Check engine light came on and car would stall at idle. Cleared code by disconnecting the negative battery cable…(Needed to clean alot of corrosion on the negative post, again). Light came back on immediately. Drove the car with a heavy foot to keep it from stalling and the car smoothed out and the light went out on its own.
No, you don’t need to repair anything if the light stays off.
But I’ll bet it will come back. And the VVT solenoid will be the fault because it may be clogged with dirty oil. Why do I say that? 28K miles in 7 years is why. I’d guess it has not had oil changes every year as it should. Did I guess correctly?
Oil changed twice a year since purchase in 2018 (8,500 mi).
Air Filter changed a year or so ago. Mechanic says its clean.
Changed the brake fluid as scheduled. Changed the Anti-Freeze as scheduled.
Recent New Battery, also.
I read the manual.
Always top tier gasoline. Never filled the tank up all the way, or let it get too low.
Problem with the MAF was just last month after a 180 mile round trip to NYC in the pouring rain.
Do my best to get the car on the highway and up to speed a few times a month, when I drive my better half to work. He likes to sit with the a/c and/or heat running during his half-hour lunch break. (Against my admonishments.)
Personally, I prefer to drive the car w/o using the accelerator or brake or steering for that matter (hyperbole).
Hyperbole. Never heard of hypemile. I like to look at the scenery, and the less drama the better. Dad taught me to stop the car without that little jolt, and to try to never have to come to a complete stop (except at stop signs).
While waiting for a suspension repair, told a friend that I was driving slower than usual. He told me that if I drove any slower I’d be going backwards.
My better half has a heavy foot. He says he doesn’t.
Hypermiling is pretty much how you drive. Limited acceleration, limited brakes and efficient steering. This smooth style maximizes fuel mileage as well as aids comfort and reduces wear. The technique is called hypermiling in fuel efficient driver’s circles.
Hypermiling, as I understand it, also includes the very hazardous practice of tucking up close behind the vehicle in front of yours. I tried this myself one night decades ago, behind a big truck. When I eventually passed him, he gave me a clear nonverbal gesture out his side window.
Good for him. I was an idiot, and risked an accident that would have messed up his day as well as mine.
I see far too many people driving too close to the car in front, sometimes in long chains on a two-lane road. Multicar accidents waiting to happen, and to whose benefit? Is this practice related to watching Nascar races?
In Nascar terms that is called Drafting… And I guess it also includes all types of racing from bicycle to motorcycle to speedskating etc etc… But Stock Car (Nascar) started it…
I’ll bring the car up to high speed. Only when there is no one around me. Prefer the right lane and keeping within 5 miles of the speed limit either way. I’ll bring it up to 70 mph if conditions call for it. Might hit 75 on rare ocassions. Husband won’t drive on unfamiliar roads or on the highway. Told him the highway is way safer than the local two-lane roads.
35 and 40 mph is actually very, very fast!
I’m on the Jersey Turnpike morning rush hour, doing 60 in the right hand lane. Plenty of space around me. Three or four-lanes in each direction. Pontiac weaving in and out of traffic in the far left and middle lanes. About a 1/4 to a 1/2 mile ahead of me I see the front end of the Pontiac shoot up in the air above the traffic. Traffic stops. I pull onto the shoulder. One or two cars go around the accident scene and continue on. I wait a few minutes, wondering why so many cars have stopped, soon realizing that they’ve all hit the car in front of them !
I’d probably be changing the oil & filter every 3,000 miles if I had that same problem. Oil changes are a lot less expensive than repairing the VVT mechanisms.
The available engines are direct injection and the air intake valves might have carbon deposits. Consider adding an engine cleaner that removes these deposits and see if that helps
Since you are diligent about the oil changes and presumably using the oil recommended by the manufacturer, and since the check engine light has now gone out and no more diagnostic codes, suggest to just continue to monitor the situation. Hopefully whatever caused the valve timing issue is resolved. The suggestion above to preemptively address potential intake valve deposits caused by your engine’s direct-injection technology makes sense.
Perhaps some spirted driving will free up that sticking variable valve timing actuator. Long periods of idling and conservative driving aren’t the best for the engine.
OP, do you know how your car’s variable valve timing (VVT) function works? For car’s w/o VVT (like both of my older cars) the valve opening and closing is synchronized exactly to the crankshaft rotation. To improve performance & mpg, engine designers later decided it would be better to advance the valve timing at higher engine rpm. This allows more time for the fuel and air to reach the cylinder. The VVT actuator is the mechanical gadget what causes the valve timing to advance. It can get gunked up and not move into the correct orientation for the engine rpm. The computer has a way to check the valve timing, and will turn on the check engine light if it is not what it should be for the given rpm.
