I started having a bit of a misfire intermittently as I was getting on freeway when I accelerated at about 45-60, but didn't happen all the time. I knew I needed maintenance tune up and had just been told that the guy who’d last changed my spark plugs hadn’t been able to reach one, so thought maybe it was that one. Intermittent misfire got a bit more frequent. At one point the “service engines soon” light came on but went out again. So, I made an appt with a repair shop and took it in at the beginning of this month. Told them what was happening. They ran diagnostics and P0300 came up with P1189 and P1811. Recommended spark plugs and wires, which is what I agreed with. When I picked it up it drove home about 3-4 miles and it did fine. An hour later I went to fill gas tank and had to wait In line quite a while with engine running. When I pulled away from pumps, about 1-2 miles down the road it jerked and hissed and shut off on me. Couldn’t restart it right away but managed to start it and it jumped, jerked and shut off on me just down the road. Got it started again and soon as I would accelerate past 15-19 MPH it would jerk and die again. Managed to get
back home going no more than 19-20 MPH with it jerking and dying every few yards. Took it back to shop and they got two codes P1189 engine oil pressure switch circuit and P1626 Theft Deterrent Fuel enable system lost. Adv notes said vehicle went into self-preservation mode due to oil pressure switch and recommended replacing engine oil pressure switch so another $175 in addition to the $560 I had just paid (pricing was quite reasonable, I just expected the problem to be gone). Picked it up and on the way home it jerked and shut off about 3 or 4 times. I was going about 40 MPH. I’ve not called the shop because I’m completely broke until my next payday and still owe $150 out of the $175. Next day I drove it around my neighborhood 20-26 MPH without it shutting off. So, I went out yesterday in a bit busier area and went 25 to 40 MPH. It did fine but seemed to misfire (littler jerk) on my way back home. Again, this seemed to happen after I had to sit at lights due to lots of traffic. Since then, I don’t dare take it on the freeway or venture too far from home as I get the feeling that as soon as I sit idle in traffic it may shut off again and people around are not very nice or helpful. They are all in a mad race to get somewhere. I only have three more tows on my AAA so I don’t want to waste them. I can’t pay for any more repairs until my next payday, which is almost 2 weeks away.
I just had oil changed last month and had my transmission serviced last year when it wouldn’t go into D, and I had to move it through each gear before it would go. Did fine after.
I really like the people at this shop, and they had great reviews which is why I chose them. I guess I don’t understand this whole diagnosis code process. The one code they got about theft kind of freaks me out because someone punctured a hole in my gas tank in 2015 trying to steal my gas. I had to replace the gas tank and bought a used one from eBay. It wasn’t the right tank, so the car had to be modified to fit the tank I bought. Now I am wondering if any of that could be causing some of this.
I drove it again last night when it was cool out and there was almost no traffic and got up to 50 MPH without any problem.
So, with all the things I've had done at this point, what else could be causing it to lurch, lunge, and shut off? Do I just take it back to the same place or find someone else to do another diagnosis? A while back one shop told me the service engine or check engine light had to be on in order to get any codes. I would sure appreciate being steered in the right direction with an idea of what more to expect or anticipate.
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Thursday, August 18th, 2022 AT 4:42 PM