Pleazzee, help....I have a 98 dodge stratus..and it has been running fine up a few months ago when the check engine light came on..it was running fine wiith a slight miss...and increase in gas consumption....but other than that..it didnt bother me..sooo, i took it to my mechanic....and he put it on the analyzer...he said that the #1 plug or wire was bad....so..i purchased all the parts needed to tune up that bad boy...and now....after everything has been put back together..it is still missing...is there something he overlooked??? He is still working with it..but i am just curious as to what is going on....other than that..i have been very happy with the car...any info is appreciated.....

 

I'm having the same problem. The engine seems to shudder which I belive is misfiring, usually in idle. I just replaced the spark plugs and got some fuel injector cleaner but it's not much help yet. I'm wondering if it could be the fuel filter or a timing problem. Any ideas?

 

Check the O2 sensor, It will make the car run rich in turn cause you to get less gas milage and make it shutter due to running rich. Make sure that all the wires are tight also.

 

that's funny. I own a 97 Dodge Stratus 2.4L and it seems to have similar problems. It started many months ago and we still haven't figured out. a friend told me it was the spark plugs...we changed them...and it helped it run better, but it wasn't cured. Then i was told that the fuel filter could possibly be clogged. I doubted it since we had changed it recently, but we did change it. again...it helped, but it's not cured. We also changed the throttle position sensor. The car seems to have moods...lol. it will run worse some days then others, but the problem is really evident after the car sits a day or so. When i start it, it turns over slow (i could need a new battery, which may help with the start) and sputters and shakes when it starts. It is obviously missing or something when it idles. Lately it's smelt really bad of fumes-particularily gas. It basically smells like an old piece of junk car. It eventually settles down a bit, but it continues to run like a dog. It's as if there is a weight tied to the bumper (compared to how it used to run). It used to be worse before we changed those 3 things. It became really noticable one day in July of this year. We had the AC on periodically through the day(i was wondering at first if the AC triggered the problem, because i don't run the AC often, and it was odd that it started acting funny afterwards). At this point, it wasn't missing in the idle so much as it was when we accelerated. A couple times i thought it was going to stall, but it never did. The car always starts for me, which is good . i was sitting a light, and as i gased it, it went to go, but missed several times before it took off. It was the weirdest thing. Since that point to when we changed the spark plugs, fuel filter, and the throttle position sensor, it would have its good days and bad days, but it always wanted to hessitate at acceleration. After those things were changed, it was 50% better, but it would still hesitate on acceleration-especially if you gased it quickly. Lately, it really doesn't hesitate much like it used to...it just runs bad. We often wondered if there was a problem with the transmission, because (especially) since this all started, it seems to rev really high before it shifts. Also, the hesitation we felt was almost like in a manual transmission car...when someone lets out the clutch and doesn't give it enough gas...and it jerks a little. It also seems to shift harder lately (and the transmission fluid has been changed). But the symtoms always seemed to point more towards a gas related problem. The only thing we haven't changed (since it's kind of costly) that my mom had mentioned is the map sensor. Any better have an opionion about whether that might help the problem?

Sorry for the long post, but I hope someone can offer some advice.

Aimee

 

oh, and i forgot to say that both oxygen sensors have been replaced, and that didn't solve the problem...

Aimee

 

do either ofyou have CAIs or SRIs?

 

Unforturnately, there are no modifications to my Status. I think we had put platinum spark plugs in (which i am now told may not be as good as the regular plugs...[>:]) so i dunno. But there isn't any thing different on my car then what it came with stock (performance wise). I'm not really sure what that is (CAI, SRI) cause i'm not really that knowledgable about cars...unforturnately [&o] but i'm assuming it's some kind of modification.

 

when i first got mine, no one made a cold air intake...(CAI) or short ram intake (SRI), so i made my own...at first it worked great, but over time..it started to miss. we changed the plugs, and found it didnt go away. turns out that the gasket between the TB and the intake pipe had gotten loose and was allowing unmetered air to enter the TB. so i got a new CAI, and it went away. have you tried changing the wires? i believe yours have long boots leading down to the plug,...those can go bad,and not be seen.

 

Let's assume that you have tried new plugs and wires, have you replaced the coil pack? Most people who have these cars know that the plug wires go pretty quickly 25-30K miles. Sometimes the coil pack goes bad. If you look closely, there are 4 coils all integrated into the one pack. If one of these goes, you will have a missfire.

Also check all of your vacuum lines. If there is a leak, the engine will try to compensate by giving a richer fuel mixture.

Also check the PCVV Valve. Same mixture issue.

 

Make sure that your injector harnness (plugs) are in right and tight if not you will get a miss fire. also check your fuel filter plugs and wires. if all failsdo the following follow these steps to determine if your ignition DISTRIBUTOR cap is working propertly.The cap is where your plugs wires go to. unplug all the wires and tested as follows. (use a DIGITAL OHMS METER) TO TEST EACH COIL PRIMARY RESISTANCE CONNECT ONE PROBE TO THE CENTER TERMINAL AND THE OTHER PROBE TO EITHER END OF THE OTHER TWO TERMINALS AND READING SHOULD READ 00.8 TO CHECK THE SECONDARYRESISTANCE OF COIL 1 REPEAT THE TEST FOR COIL 2 AND IT SHOULD READ 11.85 OHMSIF YOU GET FALSE READINGS MAKE SURE YOUR METER WORKS RIGHT AND IF YOU STILL GET ANYOTHER READINGS YOU HAVE TO REPLACE THE DISTRIBUTOR CAP. HERE'S MY STRATUS1998
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