Q: Car drives poorly with heavy fuel consumption and poor transmission

asked by on November 12, 2016

Car bought from overseas. Check engine light on since purchase. Difficult transmission of gears despite pedalling. Suffling and drags to move. This was at 166000km. It started to overheat and later was told the head gasket was blown. This was repaired. But engine was never optimal. I was told i had to change my transmission box; spent a whooping $980k to purchase a new transmission and after installing ...nothing changed!!!! i changed my mechanic to one who said he would do a diagnosis and came up with Po..112.; po..527.; po227..; p0..1100 codes. Don't know what he did but drive improved a bit....After 2weeks.it has gone back to the same way it was. Shuffling, goes over 4RPM before gear changes heavy fuel consumption No smooth drive Creamy brown dirt in my radiator cap Please help. Appreciated

My car has 166000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.

Hi and thanks for contacting YourMechanic. First, with the dirty cooling system, you would need to perform a coolant flush and replace the thermostat and radiator cap. This will help with the overheating issue if you are still experiencing that. For the codes that are found, the code P0527 relates to the fan circuit to the cooling system. Check the cooling fan to see if it is working. Turn on the air conditioning and see if the fan comes on. If the fan comes on, then the coolant temperature sensor needs replaced. If the fan does not come on, check for any blown fuses. If all of the fuses are good, then the fan motor needs replaced. For the code P0227, throttle position sensor and P0112, air intake temperature sensor could have failed. Check the harness to them for any debris, sand, grit, or corrosion. These sensors could fail for high moisture and extreme dry climates. The main concern is the code P1100, for the mass air flow (MAF) sensor. If the MAF is dirty from sand, dirt, grit, or debris of oil, then the sensor needs cleaned or replaced. I recommend unplugging the MAF sensor and see if there is any changes to the engine performance. If there is no change, then I suggest replacing it. Fixing all of these issues will make the vehicle run smooth and shift good. If you need further assistance with your vehicle, then seek out a professional, such as one from YourMechanic, to help you with the shuffling symptoms.

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