Hey guys,

I've been experiencing a problem that has become very serious.
I took my car to my indep. shop to get a diagnostic on my check engine light.

Dropped off car on Aug. 21 & picked up Aug. 24.

They found fault codes;

P1491- Refridgerant pressure too high.
P0150- Oxygen Sensor left side front.
P0300- Misfiring damages multiple cylinders.
P0305- Misfire cylinder 5.
P0306- Misfiring cylinder 6.
P0307- Misfiring cylinder 7.

They removed spark plugs and checked for cracks and proper gap. Reinstalled spark plugs. Cleared fault codes. Road test vehicle and rechecked for fault codes. Everything seemed fine.

It drove better than it did when I picked it up. And responded faster than it has been when I pushed hard on the gas pedal.

Anyways 30 min through driving the car on Aug. 24, I had to quickly switch lanes, so I pushed hard on the pedal and the car barely responded and check engine light started blinking for 30 sec. and became solid. I was so pissed off. Brought the car home & then had to run an errand, and check engine light wasn't on anymore, wtf?

Then like 2 days later, check engine light came one. It's been solid since. Car has been driving terrible.

When its cold, it barely drives after 2k rpm's. When your pushing the pedal lightly, sometimes for a split sec. the car feels like its not giving you a push, then within the next sec, it kinda gives you a bump for that push. And once again the check engine light starts blinking for 30 sec. till it becomes solid. It usually happens from 25-30 mph.

I was driving on hills earlier this Wednesday, and when I was going uphill, my check engine light started blinking (as if I didn't have enough energy to get up that hill, which wasn't so steep btw). Then when I was going downhill, the car didn't seem to switch gears. I can't even describe how the ride felt, when I was going downhill.

I'm really starting to think its my transmission. On Tuesday or Wednesday, I will be dropping the car off at the shop & will be checking if my extended warranty hasn't expired yet.

Forgot to mention, when your pushing hard on the gas pedal, the rpm's are slowly rising and maybe after 7-10 sec the car will kinda finally react. Then check engine light will start blinking for 30 sec. and finally becomes solid. Always after this happens, the car starts shaking severely & I feel as if the car is about to shut down. Sometimes throughout the day, when I'm at a stop, the car starts shaking severely. I usually have to restart the car for the shake to go away.

What do you guys think?
Any help will be appreciated.

 

I'll bet it's your MAF

 

Im starting to have the same problem on my '01 430, when im slowly tying to stop, the car starts to slightly shake and it feels like its gonna die then when u start to move and accelerate the car feels like its drowning??? and the car reacts like it doesnt wanna move. What could this problem be??? i don't wanna get rid of my baby but i also don't wanna feel unsafe when im on the road. Can somebody out there HELP us out. Thank you in advance

 

Sounds like you have a vacuum leak. Easily diagnosed if you just open the hood while the car is running. You'll hear it....best case scenario, a hose probably got disconnected...

 

Blinking CEL... sounds like misfiring.

The first things I'd replace are the spark plugs and wires. Shouldn't cost you too much (plugs are about $7 a piece x16)

Run a can of fuel injector cleaner through the gas tank too. I'd recommend using "seafoam" ($6-$7 at any autozone/pepboys/kragen)

 

They said its not the MAF. That's the first thing they thought too.

I'll have them check it again when I bring it in on Tues. or Wed. I'm starting to think its the transmission.

 

I had the spark plugs and wires replaced during service b maintanence in mid-late June.

Will def. have to buy a can of fuel injector cleaner.

 

Did they actually replace the MAF with a known working one? or did they just rule it out based on the codes that were read? I ask because I had all sorts of missfiring codes show up as well when mine went bad...

 

Actually.. I just came up with a good way to test this.

Put the transmission in neutral and rev the motor gradually, and see if there is any of the hesitation/stumbling problems that were there before.

If the hesitation is still there, it most likely rules out the trans as being the source of the problem.

 

what you are experiencing sounds VERY similar to what happened with my car when my MAF went bad.