My Camry is idling low. Car runs smooth while cold. Car sputters when I touch the gas at low speeds inconsistently. After a brief period it picks up and runs great. It gets worse throughout the day. It is the worst in the evening after driving back from work or town. I have changed the spark plugs. It ran a little better after that. It ran a little better after new front tires. Vehicle is front wheel drive. Just replaced both cv axles but the problem started before replacing them. Also I have replaced the fuel filter. I also introduced a half can of Sea Foam directly into the engine through a vacuum tube and reved it. Lots of black smoke came out. I took the other half of the can and put it in the gas tank with four gallons of super when the fuel was fairly low. I then ran the piss out of it. It now has more “get up and go” after the initial sputter and better gas mileage but the initial problem is still there. The problem started after I left the key turned on and killed my battery. A friend jumped me off with his xterra. He reved his engine and I cranked mine and it started that’s when this issue started. Car also has a muffler leak in two places. I had the flex pipe redone. The muffler shop had to weld it on. The weld in the front of the flex pipe leaks a bit and the connection after the exhaust manifold and before the flex pipe leaks a bit. This was very apparent when I sea foamed it. The o2 censors ( it has two) are costly. So my next step will be to take then out and scrub them with a wire brush, no chemicals. Also I am going to have the weld touched up on the flex pipe. The mechanic did his best to tighten up the connection after the exhaust manifold and could not get it any tighter. Any ideas will be greatly appreciated.
The mention of O2 sensors tells me that you must have a check engine light on? If so, what are the very exact and specific codes? (format - P1234)
No check engine light on just windshield fluid light, which has been on for ever and yet I’ve done nothing about it. A friend heard the symptoms and mentioned checking o2 censors. Many that I have talked to say that they think it is some kind of censor due to the fact that it started after being jumped off
Check the fuel pressure.
Clean your idle air control valve.
Temporarily disable your EGR valve and see if that changes anything.