car jerks when idling/ check engine light flashes

[L.Lawliet]

As I was driving home today (1997 Toyota Corolla), whenever I idled at a traffic light, my car would suddenly start jerking gently. When I would actually be moving, the car wouldn't jerk but I noticed a slight loss of power. As I got closer and closer to home, I noticed the check engine light came on and every so often would flash for about 20-30 seconds, and every time I was idling at a traffic light, the jerking would start again, and I started noticing a sort of burning smell, like one might smell after a tire peels out (so, burning rubber kind of).

After I got home I popped the hood and noticed my coolant levels were starting to get low (but weren't at the "Low" line yet). My car's temperature is reading normal, leaning slightly towards cool, but I know some car issues can trick the temp gauge.Also, I know that the fluid levels wouldn't make the check engine light come on, I'm just trying to include as many details as possible.

[pdq]

Flashing CEL often means one or more cylinders are misfiring. I'd go to Autozone/Advance auto and they can pull the exact codes for you for free.

If it is a misfire, the most common candidates are spark plugs/wires or distributor.

[ganda1f]

Auto or manual transmission? If auto trans, were you in 'Drive' or 'Neutral' at the lights? Jerking as in the car wants to move or just the engine running rough?

+1 on misfire in some cylinder. Getting the trouble code will tell you. You will need a scanner though, since it is a 1997 and thus OBD2 computer.
Probably one of these codes:
P0300 Random/Multiple Cylinder Misfire Detected
P0301 Cylinder #1 — Misfire Detected
P0302 Cylinder #2 — Misfire Detected
P0303 Cylinder #3 — Misfire Detected
P0304 Cylinder #4 — Misfire Detected

It does not explain the burning smell, but getting the codes is essential if you cannot see an obvious cause of the problem. Burnt/melted cables, etc.

Coolant level is all right. It changes with temperature and is supposed to be somewhere between Low and Full marks.

[L.Lawliet]

Automatic, and the jerking is a little hard to describe.. didn't feel like it was wanting to go, more just whole car shaking, like the engine running rough. Thought it was the bass from the van next to me at first but no such luck. My closest autozone is a couple of miles away and with the flashing CEL, I'm afraid to drive it and cause more damage - a lot can happen in just one mile.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, it was doing this in Drive.

[ganda1f]

The problem does not seem to come from the transmission since the car is not wanting to go. Would the shaking stop if you put it in neutral? Trying to figure out if the problem depends on engine load. Potentially, what you could do is to avoid having the car in Drive when not moving.

As pdq said, check the spark plugs, wires, distributor (cap and rotor). Especially try to find the source of the burnt smell.
A theory could be that one of the plug wires or its insulation is cracked, causing spark to jump elsewhere than at the plug, thus heating up the insulation and hence the burnt smell.

Call Autozone and ask if you can borrow/rent an OBD2 scanner. Perhaps offer them a deposit. Get on a bike and get the scanner