So, I know this is waaay far away from the point of this forum, but I was hoping one of you lovely people knew a little bit about cars. I know next to nothing. Sorry for the novel…skip to the end for the most recent issue; read the whole thing if you need backstory. LoL.
I have an 02 Nissan Altima, about 188k miles, that’s been giving me fits. It started about six months ago with a cylinder 3 misfire code and some loss of power/trouble accelerating issues. I replaced the spark plugs and the #3 ignition coil. It still had some power issues, but the code went away. A couple weeks later I got another P0303. I took it in, they switched the 1 & 3 coils and cleared the code. Another couple weeks and it came back, still #3. I replaced all four coils. About a month-ish later I wound up with a multiple misfire code. After checking it at Autozone, it went away and I started putting Lucas Oil in once a month. Light came back on. I was taking the car in to get the strut mounts replaced anyway (a whole different and frustrating story and I’m still having steering issues), they checked the codes (mult misfire again), maybe switched the coils around again and maybe not, but the light went away. Engine light came on again the next day, but went off after I was halfway back to the mechanic. I’ve continued with the Lucas stuff once a month and didn’t get another light, but have had some problems with it not accelerating well and not having a whole lot of power.
Other than the steering (feels like I’m driving on ice, the wheel is gonna jerk out of my hands every time I hit even the slightest bump, and it pulls to the right despite being aligned when I had the mounts replaced a couple months ago) it ran okay for the last couple of months. I took it back to the place that did the mounts when it started feeling like it was pulling and still felt like it wasn’t getting enough power, but the guy said it was fine.
About two weeks or so ago it wound up getting pretty hot on my way home from school when I had the heater on. Not sure if the heater was related or just coincidental. I turned off the heater and drove really slowly and it was fine. It was fine for a few more days, and then it happened again. I added some 50/50 coolant to the overflow tank, which was dry, and haven’t had that happen again. A couple days ago it started stuttering (and struggling) when I was accelerating and had a semi-rhythmic stutter while idle…sort of felt like it was going to stall out. On the way home today I tried to pass someone (only going about 40) and when I got it over 2000 rpm it stuttered a LOT and the engine light started flashing. After I slowed down and the rpms dropped below 2000, the light went off.
I am planning on taking it in tomorrow after school unless someone thinks this is something I can fix with a can of something. Unfortunately I don’t have anyone who can really help me or go with me when I take it in so I’m on my own trying to figure this out. Not even sure it’s worth it at this point to try fixing it again. I’ve probably put more into the car in the last couple of years than I paid for it. Front and rear struts, alternator, brakes, tires, strut mounts and sway bar, battery, some sort of wheel bearing or something…I’m so frustrated. If it weren’t for the fact that it’d leave me stranded, I drive the thing off a bridge. LoL. How bad of an idea is it to drive it to school and back (about 10 miles total in a 40mph zone) tomorrow? And any idea what I should tell them to check/look for or what I should listen for them to say so I know they’re not trying to hustle me? Thanks to anyone who can even begin to suggest something.