how do i know when its time to change my spark plugs? i have an 02tlp with 135000kms (yeah, i do a lot of driving.) i've never changed them before and i figure its about time.

 

forget about ur sparkplugs...135000....change ur car

 

When your car starts sputtin' and losing A LOT of power and you see your catalytic converter glowing super duper red... Then you've got one bad spark plug. You keep on driving then you'll have two bad spark plugs and so on and so on till your car blows up. at 130000+ i think it's time if you've never changed them before. Or if you want, just do a spot check and pull them out and check the wear on the tips and all that carbon build up.

 

im pretty certain that the spark plugs are shit by this milage....Change them today! Im surprised your engine never misfired.

go with NGK Iridium IX spark plugs, or whatever else you chose..

 

i didnt change mine till about 110,000 miles. car still ran great got great gas mileage too. i did notice a little bit og a rough idle. if your going to replace your plugs, replace them with whats supposed to be in the car. NGK. dont use any thing else. i have denso they are a great plug but they ae on there way out already. im going back to NGK. the bosch isnt a good plug in our cars

 

fsttyms1, how do you know you plugs are going already? What does the car do differently?

I have Denso Iridiums in my car - and read on their site that the recommended change interval is only 30k miles (as opposed to 100-120 for the long life NGKs).

 

since his car has about 83k Miles.... and the stock plugs are supposed to be ok till 100k then he's car shouldn't blow up just yet or missfire.... BUT it is a good idea to change them at this time, you don't wanna wait till some damage is done

 

50,000miles is a good safe deadline on sparks. atleast I change em every 50k miles...i got denso iridiums and they recommend this...i suppose OEM ones should last about the same.

 

Actually, the platinums that come stock on the car get replaced at your tune up interval (105k).

The NGK site I think recommended a 120k change interval. They are REALLY long life plugs.

 

at that mileage i think its time to change the water pump, timing belt, spark plugs, misc belts and hoses, check you brakes.rotors, change your shocks, check tires, Flush/change fluids and oil. Inspect all suspension components, check engine and tranny mounts, check busings, adjust alignment if needed, check battery/altinator, check oil pressure, have a system scan done to make sure all sending units and sensors are functioning properly, check cat and o2 sensors. I believe thats it. Also make sure no oil is leaking or that the car isnt burning any.

 

breathe dud!

 

because i have almost 50k on them and im getting the same slightly rough idle. ngks last along time

 

rough idle? dissconnect battery when changing the plugs. reconnect and drive on the freeway. itll recalibrate the ecu. (have navi and stereo codes ready)

 

Just changed all 6 to NGK iridium. Now, I have a rough idle, hesitation on acceleration, a flashing check engine light and TCS light. Does disconnecting the battery fix this too?

 

dude, your shit is misfiring, you have installed it incorrectly, make sure that the plugs are sitting STRAIGHT, and locked to the right torque.

 

I checked them. All straight and tight. Is it possible that one is bad? I used to check my plugs on my 94 Accord by touching them to the block. Is this possible on the 2000 TL? I've heard that doing this in new models could damage something because of higher voltage in some newer models. Anyone tried this on a 2000 TL?

 

hmm...probably one is shit...try to pull the Error code, it will tell you which one is mifiring...it is serious stuff, i wouldnt drive on that. Good Luck!

 

you may have forgot to reconect a plug on the coils? one of the coils may be bad too. pull out the plugs and test them on a lawnmower to see if they have spark if your going to test them. other wise bring your car to a pepboys or autozone and let them plug your car in (most do that for free) and let teh computer tell you which cylinder is misfiring

 

Thank you both for your advice. I pulled all the plugs last night and inspected them and the coils. One of the plugs had black carbon around the middle insulator (the others were spotless). I inspected the coil leading to it closely. There is a fairly long and obvious crack (3/4 ") in the tapering metallic part at the end of the black tube-part of the coil. However, the crack doesn't look new, strangely. Seems obvious, but could this be the problem? I'm going to replace it either way. Anyway, for shits and giggles, I put everything back and double checked tightness, etc. The problem is still there. If putting an new coil in doesn't work I'll drive it to the nearest Autozone (15 mis). I'm putting off driving it anymore till absolutely necessary. I already had to drive it about 60 mis to get it home!