Ford - Escort :: 1999 - Rough Start / Couple Of Hiccups But Runs And Idles Fine


Jan 5, 2012

I have a 1999 Ford Escort SE wagon with 112k miles on it. Last week when leaving work my car started very rough. This was unusual so I killed and restarted the car about three times before letting it run it's course (~30 seconds), after which the car ran fine. About a week later on my way to work the car seemed to 'sputter' (for lack of a better word) when I pushed down on the petal looking for some power on two separate occasions. On each side of the sputters the car seemed to respond fine, but when it did sputter there was a severe lack of power. I got to and from work just fine, but while letting the car idle in the parking spot of my apartment for a minute before shutting off the engine the check engine light finally came on. The following morning the car again started rough (as if it were misfiring/running on 3 of 4 cylinders) and this time it took a good minute before smoothing out. However, after the car smoothed out I experienced no issues on the way to work, no sputtering, no loss of power, nothing. Doing some initial online research I feel that the problem may be one (or more) of the following:

-Fuel pump
-Vacuum lines
-O2 Sensor
-Spark plugs (they are original)
-Fuel Filter (it is actually past due for replacement)

I plan on getting this checked out ASAP, but that still may be 2ish weeks away with my schedule. Some similar reports say that I may be having a 'lean mixture' issue (not getting enough fuel), but I haven't had the time to check the code. My question is, how "safe" is it to continue driving my car with the current situation? Is it at a super high risk of failure/random stalling during rush hour? Will it cause any damage to the engine if there is a cylinder misfire upon start up? I was also wondering if the car would be reasonably reliable to drive on a ~400 mile road trip on an upcoming weekend, but I am making plans as if it is not.

Additional Details:-Tried charging the fuel lines (car to 'ON' then 'OFF' position 3-4 times), had no effect on the morning start-up-Commute to/from work is about 20 miles

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Ford 7.3L Power Stroke (1999-2003) :: 2000 F350 Idles Fine But Runs Rough After Warms Up A Little

2000 F350. Starts great. Idles fine. After it warms up a little, it will run rough and lose power like it is only hitting on a few cylinders. It will eventually stall unless I push the clutch in and bring it back to idle and then it smooths back out. I figured it was starving for fuel but I can rev it with the clutch in with no issue. I ran it up to 2500 rpm and held it there with the clutch in and ran perfect.

I let the clutch out and start rolling....missing again. The check engine light does come on but my scanner says that there are no codes stored. If I idle it, it will smooth out, and the light goes off. All I have done so far was change the fuel filter which was almost plugged shut and the housing was full of rust looking debris which I cleaned out. BINGO! Nope. Same issue.

I am really at a loss as to where to start. I bought this with 120k on it and it now has 170k and I have not had to do anything other than routine maintenance.

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The car idles rough on cold mornings but runs fine. It will stall while idling but starts back easily. I am getting a 1131 and a 1151 code with my scanner along with 0300 and lean bank 1 codes. I started having these problems after I had to remove the upper intake to replace coil packs. I was getting egr code and had an egr port completely block off but cleaned that out and no longer get the egr codes. Spraying carb cleaner around the engine I get a very slight bump in rpm around a couple of the intake ports could that be my problem or should I look deeper?

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I have a 1999 ford escort 4 door sedan, when the car is cold I can get it to start and it will run just fine, after it starts to warm up, it starts to make a misfire/ sputtering noise when it is starting to die when idling. when I am driving it, there are no signs it is going to die.

I took it to the ford dealership today and they said that I need to replace the fuel pump, and the relay control module.

I just replaced the fuel pump a week ago because I thought that was the problem. So I am thinking it is the Relay Control Module- only problem is I don't know where it is located, where it is?

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This problem has been getting worse over the last 2 years. When the car starts it idles fine at about 1000 RPM. As soon as it warms up, it starts to idle rough, between 500 and 750 RPM. It almost quits running. As soon as you give the car some gas it runs just fine. About 3 weeks ago I got a "Engine Lean" check engine light error. I reset the system and have not gotten the error again. Since then I have: changed the MAF cleaned the EGR (made sure it closes completely and ohm out the coils in the actuator) changed the O2 meter on the exhaust manifold cleaned out the throttle body Ohmed out the air idle controller. What I should check next. I was planning to check the fuel pressure in case it is a fuel system problem. It is a 1999 ....

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Civic - Honda :: 1996 - Rough Start But Runs Fine After That?

96 civic 120K miles, stock, automatic.

In March I was running low on fuel, maybe 1 gallon left in the tank. It took a few cranks and on the last try i gave it a little gas and it started, albeit very rocky for about 1 minute of driving, filled up immediately and 2 freeway miles later, no real issues. I live in LA so very low ambient temperature is not a problem.

April through May, starting was a little rocky, it was inconsistently rocky too, sometimes there was no problem. Usually it's weak, stuttering, sometimes just cranking but I seem to get it to start. I stopped giving the pedal gas because I read that's bad (I own a vintage bike, so it's news to me). I don't drive that far and figured I'd try some Seafoam and some freeway miles would clean out any debris. Worked for that tank a bit for the next tank before the problem came back.

Still getting the rough starts, but now when I give the car gas as I pull out sometimes it doesn't accelerate for 15-30 seconds, maybe 25 yards then it drive like normal. No dying at all but getting worse with starting up.

I've tried turning the key (not turning the engine over) 5 times and cranking on the 6th and it seems to work. I thought maybe it's the fuel pump or fuel filter but read it could be an ignition coil/ spark plug/ spark plug wire issue. Two different ball games.

My MPG is not really droppingI had a new fuel filter put in in February as routine maintenance (thing was on so tight had to bring it to a shop so no rookie mistakes there). Timing belt &water pump replaced 6,000 miles ago

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1995 Mazda Protege1.5 LAuto153K miles.

My car was running fine, then one day it started sputtering while driving, mostly when I accelerated. It stalled and I could not get it started. This happened on a day when it was raining hard, but not sure that had anything to do with it. A few days later when I went to pick the car up it started right up, it had stopped raining and been dry for 2 days prior. But about a mile into the drive back home it stalled and I could not get it started.

Here is what I have tested so far.

- Put in new fuel filter.
- Tested the fuel pressure and pressure regulator
- Tested the injectors with a noid light.
- Tested that the spark plugs were producing a spark.

After I pulled the plugs and cleaned and dried them (they were wet with gas) the car started, but I think not because of anything really related to the plugs. What I've noticed is that when cranking the engine if I give it gas it will not start but if I keep off the throttle it will reluctantly start. But once it starts the idle is smooth and as it should be. Then if I give it any gas it immediately stalls. It seems to me given these symptoms that it is getting enough air to idle but not enough air to match the increased gas.

The only CEL code that I'm getting (which I had before this issue occurred) is the "closed throttle position switch" (I forget the number). If it was an MAF, or IAC, or EGR issue would I not get a code? What this could be and how to test it. Again my guess is its an air intake issue but not sure where.

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I recently replaced the plugs cuz I had a rough idle all the time. During plug change when I discovered they had already been changed I found one that had a burned off electrode. Does this mean a lean condition exists?

After plug change it runs smoothly but only after 10 min warmup in our canadian winters. I can drive it when its not warm but seems to have less than full power and idles very badly after driving w/o proper warmup.

Next I changed fuel filter and checked fpdm, it was a little rusty but not bad so i just mounted it 1/4 off steel to prevent further rusting.

Since then I have installed a programmer [diablosport] but found no codes since i had battery disconnected for filter change. no new codes in last few weeks since.

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I have a 99 F350 with a V10. I just replaced all the spark plugs and a bad coil which solved the very bad misfire I had going on. I also just changed the fuel pump and fuel filter.

When I start the truck, it idles just fine, nice and smooth. After sitting there for a short bit, maybe a couple minutes, it starts to idle rough, not so rough that it's about to shut off, just a little rough. This lasts maybe a minute and then goes back to nice and smooth and stays that way.

I've thought maybe the EGR valve or Idle air control valve but I'm not sure if I'm way off or sort of close.

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Just recently my Prius Taxi with 340,000+Km has developed a little problem,it starts fine but after 20-30 seconds it begins to feel like it's not running properly on all four cylinders,if i go to the exhaust pipe it seems like it's spluttering slightly.

Yesterday I changed the plugs,checked air filter and all connections,everything fine, when I accelerate it feels hesitant but after the car gets up to temp it seems to go away,it only happens when i start it first thing or if it's been left for a few hours, it's never had the throttle body cleaned and I'm wondering if what I'm describing is a symptom of this?

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Have a 2001 Civic DX, Manual Transmission, 228K miles. 1.7L SOHC.

Recently changed front motor mount and timing belt on the same day.

I noticed the car running rough and is only rough at certain RPM. Here are the rpm ranges it runs rough, 700rpm which is idle, 2200-2400rpm and 3400rpm approximately. It idles at 700rpm which I believe is the idle rpm on my car, so thinking my timing is not off. One more thing I noticed is if I have AC on and reving down in rpm it sounds like it is about to shutoff (never shuts off) and get a stronger vibration and same thing when I turn the AC on at idle. With ac on my rpm are 720rpm give and take a few. I been driving with above symptom for 300mi+ so far, even got it upto 95mph, don't know if it is an indication of anything. Got new spark plugs installed at 220K miles.

Could it be the motor mount or my harmonic balancer is out of balance. I did have to use 3/4" impact wrench to knock the harmonic balancer bolt loose. It is a little rusty given I got 228K miles on it.

I am just dreading the thought of my timing being off by a tooth, me and my friend checked the timing marks per oem manual, he checked the cam shaft pulley marks and I did the crankshaft. When we installed the timing belt I only turned the engine counter clockwise so I would not cause a problem with timing belt slack. My AC belt may be a little too tight as well.

The motor mount I put in was an aftermarket one that I bought from amazon. But I have put in aftermarket mount before on the same car and never had anything like this. I am planning to loosen the motor mount, shake the engine, tighten them back up and see if it makes a difference. May be the engine is not seated properly.

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2001 VR6 GTI....

Already done:

Replaced the coil pack and plugs

Measured resistance of plug wires (all at about 6K Ohm)

Replaced front O2 sensor

Replaced purge solenoid valve

Replaced coolant temp sensor

Replaced fuel filter

Replaced fuel pressure regulator

Replaced MAF sensor

Cleaned the throttle body

Cleaned the throttle position sensor

Ran a tank of seafoam treatment (injectors were new 6 mos ago.)

Checked running voltage of battery

It was smoking and stinking bad with a rich mixture. It improved with the MAF change but still runs like a farm tractor. Now it idles on 3 or 4 cylinders, runs rough through 3000 RPM then runs cleaner at above 3000 RPM, but only at light throttle. CEL is either on or flashing when driving.

Don't know what to do next - nice car not fun to drive like this. What this could be and how to test it?

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1) there is no coolant; and
2) there is no oil (actually just EXTREMELY low on both).

So, I do what any good Soldier does, I push the truck all the way back home (downhill mostly), buy 5 quarts of oil and a jug of 50/50 coolant, fill up both and try to start the engine.

The last time it ran out of oil (small leak on a seal that I didn't know about) in 2006, all I had to do was fill the oil, turn the key, and press the gas until it kicked over (don't judge me, I was a dumb LT). I did this again this time (now, I am a dumb CPT) but now it: 1) idles very rough; and 2) won't start unless I press down on the gas when I turn the key. There is no gauge light when it does this. I read the thread on the UVCH, but I am concerned I might have done something horrible to my truck.

2003 Ford F-350 7.3L

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