Engine stuttering/ hesitation

[onebad323]

so i have a 2000 toyota camry 4cyl. with 50000 miles. it has recently had a wierd studder,only when the a/c is on. for instance sitting at a stop light it feels as if the compressor is kicking on but the car kind of jerks. upon start up with the a/c on and reversing it does it a few times also. its mainly when your stopped. oil has been changed, as well as spark plugs, and tranny fluid and filter. any ideas would greatly help. i'm thinking maybe the spark plug wires, but i had heard that they generally last long time. thanks in advance.

[Mercfan]

I came to this site looking for a resolution to the same exact problem that the OP is describing above... my mother has a 2000 Camry LE (4cyl) with same exact symptoms.

I've been told that it may be one of the following:
1) Fuel filter (does this car have one, dealer told my dad that it doesn't?!)
2) Vacuum leak somewhere
3) Throttle body valve sticking - I've cleaned with Sea Foam TB cleaner
4) Throttle Positioning Sensor (TPS)?!
5) EGR valve?!

THere have been no COdes detected by the guys at Advance Auto Parts... just not sure where to start troubleshooting. Help anyone, please.

[fenixus]

check your engine mounts. weak engine mounts can cause all sorts of vibrations and noise especially if other parts in front end are loose (check all bolts down there, there's a few problematic ones).

and to answer question in 2nd post, yes it does have a fuel filter (your dealer was dumb). Haynes recommends replacing the fuel filter every 30k miles.

Haynes calls for minor tune up (fuel filter, spark plugs and plug wires on i4) on these cars every 30k miles.

also you guys can try (on top of cleaning TB and IAC) running a strong fuel system cleaner through tank (Lucas, Gumout, Chevron Techron concentrate, Sea Foam, CRC Emissions formula, BK44, etc.).

5s-fe 4cylinders are known to become noisy with miles, lots of things get loose around the engine which is shaky even when new.

[Mercfan]

Originally Posted by fenixus

Haynes calls for minor tune up (fuel filter, spark plugs and plug wires on i4) on these cars every 30k miles.

Ok - sounds good - heading for a minor tuneup, fuel filter, spark plugs, wires. I wonder if there is a distributor cap on this motor...

And will also try the strong injector cleaners you've mentioned - heard good things about the Chevron brand so I'll try it if I can find it.

Many thanks - will report back.

[fenixus]

yup, that should help for sure.

gen4 (97-01) 5s-fe is a distributorless design, so don't worry about that part

one thing about cleaning the fuel system, if it has never been done yet, do it first BEFORE you replace the fuel filter. it will dislodge all sorts of crap which will become picked up by the fuel filter. you don't want to make the new one dirty.

and as per vacuum leaks, if your idling RPM in Park/Neutral gear is close to 700+/-50 (with ALL accessories OFF) then don't worry about it. vacuum leaks usually cause an abnormally high idling speed (e.g. like ~1,400) or so when they are significant (and you can hear the air hissing at source).

finding a minor vacuum leak is another story ... you don't wanna do that ... it takes forever to find that and sometimes you never find it.

edit:
ah and per plugs and wires. not to advertise anything, but NGK wires (TE58) are best option for 5s-fe, very cheap at amazon (~$27 shipped free last time I checked) or in local Advance Auto at ~$40+tax. not worth it go OEM/Denso on those, and stay away from Bosch wires, I tried 3 sets and all were garbage.

Plugs you could get either OEM (but not from dealer) long lasting up to 100k miles (Double Platinum with Platinum Ground) from Denso PK20TR11 or NGK equivalent Laser Platinum BKR6EKPB-11.

another option would be going for shorter lasting but much cheaper NGK Iridium-IX type (single ground, wears down much faster in this waste spark system).

Hope it helps!

[Mercfan]

Originally Posted by fenixus

Hope it helps!

You'd bet it does! Thx a lot

[Mercfan]

Where is the fuel filter located on this 4 cyl Camry?! In the engine bay or underneath somewhere?

[fenixus]

Originally Posted by Mercfan

Where is the fuel filter located on this 4 cyl Camry?! In the engine bay or underneath somewhere?

it's right under the intake air cleaner box (where you have air filter). you need to disconnect intake hose clamp on box side and put it aside a little, then unclip and unbolt the air cleaner box removing all electrical connectors (don't loose a square washer from tiny screw on side of top of cleaner box - 4cyl model has it).

once removed you will have easy (but not spacious) access to the fuel filter under it.

[Mercfan]

Originally Posted by fenixus

it's right under the intake air cleaner box (where you have air filter). you need to disconnect intake hose clamp on box side and put it aside a little, then unclip and unbolt the air cleaner box removing all electrical connectors (don't loose a square washer from tiny screw on side of top of cleaner box - 4cyl model has it).

once removed you will have easy (but not spacious) access to the fuel filter under it.

Amazing level of details and knowledge - much appreciated. James

P.S.
Cables, sparkplugs are on order from Amazon - great tips, thx!

[Mercfan]

Someone told me that it's acting like it has a problem with Idle Air Control Valve (gummed up and dirty) - possibility, given the symptoms?! Planning the tuneup first, of course...

[Mercfan]

Well, I dumped fresh can of Gumout into the fuel tank and filled up - drove it around... it started getting the shakes even worse.

Two nights ago the Check Engine Light came on - (P0300 and P0301) - cylinders mysfiring and Cyl 1 misfiring.

I already had the new fuel filter ready to go - so I proceeded with fuel filter replacement... wasn't too bad. Took it for a drive afterwards and it was worse The sputtering got worse and the initial hesitation was real bad.

Meanwhile the new sparkplugs and wires showed up in mail from Amazon - just in time. I replaced them this morning taking my time to do it right. Took it for a drive and it ran Great!!!! Like night and day - problem fixed. It was either the spark plugs or the wires or both - at any rate the car runs like the top.

It still has the CEL on... do I need to reset it manually?!

THx very much -
James

[fenixus]

grats! that's the spirit!

yeah, go ahead and on shut off car pull out the blue 15A fuse marked EFI from Main Fuse Box under hood on driver side. wait like 2 minutes and put it back in, start the car. CEL should be off if problem is gone.
ECU will re-learn in a few next days and run programmed check routines on all sub-systems.