Well I log into good ole azine to do some research and what do I find??? A million effen people who have the same issue. I also have a misfire but the difference is, my car runs fine, idles fine, pulls hard as hell, etc. But when I get on it in 1st or 2nd, the cel light starts to blink. Eventually it goes off. Every once in awhile it stays on. I had a mechanic scan it with one of those $5000 snap on scan tools and it says random misfire but performance not affected. They tell me they think its either a crank sensor or a fuel pump going bad. I have no symptoms of anything about to take a dump on me though....what could it be. AGAIN REMEMBER THAT MY CAR DOES NOT HESITATE OR STUDDER OR BACKFIRE, ETC! Maybe I should also mention I just had my timing belt changed and the problem started happening immediately after.

 

Did you ever find the culprit?

 

If the CEL blinks, thats normal when you get on it and spin the tires. It thinks the engine is misfiring when in reality it isnt.

If the CEL stays on, then you definitely have a misfire.

 

Yeah, mine blinked after I did timing belt / valve adjust in January while I was just crusing. I forgot about it (although someone said valves might be too tight) because it never came up again. And then my CEL came on a few days ago, while cruising on the highway, and stayed on. Random misfire + misfire in cylinders 1,4, and 5. I replaced the coil pack on cyl 2 about a year ago because it was misfiring badly (car shaking, no power). This time, the car seems to be driving fine.

I replaced spark plugs about 15k miles ago, so I think that's out of the question. Not sure what my next step should be...