Help!!!!!!!

[JHarris1385]

So I have only had my VX for a 9 days and already the CHECK ENGINE light came on. It had only been sitting in a parking lot all day while i was work. I turn it on it takes a while to fire up but does and displays the check engine light.....So i take it to AutoZone about 2 miles down the street. It drove great there but I have notice this tank of gas is getting me NO where. Im getting about 1/2 of what the previous tanks have gotten me (4) drove it back home 7 hours and went through three tanks, in one day. Although since i bought it it has taken roughly seven seconds of engine turning to finally start the engine....All I have done to the car so far is put gas treatment in the tank 3 out of the 4, and throughly washed it inside and out including power washing under the hood to wash dust away. And thats it.

Here is what was on the readout from the ODB gun;

po300 random
multiple cylinder misfire

possible cuases: ( that the young guy thought it could be)
camshaft position sensor
crankshaft position sensor
ignigition control module


PLEASE HELP, I NEED ALL opinions and whatever else you can give me. I plan on taking it to auto shop/dealership. But there is not any ISUZU ones around here at all. The guy at AutoZone did say it would be fine to drive for a bit all i would be experiecing is bad mpg.......

HELP ME out here.

Thanks,
JOHN ROBERT

[WiSDoM]

I had the same issue but I just changed the spark plugs, and that seemed to do the trick. I bought the Bosch Platinum +4 spark plugs. you can check the ignition coils too to see if they are broken. check the wires and the area that plugs into the spark plug.

[JHarris1385]

NOT to get away from all open sugesstions but i read that the spark pluggs are good for 100,000miles..

[Tone]

Try a better grade gas or even premium for the next tank or two. Driving with misfires or pinging can be extremely bad on the pistons as it creates a great deal of heat. You may have simply gotten a bad tank of gas. Yeah, they say platinum plugs will last 100k but I started changing mine every 20K or so. Some of the '00/01 VXes do not like the Plus4s and will throw a code.

[Ldub]

Try looking at issues related to "power washing under the hood".

[thedutchguy]

sounds like an egr issue.
Search for cleaning fixes on this forum.

[MSHardeman]

I've had the check engine light come on for a bad tank of gas, not tightening the gas cap down enough, clogged PCV valve, and driving up in altitude.

I recently had my EGR and PCV valves replaced and the hoses going to them cleaned out. Since I had this done I have gotten 20 more miles per tank of gas than I did before the clean. Give that a shot. Not too expensive, but well worth it.

[kpaske]

I'd look at the power washing as a possible culprit. Finding the offending droplets of water might be a challenge if that's what it is. I would look all around the ignition wires and spark plugs for condensation and try to dry it with a rag or even a blow dryer. I would also try to run the engine hot for about 10 or 15 minutes to see if you can dry it up that way.

I'm always very careful now whenever I spray my engines down as I've experienced a few weird problems due to sensors and wires getting wet. It's best to cover those parts with a plastic bag or something (making sure the engine compartment is completely cold!).

[JHarris1385]

Got great news. All of a sudden after about 30 seconds of driving it today the Check engine light went off.....Still though I want to be cuatious so this does not happen again....Do i need to take this to an ISUZU dealer or would most mechanics be able to check a problem out like this? The nearest ISUZU is a good 40minutes w/o traffic drive. The VX still does turn over a bit till starting though. Is this a fuel pump regulator?

[Ldub]

The usual symptom of the fuel pressure reg. giving problems is, It'll start just fine when the engine is cold...Then after you drive far enough to get the engine up to operating temp. & stop somewhere, It'll take a couple good cranks for it to fire up. Starts way harder than when cold.

[JHarris1385]

Actually it seems to do the opposite after sitting a long time it takes a while to fire up. I press the gas pedal to regulate and to keep the rpms at a contrant level after starting it for a bit. It turns over for about 7-10 seconds then fires up but the rpms bounce until i push the gas to regulate it. I also press the gas while turning the key becuase this seems to expidite the process. It fires up quicker after say i turn it off go into a store/gas station for about five minutes and come back out.

[JHarris1385]

Still getting the same code check Engine light is on almost everyday

Here is what was on the readout from the ODB gun;

po300 random
multiple cylinder misfire


symptoms.....rough start, i have to press the gas to get it to start
:::low mpg about 13 to be exact, was getting near 18::::dies while stopped sometimes::::

No shops want to service this. And I am not a mechanic:::need help

Thanks

[ScottinMA]

Last year during the winter I bought some STP dry gas for my wife's VW Passat. Shortly after putting the stuff into the engine I had bucking and stalling problems. I made it to a gas station and put in Premium fuel. It still stalled and bucked for the next 30 miles and I stopped to top off with more premium. After three fillups with premium the check engine light went off and the stalling stopped. No problems since. Moral of story....I'll never ever buy dry gas again. Disclaimer...for engines built after 2001 from Germany! But I'm very hesitant to consider an additive to the fuel of a VX after that experience.

[Jolly Roger VX'er]

I did some searching for you and found this tidbit ;)

I'd start with this first as it should be something you could do yourself or the local yokels should be able to change out plugs.


At around 64,000 miles mine got a code that said "random misfire" I just did what I can do and changed the spark plugs first. Sure enough I haven't had a problem since. Just something cheap that might work. I had problems with the back right one but it was easily done myself with lots of little extensions. You have to fit them together inside hole to spark plug and then take them apart by using a screw driver down in there to pry extensions apart.

I am supercharged and that is the reason the back right one was difficult.

[Tobert]

Cheap? Denso Iridium's are $14/ea. at my local Autozone! I think I saw that there are some cheaper (champion?) iridium plugs on the market now. I just did mine yesterday in about 30 minutes.

My CEL is still on, but it runs better. At 102,000 miles, it probably needs an O2 sensor too - the old plugs were bright white. Time to reset and get the codes read :)

By the way, whoever suggested the camshaft or crank sensor is bad is probably wrong. Those hall effect sensors /usually/ either work or they don't. They don't get out of adjustment or anything silly like that.

Have you checked all 6 coils' impedance? The shop manual should tell you how to test them with a cheap multimeter. I think Autozone sells one for around $25 that would work great. It's pretty easy even if you're not a mechanic or electrician. If the shop manual doesn't say, search the 'net for instructions on testing coils. The VX coils aren't all that different, just smaller.

[Dare2Dream]

I'd certainly first check the spark plugs and all the wiring going to them etc. That is the most logical way to proceed imho for a multiple cylinder misfire code.

[MoonRaker]

Its your FPR. its stuck on high pressure. Replace it.