Bought the car 2 years ago with 60,000 miles and the odometer recently flipped over to 100,000 miles. This is my 17-year-old nieces' daily driver. (That may or may not be important, but I felt the need to inform). Two weeks ago, she ran completely out of fuel and the engine stalled, naturally. As an alternative to gasoline, which she did not have on hand, her boyfriend poured a bottle of STP gas treatment into the fuel tank and off they went. They were able to get closer to the gas station, but the engine stalled again. Another bottle of STP gas treatment was added to the fuel tank and they were able to get even closer to the gas station but to no avail and the engine stalled a third time. They called for backup, and I arrived with fuel that got them to the gas station. At that time, they filled the gas tank and then drove two miles home. Upon pulling into the driveway the car was noticeably stuttering and the check engine light came on with a p0302 misfire on cylinder two code. Since that time, I have run the following tests and/or inspections to try and verify the issue without having to pull the cylinder head. (Note: The car has run low on oil once in the past that I know of. I have done all the oil changes and maintenance otherwise)
Swapped ignition coils 2 and 4. Drove the car and it threw codes P0301, P0302, and P0303.
Check resistance on all four ignition coils. All good.
Checked power supply to all four ignition coils. All good.
Checked all spark plugs. Replaced the number 2 spark plug as it had minor carbon buildup and wet oil deposits. All other spark plugs looked okay. All are NGK IR plugs.
Pulled the injectors and supplied 12-volt power on the bench and pulsated fuel and carb cleaner through each injector to verify they all were working and were cleaned.
Check resistance on all four injectors. All good.
Check power supply to all four injectors. All good.
Check the battery voltage. Allgood at 14 volts and 12.5 at idle.
Replaced valve cover gasket and spark plug tube seals.
Performed a compression test on each cylinder and all cylinders had identical compression at 125 PSI.
Performed wet compression test on each cylinder and all cylinders had virtually identical compression at 134 PSI to 136 PSI.
Replaced number 2 ignition coil just to see what would happen and still misfiring.
It's important to note that I am performing all of these tests at the recommended engine temperature and driving the vehicle for at least 15 to 20 minutes after each test to clear codes and listen for misfire. The vehicle only misfires after it is warmed up completely and it is only a low RPMs misfire and it's random. It is not constant.
I replaced the PCV valve as well because it was clogged and disgusting.
Pulled the fuel pump and inspected the filter sock which did not appear to be that dirty.
Since the compression test, I have not been able to get the check engine light to come back on, but it is still misfiring significantly. I've driven it about sixty miles and at least ten drive cycles but still no check engine light so I can't check the codes.
Please help if you can. Thank you for your time.
Swapped ignition coils 2 and 4. Drove the car and it threw codes P0301, P0302, and P0303.
Check resistance on all four ignition coils. All good.
Checked power supply to all four ignition coils. All good.
Checked all spark plugs. Replaced the number 2 spark plug as it had minor carbon buildup and wet oil deposits. All other spark plugs looked okay. All are NGK IR plugs.
Pulled the injectors and supplied 12-volt power on the bench and pulsated fuel and carb cleaner through each injector to verify they all were working and were cleaned.
Check resistance on all four injectors. All good.
Check power supply to all four injectors. All good.
Check the battery voltage. Allgood at 14 volts and 12.5 at idle.
Replaced valve cover gasket and spark plug tube seals.
Performed a compression test on each cylinder and all cylinders had identical compression at 125 PSI.
Performed wet compression test on each cylinder and all cylinders had virtually identical compression at 134 PSI to 136 PSI.
Replaced number 2 ignition coil just to see what would happen and still misfiring.
It's important to note that I am performing all of these tests at the recommended engine temperature and driving the vehicle for at least 15 to 20 minutes after each test to clear codes and listen for misfire. The vehicle only misfires after it is warmed up completely and it is only a low RPMs misfire and it's random. It is not constant.
I replaced the PCV valve as well because it was clogged and disgusting.
Pulled the fuel pump and inspected the filter sock which did not appear to be that dirty.
Since the compression test, I have not been able to get the check engine light to come back on, but it is still misfiring significantly. I've driven it about sixty miles and at least ten drive cycles but still no check engine light so I can't check the codes.
Please help if you can. Thank you for your time.
Apr 14, 2022 at 8:15 AM
