1997 V6 Camry - Misfire Issues - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

rsroark · 11-23-2011, 03:29 PM

Recently had an issue where my car started idling rough. Would have about half power as well. Then it went away. Came back a week later. Went away. Same pattern - would show up then go away. Took it to the Toyota shop and cylinders 3 and 6 showeda misfire. P0300, P0303 and one other code. Cleared codes. Issue wouldn'r show up while it was in the shop. Well, about a week later it came back and happened a bit more frequently. Toyota replaced the coil pack. Problem went away for about 2 weeks and is back now. I have found a pattern. The car is fine in the morning. I have to drive it for a while before the symptoms reappear. I drove to work this morning - it was fine. Went out about 10:00 AM and drove it around the block a few times. Still fine. Went home for lunch stopped on the way by the grocery store and when I started the car BAM, problem appears. This is the pattern now - the car is fine in the morning but after it is driven some the issue comes back. The Check Engine Light will flash off and on, then stay on. Sometimes if I continue to drive the issue goes away after about 3-5 minutes. Sometimes it doesn't. Again the symptoms are rough idle, poor power and almost hesitation. Have already replaced the coil pack. Mechanic mentioned the next time it does it bring it by while it is having the issue and he will run the code check again. Mentioned it would be wiring or the computer or stuck injector. If it was the injector I would think only one cylinder would show misfire? Very weird issue. Any ideas ot thoughts on this one?

Scott O'Kashan · 11-23-2011, 03:49 PM

How many miles are on your Camry? If it is approaching 100,000 miles, the spark plug wires most likely are the culprit and need replacing.

rsroark · 11-23-2011, 03:53 PM

It has 196k. And I probably should have mentioned this too. I had all the wires replaced this past March. Had a coil pack go out then and replaced the coil pack and all the wires.

Plugs were replaced about 150k. The mechanic said he pulled the plugs in both those cylinders and they looked fine.

Scott O'Kashan · 11-23-2011, 03:57 PM

Are they Toyota brand spark plug wires, or...? What brand of spark plugs were used?

If by chance with this engine the #3 and #6 cylinders are next to each other, the engine could possibly have a head gasket beginning to fail, with coolant starting to get into those cylinders and causing the misfires.

rsroark · 11-23-2011, 04:01 PM

They were factory plugs and wires.

What is odd is that it is fine in the mornings and then it acts up later on but sometimes after it acts up for a while it goes away. It isn't like once it acts up it doesn't stop. Also, it does seem to trigger when started. Rarely does it do it while in the middle of driving. It will happen after the car is turned off then back on later. Weird. And annoying.