steveng05

ok so i've got a slight skip (randomly) while driving. i cant pinpoint it to any specific situation other than it seems to take place in the first 3 gears as best i can tell. it doesnt matter whether the engine is warm or not. i've replaced plugs and coil packs. no change with the skipping. i've also done searches, but i havent seen where anyone else has had this type of problem. any ideas or suggestions?

polobunny

What do you mean by skip? Does your RPM dip? Is it a transmission slip? Do you mean your tires lose traction?

steveng05

sorry, no transmission or tire skipping, its something in the engine. its so slight it almost feels like a shaking or slight vibration and once I give it more or less gas the skipping usually goes away. similar to when a plug is going bad, but with new plugs and new coil packs the skipping/shaking has remained the same. its also been going on for over a year now. it doesn't seem to be any better or worse...

polobunny

So more of a "shudder" as if it shook a bit because of a misfire? That can be a lot of things. When it happens and if you're able to, check your RPM to see if you see an abnormal dip.

I imagine your check engine light isn't on? Have you been able to check your car for any codes? They sell cheap OBDII readers or I believe some places can read them for free/cheap in the US (can't tell you where, others might chime in) and that way you can scan for any codes and make it easier to diagnose if any code is present.

Also you say you changed the sparks plugs and coil packs, but are you sure the wires/lead that go to the spark plugs are doing their job? It's one of these stupid thing that bites you in the ass sometimes. An inline spark plug tester is cheap and will tell you if your spark plugs & leads are properly working.

On a bigger level, it could also mean that fuel isn't being delivered properly to your engine. Injectors and fuel pump come to mind.
This is harder to diagnose yourself, but look out for uneven idle RPM (it should be steady), bad/worse MPG, strong fuel smells emanating from under the hood. This can be related to dirty, clogged and malfunctioning injector(s). You can listen to them using an engine stethoscope if you know what to listen to and more easily you can visually inspect them to see if anything looks wrong with them. It's a 15 minutes thing to dismantle the fuel rail and check them out.

Fuel pump would need a pressure and flow test, nothing you can really do yourself.

If it makes a clunking sound, it also might be a motor mount or transmission mount. You can check the motor for excessive vibration with someone revving the engine moderately quickly and looking under the hood. Stay safe, parking brake and everything obviously.

That's what I can think of right now without more details.

steveng05

awesome! i really appeciate the help. you are correct that no check engine light has come on which perplexes me even more. ive thought about injectors and run sea foam through a few different times since it started (still no change). i thought the fuel filter would have gotten worse over time, but this is a simple fix that i could do just to rule it out as an issue....i'll check the simpler things first and go from there.

thanks again!

polobunny

Definitely start with the simple things such as visual inspection of the components.
You changed the spark plugs, how long ago did you do that? If it's a while ago you can check the spark plugs to see if they're dirty (or only one is) which would indicate a problem to that. Obviously if it's been a few days, chances are it's gonna look pretty clean.

Injectors you can inspect visually too. Make sure you wear gloves and have shop towels since you're dealing with fuel. Check for any crack, rust, debris. Sea foam is pretty good at cleaning residue but cannot magically dissolve hard debris. I've once worked on a car that had a freaking grain of sand stuck in one...

Not having any CEL is surprising but it happens "often enough".
Something else that comes to mind is electricity delivery. If you have a multimeter, check the battery and alternator to make sure both deliver proper voltage. Seems stupid but if it's juuuuust on the threshold of not being enough it might cause weird issues like that. Happens often when winter comes when it gets colder and since I don't know where you're from...