CEL, rough idle ...

[jbird1976]

I have a 99 corolla CE purchsed Aug 2009 with 55K miles.

currently has 65k miles.

last week, when i picked it up from an oil change i noticed that the idle was a little rough ... kinda hiccupy, very subtle but it definately wasn't doing that when i dropped it off ...

it didn't affect performance so i ignored it. 2 days ago the CEL goes on ...

i researched the symptoms on this site and worried it might be motor mounts and hoped the problem was merely an air intake issue ... i took it to the local chain auto center (where the oil had been changed) and they said the codes read misfire in cylinder 1 and a bad ignition coil in same cylinder. they reported that doing plugs and wires and replacing the ignition coil will definately smooth the idle out ...

well they called today after completeing the above job and said the idle was STILL rough and now they notice a bad o ring seal on the fuel injector and want to replace the o ring and the injector and THIS will DEFINATELY solve the problem ...

i had a half a mind to yell and scream about the plugs and wires i just paid for, but kind of figured that if they were original they needed to be done anyway ...

the question is: am i getting jerked around here? to those who know cars more than me, does the service center's story seem logical and sensible? did they go about things in the most practical way or are they just running up the bill ...

(sort of embarassed) ... thanks

Jay

[Whiskey]

Replacing plugs and wires that are original is probably the most likely first step to solve a misfire.

If you have a fuel leak near the injector rail then replacing the 0-ring should be done for safety reasons and fuel economy reasons if nothing else - I'm not sure how it would fix a misfire though.

Edit - Oh, sorry. Just saw they want to replace the Injector too,.. did they say why they want to do that? A badly clogged injector could cause a misfire - but without taking it out that's pretty hard to diagnose.

Whiskey

[jbird1976]

yes they said that the o ring was bad and when they took out the injector it too seemd bad ... they said that this was the fix to solve the problem ... i just hope i don't get another call tomorrow saying actually they need to do something else that will DEFINATELY fix the problem ...

i used to search the internet and read the Haynes books and mess around and do some of these things myself ... sometimes i caused more problems than i solved and figured it was worth the premium to pay people who supposedly "know" what they are doing to just get it done once and correctly ... i am beginning to regret that decision ... the biggest prob for someone like me (little automotive background) is in the diagnosing ... often the swapping of parts wasn't that difficult ... so i am paying these people to diagonose properly and it seems like they can't/won't do that ... ugh

[FlukeATX]

Do you know the OBD code?

[Whiskey]

How does the injector "seem" bad?

It may indeed be true,.. but is it plugged up? If so, can it be cleaned? Is the resistance across the coil out of range?

Whiskey

[pdq]

Since the car is new to you, have you checked if your PCV valve is clogged?

Did your CEL show up again, or is it just rough idle with no codes?