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I have a 1999 Nissan Pathfinder with about 160,000 miles. Recently the check engine light came on and when I start the car, it will idle pretty rough. Enough so, that it feels like it wants to turn off. Any idea what this might be?
Could be a lot of things, but I'd start with vacuum leak, as in air getting in after the MAF or throttle body. You can get the codes read for free and that will give you a startingpoint as to where to look (like if there's a misfire, or a lean condition)
You can buy a cheap code reader on Amazon or ebay for around $15/20 bucks. Use that to get you the error code. Then google it to see what the problem is.
I normally would suggest going to Auto Zone or a place like that and get the code read for free, but I think I read that, they do not do that in California.
Someone getting a CEL and then asking for hypothesis without pulling the error codes is basically asking to spend a bunch of money replacing things that aren't broken. Pull the codes to narrow your list of possible issues and start from there.
Autozone does it for free sometimes, or buy a cheap code reader.
There is OBD1 and OBD2, make sure you get the right one, I believe 99is OBD 2. You hook it up, it gives you the code, google the code and/or your cars make, and browse the results, and you'll get a good idea. If its a recurring problem with your car, it will be mentioned over and over in the forums.
The rough idle could be a few things, such as vacuum leak which is harder to find imo, MAF sensor, and injector, spark plug, etc.
You'll need a few hours of research to do it yourself, or take it to a shop. Spark plugs/injector isn't too hard to diagnose, IIRC, disconnect the connections, if the car gets worse or wants to stall, plug it back in and move around, if there is no change, then that is the problem, or one of hte problems
Get an OBD-II blue tooth dongle ($15) and use Torque (free from Pirate Bay)on your smartphone.
Could be fuel filter or wires.
160k, do you know when the plugs and wires were changed last? If you don't know, or you know that they haven't been, that could be [part of] the problem, especially if the problem gets worse when the weather is damp/humid/wet.
CEL may come on when misfiring is detected, but you'll need to read the codes to know for sure.
Something wonky in the crank sensor circuit could cause it too (but usually, if that goes bad it will just die completely). This doesn't negate the other possibilities, it's just one more.
Autozone and O'Reilly both have code readers that you can use for free. That will tell you if it's something simple. If you take it to a shop they are going to charge you at least $80 just to read the code.
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