Q: Car Vibrating and bottoming out

asked by on January 12, 2018

One of the first issues is that when I turn on the car it vibrates, and lately it starting shaking a lot harder and the RPM gauge would go very low and eventually go to 0 and the car would show the battery light and the oil light (I think those were the two lights). One I turned it off and back on, it might either do it again or let me drive, but sometime when I start trying to accelerate it will go a little bit and not let me go, then let me go a bit more, eventually it will either bottom out and show those lights again or it will let me drive but it’s kind of a rough ride.

I’ve changed my TPS recently because at first the RPM was shooting up to 1 or anywhere around 2 1/2.

I had someone tell me it could just be the motor going bad, but I’ve also been told things like the EGR Valve (or some valve) MAF, or more.

Any potiental suggestions?

My car has 180296 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.

Car idle is rough Inspection $94.99 - $114.99 Get a Quote

The basic condition of the engine can be verified through a cylinder compression test. If the compression in each cylinder is within factory spec., there is not too much variance across cylinders, and you are not using more than a quart of oil every 2,500 miles, then your engine is perfectly good and you simply need to have the fuel, ignition, air induction, or sensor fault pinpointed. Although the underlying actual cause of the misoperation should be pinpointed, in your case, with the high mileage and the particular symptoms, you’d probably benefit by removing all the fuel injectors from the fuel rail and send them out for restoration (Mr. Injector, etc.). Each one of the fuel injectors has a tiny filter basket and the injectors have incredibly small passages. When they get plugged up, engine performance degrades considerably and this is a very common circumstance. If you request a diagnostic to pinpoint the cause of the rough operation, among the items that will be considered are the engine coolant temperature sensor which must be working properly to signal the PCM to enrich the mixture on cold start, fuel delivery problems, vacuum leaks (including EGR), an air induction fault like a stuck idle air control valve or a faulty throttle position sensor, problems with the mass air flow sensor, defective spark plugs, a weak coil and defective oxygen sensor(s). If you desire that this problem be diagnosed by a certified Mechanic, dispatched by YourMechanic right to your location, please request a rough idle diagnostic and the responding certified mechanic will get this resolved for you. If you have further questions or concerns, do not hesitate to re-contact YourMechanic as we are always here to help you.

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