2001 Corolla Starting Problem - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

petabb2 · 05-26-2009, 08:23 PM

Car got 75K on it. Was doing fine until this happened. I started driving in the morning, accelerated to around 55mph, all of a sudden I heard very loud noise from the engine and the car seemed to be losing power. I was able to drive it for awhile but then it couldn't idle by itself.
The car can start but the engine noise (sounds like valve) is loud and the block vibrates. It then eventually would die if staying in idle. And also the CEL comes flashing.

I tried to search but wasn't sure what could be the specific problem. If it was a MAF sensor, I cleaned it and the throttle body a few weeks back. I hope it's not the CAT.

I should mention that I have the CEL on for awhile (2 yrs). The car seemed to be doing okay for the period. I wasn't sure what the code was but probably 420 or something similar (replace the fuel cap twice).

Thanks

fishexpo101 · 05-29-2009, 05:21 PM

A flashing CEL means you have a serious issue on your hands. Can you give more details? What kind of noise, was it a sharp pop, a boom, metallic, etc.? Did you pull the sparkplugs and read them? A loud engine / rough running / dying in idle - could be related to a sensor (MAF) or a vacuum leak, could also mean that one of the plugs is not firing (misfire). Could be any number of things - first thing I would do it pull the code.

As for running around with a CEL for that long, even if its for a EVAP issue, is not a good idea if you want to keep the car around for a while. CEL will go off eventually, and may come back on for an entirely different reason, especially if you didn't scan and reset the DTC every time the CEL comes on.