Hi All, I am trying to determine the cause of what started out as a misfire on cylinder 2. On an unusually warm day, I noticed severe shuddering when the ICE engaged, although it went away after staying on for a few seconds. Closer to the end of my drive when getting off the freeway, the CEL started flashing. Luckily I’m just a few blocks away from the freeway, so I stopped in front of the house. Code reader showed a misfire on cylinder 2. Great, replaced the plugs for all four cylinders and started it back up. Severe shuddering continues, so I check the coils are seated and start it back up in maintenance mode. White smoke starts pouring out of exhaust (does not smell noticeably sweet). I drive it around the neighborhood and park it again. Smoke has dissipated and the car sounds OK idling. Another drive results in severe shuddering. No code is thrown yet. I pull the brand new plug and it is covered in what I believe to be oil, but I suppose it could be another substance. Coolant reservoir is lower than it should be but not dry. What do you think the issue may be? Anything else I should be testing?
Adding to my post, I also tried swapping coils #2 and #4. The plug in number 4 stayed pristine after driving.
Head gasket. Incomplete/poor combustion can look oily on the plug. Luckily, this one is a slow death so "congrats".
196k miles. Is the consensus that this repair is painful, but not worth scrapping the car? As this is beyond my capability, I’m fearful of what the mechanic is going to charge
Thank you for the answer. I appreciate the time you saved me hunting around for an easier fix... just wish I read this before installing a new fuel injector
You may want to see about a JDAM engine imported from Japan with low miles..... they usually sell for under $1500 and have low miles. I wouldn't spend to much on a engine with close to 200,000 miles. You are very close to the Traction Battery going out.....and that's $1600 if you do it yourself. These cars are not a camry............ good on gas but that's about it.
Do you have contact information for these folks? Do you roughly how much they charge? Googling doesn’t pull up much other than videos. Thank you!
Thank you @Raytheeagle @rjparker for mentioning GasketMasters. Car is now running trouble-free for less than $2,000.
