Q: Cylinders misfire after using motor flush and oil change - possible sludge issue?

asked by on March 16, 2017

I was due for an oil change, so beforehand I used Motor Medic Motor Flush in the crankcase and let the car idle for 5 minutes. During this time, the engine sounded great. The longer it ran, the lower the RPM would get while idling and the better the engine sounded. I drained the oil & motor flush then proceeded with a normal oil change. I also added a can of engine restorer in the crankcase with the new oil. When I first turned the car over after the oil change, it sounded great. Then after the car ran for about a minute, the car started shaking more and more and the RPM got a little wonky. Going up and down 200 RPM each way while idling. I shut the engine off immediately and haven't turned it on since. I took it to the shop and they found that all 4 cylinders are misfiring. I think the motor flush knocked some deposits and buildup loose and that is what's causing the issue with the cylinders, but I'm not a mechanic. What would be the best (cheapest) course of action next?

This is a 2001 Toyota Corolla. My car has 148000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.

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Hi There, If there are misfires, there should be a check engine light on, which should have stored specific fault codes. Many times these fault codes will indicate whether the misfire is related to a specific cylinder or if it is a general misfire code. Misfires can happen for many different reasons such as faulty spark plug wires or even an injector not pulsing correctly. I would suggest having a professional from YourMechanic come to your location to diagnose and inspect your vehicle to determine what may be causing this to happen.

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