94 5SFE Dies at Warm Idle, Fine at High RPM

[hoyota]

I have a 1994 Camry Coupe 5SFE
No real modifications, other than a stereo and a CAI

Lately, my car has been running rough. I can hear it misfire a few times every drive, and it dies whenever I come to a stop, but only after it has warmed up. It also dies when I slow down quickly from 55mph.

If I try to start the car again, it will start if it's in neutral, but then after i shift it into Drive, it dies again.

I have cleaned out the intake manifold, taken off the throttle body and cleaned it, neither of these things have worked. My check engine light doesn't come on except after the engine dies.

I took the car to my trusted shop, and they changed the Throttle Position Sensor, but that didn't help. They told me not to bring the car back to them.

The car runs fine at highway speeds, but dies at anything under 25mph, or when it down shifts when coming to a stop. I still get the same gas mileage as before (a not impressive 21mpg).

Anyone have any ideas? I would guess its a sensor, but I have no idea where to start.

[Camry LE 94]

any 'trusted' shop that tells you not to bring your car back to them doesn't deserve to be in business. they obviously suck.

anyway, something similar was happening to me recently. i discovered it was a vacuum leak connecting the EGR valve to something electrical mounted on the firewall, which ultimately fixed the problem.

with your car running, open the hood and listen closely for abnormal air hose leak noises.

[Mike Gerber]

Sounds like a dirty idle air control valve. Cleaning it may solve the problem. When you cleaned the throttle body did you spray the cleaner libberally down in to the square or diamond shaped hole in the base of the throttle body? That hole leads to the idle air control valve. I usually recommend spraying the cleaner liberally down in to that hole and letting it soak, while you go on to clean the rest of the throttle body. Here's a link on cleaning the throttle body that clearly shows the hole:

How to: Cleaning Throttle Body -4 Cylinder Engines- With Pictures

You mentioned missfire. Actual missfires on the other hand are usually caused by faulty igniton system components; spark plugs, spark plug wires, distributor cap and rotor, and also coil inside the distributor on your 94 5SFE engine.

Mike

[CamryWilly]

Did you check for a squirrel nest in the airbox

Worked for me!

[95PimpingCamry]

A few years ago I had a problem that when my 5S-FE had warmed up, and only after it had warmed up, it would die if the RPMs dropped below 1k. The problem turned out to be my ignition coil, and was an easy $35 fix.

[JohnGD]

Well, it could be the infamous idle air control valve acting up again. If that's the case, gently step on the gas should solve that problem beacuse you open up the throttle plate.

If you managed to get the RPM to say, 800-1000, and still have very rough running, then I'd suspect EGR valve. If so, unplug the hose to the EGR valve. Does it solve the problem? Second, gently tap on the valve in case it's sticking but don't whack it too hard. Does this solve the problem?

Set parking brake and be careful of moving engine parts.

Originally Posted by hoyota

Lately, my car has been running rough. I can hear it misfire a few times every drive, and it dies whenever I come to a stop, but only after it has warmed up. It also dies when I slow down quickly from 55mph.

If I try to start the car again, it will start if it's in neutral, but then after i shift it into Drive, it dies again.

I have cleaned out the intake manifold, taken off the throttle body and cleaned it, neither of these things have worked. My check engine light doesn't come on except after the engine dies.

I took the car to my trusted shop, and they changed the Throttle Position Sensor, but that didn't help. They told me not to bring the car back to them.

The car runs fine at highway speeds, but dies at anything under 25mph, or when it down shifts when coming to a stop. I still get the same gas mileage as before (a not impressive 21mpg).

Anyone have any ideas? I would guess its a sensor, but I have no idea where to start.

[JohnGD]

I shop that misdiagnosed the problem and charge you probably some good money for a throttle position sensor, and then tell you to disappear, shouldn't be called "trusted" any more.

Originally Posted by hoyota

I took the car to my trusted shop, and they changed the Throttle Position Sensor, but that didn't help. They told me not to bring the car back to them.