I was driving to work today, and my car engine seemed to “skip” whenever I braked and got to a low speed. Also, when I parked the car, the engine immediately sounded as if it was idling. I am about 1,000 miles past the recommended limit for my next oil change. Would this be the cause or is it something more serious?
Model-Year, Make, Model, Approximate Miles On It ? Automatic Or Manual ?
Please explain what “skip” means. Also, cars are supposed to idle when parked. Do you mean it “ran” after it was shut off ?
Please try and give a better description of the symptoms and no, I don’t think an oil change is involved. Do you check the oil level regularly ?
CSA
Not enough information here. Not clear enough. Oil change issue would only matter if you were very low on oil, which will destroy your engine.
Is the check engine light coming on?
Open the hood and check the oil level before you start the motor. If the oil level is OK, and even if it is low but still shows up on the dipstick then oil level isn’t the source of your “skipping” problem. If the dipstick is “dry” then don’t restart the car until you add several quarts of oil to get the oil level between the marks on dipstick.
If there is no oil in the car your “skipping” could be serious; very serious.
Hard to tell from the available information.
" I am about 1,000 miles past the recommended limit for my next oil change."
Bad bad…. Oil is a whole lot cheaper than a new engine.
Now that we have established that you are not doing all the maintenance that you should, I recommend you check out the owner's manual and read up on the recommended maintenance. And add one additional item. If you have an automatic transmission and it has over say 20,000 - 40,000, miles, I would highly recommend replacing the fluid along with the filter. (note this advice may require some adjustments for some cars.)