Hello acurazine, I've had my 2003 TL for maybe a little more than 2 years now and i love it, however I ran into this problem about a couple weeks ago and I have no idea why all my cylinders are misfiring along with a random misfire code...

My engine shakes (not badly but very noticeable) on idle and on low rpms -- especially when I am lightly stepping on the gas without really exerting any power at all. When I go on the gas or step on it, everything feels normal and smooth and my CEL goes from blinking to not blinking, but sometimes the CEL just keeps on blinking. TCS light stays on.
The feeling is worse when I'm treading on the highway at like 65mph so sometimes I just drive in 4th to stop my car from shaking.

As far as things I've done:
-spark plugs and even changed ALL the coils!!
-used Lucas to clean the fuel injectors
-Seafoamed according the DIY thread
-and today i cleaned up my EGR ports.

thank you azine

 

how are your mounts?!?! Engine and tranny!??!
I've had the cylinder misfires...etc...came out of nowhere and went away on it's own after pulling the negative on the battery and resetting. I THINK it may have started after doing the seafoam, so it was a fluke.

 

my tranny was replaced about a year and a half ago, it doesn't slip. engine has 220k miles on it and just saving up some $$$ for someone to do my timing belt. my front engine mount was changed (or maybe it was the rear) alongside when I did my trans a while back.. I don't know how to check for engine mount problems though. but one faulty engine mount could cause my whole engine to misfire?

 

A month or so Ago I had a little trouble with my IACV that light up my VSA + MIL the codes also showed Missfire in all Cylinders...
The sympthoms where:

1.- Rough Idling
2.- Shakes
3.- Rough Accelarating + Stall @ Stop Lights
4.- RPM Gauge jumping...

Just Cleaned the IACV Valve, Reset the Battery and VUALA!
Dunno if thats your problem tough just an Idea...

 

I'll clean the IACV (even though my RPM gauge doesn't jump) as ill be cleaning up my intake ports and egr port again as well as the channels in the intake manifold because idk if I cleaned it too well lol.... it got really messy and I ran out of spray

 

No, shouldn't cause the CEL, but thought maybe it was tied into some weird vibrations etc that you're experiencing...
What I do know is that those CEL's are super sensitive and probably sometimes not directly caused by the actual plug/coilpack (since you changed all of them!).

 

If you put the car in drive hold the brake and give it gas you can feel a misfire...also that is a way to check the mounts, you two people for that though, 1 to gas 1 to look at the engine movement, this works best when they are completely gone but it does work, sometimes if had work done a mount can come loose, not as rare as you might think

 

Try disconnecting your ignition coils one at a time at idle. If you find the cylinder that's not contributing, swap that coil with a different cylinder. If the misfire follows the coil, you need a coil. Getting pretty common on cars of this age and mileage.

 

I think he said he put in new coils and spark plugs...

 

yeah all coils and plugs are changed in fact even before it started misfiring i had oem plugs in from the dealer. i just got finished clearing my egr port again and cleaned out the carbon from the IAC valve. still heavy misfiring in idle and is kind of noticeable now.
also i just tried unplugging a coil at a time and it's kind of hard to tell because the engine is already misfiring. the rpm gauge however doesn't go up or down when i unplug

 

how about reseafoaming the intake and gas tank, and then just pushing the heck out of it on the highway, clear all that gunk out...then come home and pull the negative battery and reset the ecu?

 

will definitely do that next, thanks for the input!

 

last time i seafoamed a few months ago through the vac port on the intake but i didn't put any into the gas tank.. hope this time it might clean my injectors

 

anytime...well, the way i figure it...wtf...can't hurt now to make sure you clean all the gunk outta there!

 

possible crank sensor

 

Have the valves been adjusted? The exhaust valves get tight over time and will cause symptoms like yours. [this time I didn't sped read your original post]

 

start with cking the front mount--underneath car, look for slight oil drip traces,,a funny oil
its failure will cause a miss!

correct ngk plugs are in there now?
definetly run full can seafoam thru half tank gas for the injectors etc

reck all bolt torque- you had some important things off and easy for intake bolt to become a little loose and cause a miss

carb cleaner sprayed on every connection and opening will show vac leaks = rpm increases

NO NEED to disconnect battery for ecu reset
Simply pull the CLOCK fuse on passenger end of dash for a minute-
its the secret backup ecu power and instantly forces a master reset and relearn

with batt neg cable removal you have to input radio security code== save effort by using clock fuse

 

im going to take her to the shop. i've looked at the motor mounts for any leaks and nothing, but i found out that my front mount was the one that was actually changed already. the rear is kind of hard to see but ill check for it shaking.
i have yet to put any seafoam in my gas tank but will do so soon.
the very last thing i can think of is changing the plugs again. i'm sure they're ngk iridium , but as i do that i'll check for any leaks again .

will post back with results

 

oh and no i have not have my valves adjusted, was planning on doing that when i do my timing belt later this summer

 

I am having similar problems with my 02 type S

Its shakes upon acceleration, sometimes worse than others, sometimes not at all, depending on speed. I have CEL on almost all the time, but again sometimes it stays off after the car sits overnight. I also have Traction Control light on but its less consistent than the CEL. I've noticed sometimes hitting 70 mph kicks it on, other times it just happens.

I had my code read, only 2 codes that came up were misfire cylinder 1 and possible misfire all cylinders. BUT, the car idles smoothly and accelerates like normal. No loss of power or rough idling. I have replaced spark plugs less than 7k miles ago and coils are original.

I'm at a loss for what could be the problem. This all started about 3 weeks ago running about 70-80 mph on interstate. Completely cleaned my intake a few months ago, cleaned every runner and the egr port til it shined. Have not checked my IACV.

Any input is appreciated, I also am reading the previous input and troubleshooting.

 

sounds more like a trans issuse for you jdtl-s2002, CEL TCS/VSA light on at same time is never a good sign

 

The OP and many others stated they had both lights on as well. Trans has not given me a bit of problems and I don't baby it. It was replaced in 04.

BUT an update from where I was 4 hours ago, ran got my code read again got P0301 P0304 and P0306 (misfire cylinders 1,4,6)

Tore down the throttle body to the IACV. Cleaned all of it, the TB and IACV as well as seafoamed the motor both direct injection and in the gas tank, and pulled the clock fuse to reset the ECU.

Put it all back together and cranked up. No VSA or CEL and everything running smooth. Took for drive in neighborhood and everything remained the same.

Went WOT getting on highway and blew white smoke for about 3 seconds. Did a couple more WOT runs and no more smoke so I brought her back. Idles fine, and still no lights. Hoping I blew out whatever gunk may have been throwing my lights, but time will tell and will report back in the next day or so or if lights come back (whichever comes first)

 

after putting seafoam through my gas tank today ive decided not to take her to the shop thinking i've narrowed down the issue.
so i put a whole can of seafoam in my gas tank on a half tank. it would barely start. the engine starts then misfires so bad that it shuts off. it happens a couple of times and then i have to rev the engine a little bit to keep it from stalling.
also, after putting seafoam in my gas tank , it resulted in the engine failing to go past ~2500-3000rpm in N,1st,2nd,3rd,4th,5th,Park too lol.
the car rocks back and forth and it is just a real heavy. so far symptoms have gotten worse.
my question, wouldn't this be the cause of a failed injector? i distinctly smell gas after trying to rev my car past 2500rpm. and if not, what could it be?

 

a bad coil
multi cyl misfire codes usually mean 1 bad coil, but the ecu is confused so it spits multiple codes

that would = unburnt fuel smell
Seafoam in tank did not cause this problem,,the existing issue got worse

do the coil ck by pulling the power lead at coil, 1 at a time, ck for minor rpm drop at idle
try revving 2000 and see if it runs bad
the cyl that doesnt change with power lead removed is the bad coil

Or buy 1 coil and start testing it on each listed cyl
do reset the ecu `by clock fuse removal` after each coil move
so it learns of that change and self test the system

 

you have the correct 8 dollar each, ngk plugs in it?

reckd all your work- connectors back on ?

 

its easy to damage a coil during plug change- set it down a little too hard and 6 months later,,,dead

 

hey 01tl4tl, thanks for your reply. well today i went and bought a coil pack and also 6 brand new ngk iridium plugs, and same problem. swapped around the coil from cylinder to cylinder while pulling the backup clock fuse every time. still has a very hard time starting up, wont get past exactly 3k rpms. - exact same problem
any other ideas?

 

update: found a hose underneath the throttle body that was leaking, so i just cut it shorter and put it back on and now she starts up normally and goes past 3k rpms, but engine is still having the same symptoms as my first original post with new plugs and coils

 

220000 miles and no valve job? Get the valves done, you've pretty much ruled out everything else.

 

not a valve job- a valve adjustment service
`job` usually means remove cylinder head to remove valves and resurface = after tbelt exploded and valves were bent from hitting pistons

ck out the egr system is clean thru the length of manifold again while doing that
top manifold asket not flipped over during install?

getting codes read after coil move? to tell if its really a coil prob at all?

 

My CEL and VSA lights and problems have been gone for 5 days now after cleaning the IACV, running seafoam through the tank and a direct injecting. Car runs great.

 

Hello acurazine, I came back to conclude my findings, took her to the shop last weekend to check her out. turns out there the psi in cylinders 2 and 4 are at a crazy 25psi in comparison to 100psi. reason being could be valves are cracked, bent, burnt, or all of the above. multiple mechs recommended a rebuilt or simply a junkyard engine. pretty soon instead of a 6cyl she will be a 4cyl. lol. thinking about saying bye to her =/

 

it's just too bad the previous owner did not take care of this car at all

 

normal comression is in the 150 range iirc
for sure 25 is bad and 100 isnt looking good
It COULD be valves are way out of adjustment,,several hours labor to find out
but in my experience,,doubt it will cure your prob
Whats the status on the timing belt and water pump job? done around 200-220 kmiles?
a used engine is a plan,,just do the intake manifold cleaning and tbelt-wp parts etc
so its good to go for several years for you
Seafoam the oil too

did the timing belt break/stretch so timing is off now? bent valves are immediate in that, and will cause it to run a little - with rpm limit called Limp Mode

None of the techs had a harbor freight tools 79$ boroscope camera to see inside the cyl? you can look directly at the valves from there

 

Once you have trashed one of these engines- dont bother to rebuild,,easier and cheaper to get another one and drop it in

Tech: We'll rip out that busted one and drop in a new one for you,,slam it out of here by 5 tomorrow Maam
Customer: Ahhh--could you just remove the old engine and install a new one please?
thannnnnks

 

when i had the same issue i ended up having two bad injectors and that was 8000 miles ago and no more CEL

 

just bought a tl and im getting random misfire codes but engine is running beautiful so im thinking ckps