So sadly...I thought the day that my car would be towed home would never be seen by my eyes....but they did.


I don't know what's wrong with my vehicle but perhaps some of you might have a clue as to what the malfunction might be from my description.

Alright so as of late I've been noticing noises from my vehicle ...mostly very faint "clanks" in intervals of a few seconds...at first I thought nothing of it, I figured the guys at the local tire shop might have done something wrong I was going to take it in eventually this weekend. I started hearing the noises a few days ago...

Today as I was going to take my g/f to school as I started my manual car as I normally would my RPM meter shot up to 4-5k RPM very hastily and REV'ed back down to it's normal idle position. I found it to be very strange...but thought nothing of it then after since I'm normally paying attention to whatever my g/f has to say I did mention it to her.

Any who on the tip there and back...everything seemed fine, nothing but a milk run to be honest. When it was time to pick her up I did it without a hitch, but the way back is where I encountered some problems... : / mind you the school is no more then 3-4 miles away from my house.

Well on the way back we completed a good majority of the route...as the light was green to make the final right hand turn towards my house my car shook abruptly and the engine REV'ed to about 4-6k RPM once again as the car was in gear the engine then completely turned off. I witnessed the check engine indicator turn on and the car coasted nicely to a dead stop onto the shoulder of the road into the bike lane were some unhappy bicyclists were waiting.

I then called the tow truck driver, as I waited for his arrival I attempted to start up the engine once more....it did start for a brief second but moved a few feet and died but one odd thing I did take note of was the sound of the exhaust ...it sounded as if their were an opening of air underneath my seat. As if the exhaust was being released underneath the car midway and not towards the rear...yea I find it hard to explain but that's what it felt like... : /

I connected the dots and figured the recent noises (subtle clanking), random engine Revs at startup were the problem.


Well 53 dollars later ( to tow my car less than a mile, I kid you the ____ not)....my car got home...before I start making a few phone calls..I'd like to get some input from the community as to what may be the problem.







I'm not quite sure if this is the proper section for this sort of post perhaps their's a general "Mechanical help" section if so MODS feel free to move it.



I live in San Diego


Performance MODS? NO


Car Mileage? 50-70k

All regular scheduled maintenance performed? Yes, oil and brakes... :3 besides that...??

Any check engine lights? Besides the Engine light just the tire pressure











******UPDATE********

Turns out it was the throttle body that's broken.


Dealer wants: 1,175 for it...at least now I have an idea in regards to prices for the part + labor. It's sad how they inflate the prices so high...

I have a friend (_Nexus_) calling a warehouse at the moment for the part...

how easy would it be for us to install it?

What would you guys recommend? A new or used one from the junkyard?









tl;dr my car is ____ed.

 

CEL?

 

I forgot to mention I don't know jack about cars...just that they need gas and oil.


What's a CEL?

 

oh boy.
CEL=Check Engine Light

if you dont know anything about cars, you should have just had it towed to a mechanic.

 

and where are you located?
you may be better off posting in the regional section asking for help.
most people would be willing to help you out if you just bought them lunch or something.

 

I'm a man on a budget. =]




Got any clue what may be wrong?

 

you havent given any usefull information.
no one, including myself, even knows where to start.

Any mods?
Cars mileage?
All regular scheduled maintenance performed?
Any check engine lights?

 

I live in San Diego


MODS? NO


Car Mileage? 50-70k

All regular scheduled maintenance performed? Yes, oil and brakes... :3 besides that...??

Any check engine lights? Besides the Engine light just the tire pressure




I hope that was helpful ...I shall edit my first post =]

 

listen to yellow he knows what hes talking about if you dont know anything about cars just take it to a mechanic

 

I'd like to have at least an "idea" of what may be wrong. =]



I'm afraid of the mechanics jibbing me :3

 

see that white light on the far right under the tach?
yours isnt on?

and how does your car have 50-70K...
thats a pretty big diff.

 

we'd all like to help you but if your not mechanically inclined its not really possible.
so you say you tried to start the car and it started up but then died right away?
its getting spark.
you may just need to clean, or replace the MAF sensor.
MAF sensor=Mass Air Flow Sensor.
Basically just measures the amount of air going in.

 

I said in my first post it came on and the car lost power right away.


Do you want an exact amount? let's just settle for 65,000 Miles.

 

Yes, it started after a few fail attempts and it was getting spark every time. But only moved a few feet then the car stalled and the engine shut off right away.


Well that sounds cheap I hope.... :3

 

so you dont know what a CEL is but you know how to check a car is getting spark?
is the CEL still on?
if so, you need to find someone with a scanner since you obviously wont be able to drive the car to autozone to have it scanned for free.

 

I just don't know automotive abbreviations mate...but I do understand the basic starting process of a vehicle.

And yes it's still on.

 

well that light comes on when ur car loses power... and it goes off when the car starts, if thats what ur saying. see if you can rent a OBD2 scanner from an auto shop and have them see what kind of code the check engine light is for. because without knowing what code, it is worse than finding a needle in a haystack.

 

ok, well then your first step would be to get it scanned and see what codes come up.
let us know when you figure it out and well go from there

 

I'll put this into grand consideration....Thanks for the help.


Hopefully all goes well.



I take it I should stay away from the dealership ?$$$$

 

yes please stay away from the dealership lol there are just as many shops out there that are competent enough to help u fix the car at half the price