Q: I have a cylinder 3 misfire that only seems to happen when my gas tank gets low, is this likely due to a bad fuel injector/filter?

asked by on August 24, 2017

The hesitation and idling associated with a cylinder misfire seems to clear up once I re-fill the tank and run something like Royal Purple or Sea Foam through it. This has only been an issue for this vehicle in the last two weeks or so, and this morning was the first time the SES light came on and I subsequently had the code checked. Thanks.

My car has 175000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.

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The misfire can be caused by a worn spark plug, defective coil, faulty spark plug wire, faulty injector, plugged injector (each injector has its own miniature internal filter), mechanical valve fault and so forth. The most common issue is the spark plug is simply worn out or defective. If you have "long life" (100,000 miles) plugs, and they have even 75,000 miles on them, you’ll first want to consider changing the spark plugs. To get the root cause of the misfire pinpointed, and thence resolved, the recommended service is a misfiring diagnostic. If you request that service, a certified Mechanic, dispatched by YourMechanic right to your location, will get this diagnosed and resolved for you. If you have further questions or concerns, do not hesitate to re-contact YourMechanic.

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