.

 

its an 01. the codes it threw before were all four cylinders misfiring and a random misfire. I'll find out tomorrow from the dealership exactly what's wrong and keep you guys posted. thanks for the help so far everyone!

 

so im getting charged 80 bucks for the test. they pretty much just told me what autozone said - all four cylinders misfiring and a random misfire. They will not do a compression test as part of diagnostics and the MANAGER told me that i can come pay the money and take my car somewhere else or he wont return my car. The associate told me that the next step is to start with coils, then some sensors etc etc...

 

also found this online:

http://s2000.com/forums/engine-tech-drivet...-coil-pack.html

does anyone know what to look for in blown coils? can anyone help possibly and we can swap someone elses on my car to see if that works?

 

i had to pay them to take my car back obviously. i just got home with. the light is not blinking anymore but in idle the car is really shaky and moving in first and second gear it takes a second to pick up. the dealership was not willing to budge or check my coils for me - they said coils arent covered under the "basic checkup." However i DID get to talk to the mechanic on the side and this is what he said:

1) the light isnt flashing anymore, its back to being solid. he said he suspects the issue's somewhat temperature related because when he started the car this morning it was blinking and this afternoon it warmed up a lot so it went back to solid.

2) he said it could be coils, fuel injectors, but he highly suspects its a valve that's acting up due to temperature. he said the first thing he'd do next is to get a compression test just like most of you suggested so I'll be looking at getting that done cheap somewhere. He said IF those numbers come out fine (and i have no clue what these numbers are supposed to be), then we'll know its an electrical issue for sure. He said by looking at the coils he couldnt really tell if theres anything wrong with them - there werent any signs of tear on em i guess.

 

Found this so I guess I can start with all this stuff.

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=659930