Jerkin 2007 Chevy Aveo

I just bought my 2007 Chevy Aveo about a month ago. When I got it it had 79k miles on it. I’ve put almost 1k so far. When I got it I noticed it did this tiny jerk thing when it got up to 50miles/hr but then stopped after I passed that. well lately its been jerking when I start the car and accelerate. Eventually the jerking subsides but the makes this weird noise when its just running. almost like it’s struggling. today in particular it did its jerk thing and my check engine light started blinking. it blinked til i got to the store (~2miles) and when I started the car again to go back home, the blinking was gone. Any idea what the problem is?

A blinking check engine light indicates a serious misfire. First suspect would be your secondary ignition components, particularly spark plugs. The Aveo was a cheap little bare bones car, and was likely assembled with copper core spark plugs which are normally replaced every 30k-40k miles. This may just be seriously worn spark plugs. There are other probable causes, but this seems the most likely cause to me. While you’re at it, you may consider replacing your timing belt. I believe this car calls for this service every 60k miles, and the belt will sometimes fail before that and wreck the engine. Better to be safe than sorry.

I agree. A blinking Check Engine light indicates a major misfire.

The reason the Check Engine light flashes is to draw your attention to the fact that the catalytic converter could be in the proccess of being destroyed. Get this fixed as soon as possible. Because it will cost more money if you ignore it.

Tester

thanks you guys! i took it in today because it cut off on me while heading to school and mark, you are right. they said while they were checking it, 4/3 misfired 180x. idk what 4/3 is. i have oil leaking into my spark plugs…i need a valve cover gask and fuel system tune up oh! and a mount. im looking at a good $670 in work!! 0_o

I would suggest having the valve cover gasket, spark plugs, and ignition wires/boots replaced. Definitely skip the “fuel system tune up” as this is just a profit generator for the shop, and get a second opinion on the engine mount. If you want to do the fuel system tune up yourself, just buy a bottle of Techron and pour it in the gas tank. It’s pretty much the same thing as what the shop is going to do.