Car sputters and shakes below 1500 rpms especially

ANSWER : There is a common problem with this specific year and engine of VW TDI’s. The camshaft material is not hardened enough, which leads to abnormal wear of the lobes and damage to the lifters. The fuel injectors are also controlled by the camshaft, so it affects the opening of the injectors as well. A worn camshaft will not always set a check engine light, so based on the symptoms you described, I think it’s very likely that this is your problem. A qualified technician, such as one from YourMechanic, should inspect your camshaft to diagnose the rough running issue.

ANSWER : Hi there. What had happened is the wrong key set the security to the vehicle. This is to prevent the vehicle from starting with the wrong keys. Try removing the battery cables (+) and (-) for 13 minutes. During that time, put the original key in the ignition and turn it on. Activate everything in the car even though there is no power. Then remove the key and hook up the battery cables. The computer should have reset and reset the security. If the security is still being tripped, then I recommend seeking out a professional, such as one from Your Mechanic, to help you

ANSWER : In some cases, an OBD-II code like you’ve described can be triggered by the electrical harness attached to a sensor. So, it’s possible that the reason you’re having this idle problem is due to the harness being faulty as opposed to the O2 sensors themselves. Try replacing the electrical attachments from the sensors to the ECU and see if that clears things up. If not, you’ll most likely want to have a professional mechanic complete a detailed check engine light inspection to pinpoint the source of the problem.

ANSWER : It is very possible that you have a valve cover gasket or spark plug tube seal leak on your vehicle. These type of leaks will allow oil to leak onto the spark plugs causing misfires. When the engine misfires due to oil getting on the spark plug, the engine oil will burn. Since oil and tires are both petroleum products, they will both smell similar when they are burning. I would recommend having an oil leak inspection performed by a qualified professional to determine if there is an oil leak. Consider YourMechanic as an Oil/Fluid leak inspection can be peformed at your home or office.

ANSWER : If the shaking is occurring with the car stationary, that would not involve the wheels or driveshaft, although it could implicate the torque converter. A shaking engine diagnostic would start with the motor mounts. If those are judged solid (there are tests), one should assess the mechanical condition of the engine by checking cylinder compression.

The reason for that is if cylinder compression varies too much, that variance alone can account for this symptom. If the cylinder compression is too low or varies too much from high reading cylinder to low reading cylinder, one would then try to rule out easily repairable items like a mispositioned timing belt or chain. Of course, if compression issues are traced to valve train problems, the heads have to be serviced.

Other potential causes of the vibration are a broken harmonic balancer, engine ignition timing being off, and flexplate and/or torque converter damage or imbalance. Prior to getting involved with diagnosing an imbalance in something as hidden as the torque converter, though, the engine should be put on a scope to determine if there is something going on in individual cylinder firing conditions that would account for the vibration. Varying power output from individual cylinders, due to possible fuel and ignition system problems, obviously will cause vibration: you could have a bad coil, plug, injector, and so forth. A scope makes that diagnostic easy.

I recommend having a certified mechanic, such as one from YourMechanic, come to your location to determine why the engine is shaking and suggest any necessary repairs.

ANSWER : Prior to buying any car, drive the car around and listen for any noises. Then do an inspection on the vehicle to make sure that it is safe to drive. All cars will need maintenance, but if the car was kept up, then the maintenance should be to a minimum.

ANSWER : Hello, thanks for writing in about your Chrysler Voyager. The shift RPMs will be higher if you are further down on the throttle on faster acceleration. Shifting between 2000 and 3000 is normal.

ANSWER : Shaking with the a/c on can be caused by a number of reasons. The a/c compressor puts a lot of strain on the engine because the compressor is similar to being a small engine itself. When the a/c is switched on, the engine control unit should trigger components such as the idle speed/air control motor, to increase the idle slightly to compensate for the extra drag of the compressor. If that does not happen, then the additional drag can cause a low,shaky idle and even cause the engine to stall. Stalling can happen more often with the a/c on and turning the steering wheel as the power steering pump also creates drag on the engine. Excessive shaking can also be attributed to weak/broken motor mounts as well.

Have a certified technician look into the engine shake to isolate the exact cause.