random cylinder misfire?

[sssgood]

So I was driving yesterday and ALL OF A SUDDEN, my engine checklight comes one..... so I took i to autovalue to get it checked, and it says random cylinder misfire, and the guy was like time for you to get a tune up (sparkplugs and stuff), but wtf I got a tune up last august, those sparkplugs only ran like 5000miles!!! but I did do seafoam about a month ago could that be the cause, or is it something else other than "tune up", o and my engine sounds healthy too... ?_?

[73sport]

OK - so tell us more. What engine, how many miles and any other history of faults or repairs?
Many things can cause the issue you explain. One a list of fuel deliver issues and the other ignition issues. Some failures vary by engine type so this information can open some doors and close others. Example a bad coil on a 4cyl can cause random misfire while a bad coil on a 6cyl will be very specific. Fuel issues can be divided too and age is a will play factor most often.

Where, when, how often, does consistently do it (hot/cold), ect. . . Tell us more and I'm sure someone will chime in.

[sssgood]

Originally Posted by 73sport

OK - so tell us more. What engine, how many miles and any other history of faults or repairs?
Many things can cause the issue you explain. One a list of fuel deliver issues and the other ignition issues. Some failures vary by engine type so this information can open some doors and close others. Example a bad coil on a 4cyl can cause random misfire while a bad coil on a 6cyl will be very specific. Fuel issues can be divided too and age is a will play factor most often.

Where, when, how often, does consistently do it (hot/cold), ect. . . Tell us more and I'm sure someone will chime in.

um its a 1995 camry v6, so 1mzfe, with 127miles, it actually doesn't have any bad history, except when I changed the spark plugs, those spark plugs were really bad, is what my mechanic told me, and i also felt the difference in power after driving too. but I didn't change wires that go to the sparkplugs, cuz when i went to the parts store, they told me I have a boot system and they never go bad? and ya I can't tell if the engine is misfiring (how can I?), but the light came on when it was like -2 degrees celcius........my car faced -35 without any problem =/

[sssgood]

ok, so its a random misfire in cylinder 1, 3, and 5. so I was wondering if I can dyi the tune up? like what parts do I have to change, i know spark plugs would be one of em (by the way which ones are the best ones ie: nkj iridium?), but what else?

[73sport]

I elected not to use NGK IR as the tip was long and skinny. I thought it could run hotter and lead to pre-ignition (a design difference). I went with the steeper priced Denso's. On that topic, when is the last time the plugs were changed and does the car consume oil?

My first vote is to pull the plugs and look them over. You say, #1, #3, #5. Those are all on bank1 towards the rear of the car. Did you get P0300 or several 0301, 0303, 0305's from Freeze Frame data? How did you conclude "random" and specifically state 1, 3, 5?

You could need plugs.
You could have an O2 sensor on that same bank causing a lean condition, but not so bad as to say "a bad O2 sensor by the ECM". Has it (them) ever been replaced?

Do the basics, fuel filter, air filter, plugs and tell us what the plugs look like. Note you'll need 1", 2", 4", and 6" extension with a 5/8 sparkplug socket to get the rear plugs out. A 10mm to remove the coils. Let us know what you find and how many miles since the last plug change too?