Driving on a bad cylinder

[taurusowner]

Is driving a car with 1 cylinder misfiring bad for the car?

On St. Patties day, my car(2000 Honda Accord V6) stalled a few times at my  house and the check engine light came on.  The next day I took it to the shop and the diagnostic said 4 out of the 6 cylinders were misfiring.  I replaced the spark plugs and it cleared the issue up.  Now 2 days ago, the check engine light comes back on, and my car feels like it's about to stall if I leave it idling for a while (10+ minutes).  I went to an autozone and their diagnostic said that cylinder 6 was misfiring.  So I'm guessing that one of the new plugs is either bad or put in wrong.  I don't have the time/money to get it fixed until next week, and so far it's driven fine around town.  But my question is, is driving on a misfiring cylinder bad for the car, and how long can I do it before it becomes a serious problem.  I have to drive a lot this weekend, as in about 4 hours total driving in 2 days.  Will I fark my car up big time or risk stalling somewhere far away if I drive on the bad cylinder?

[AZRedhawk44]

Pull the new plugs and check the gap, and also be sure they are tightened to the specified torque.  Not too much or too little.

Change the plug wires.  They wear out after awhile, and you're at 8 or 9 years at this point.  Probably time.

[alex_trebek]

To answer your question, yes it can be bad to drive with one cyl miss firing. The gas that isn't being burned can dissolve the oil in the cylinder and cause it to seize. But I say that it will probably be ok, this is usually only in extreme cases.

What kind (brand and type) of fuel do you use?

[coppertales]

When is the last time you changed your distributor cap and rotor, if your car has one?  Are your plug wires the original ones?  I change my dist cap and rotor every year, the Texas heat beats them up, and my plug wires every 5 years......It sounds like you have a spark issue.  It might help to run a can of injector cleaner through the fuel system too......chris3

[taurusowner]

It's distributorless.  I checked Google, and found a few other people having the same issue, so I think it may be a bad injector.  I'm still glad I replaced the plugs cause they were nearly gone, but I think the source of this problem is still out there.  When I get done this weekend, I'll check the coil/injector and see where that takes me.  In the mean time, some more oil and maybe injector cleaner seems to be in order.

[p12]

Driving a vehicle with a catalytic converter and an engine misfire is not good.

If driven for very long it will damage the converter.

Excessive raw fuel in the exhaust can under the proper conditions overheat the converter and be a fire hazard.

[Nick1911]

These statements are true, in particular p12's.  Converters are expensive to replace!

If your car has ignition wires, change them.  They are the great weak point of the modern engine, IMO.

By messing with them to change the plugs, you may have caused cracks in the insulation of the #6 plug wire.  Cracked insulation doesn't let low voltage leak, but high voltage certainly will.

[French G.]

What made 4 of the 6 cylinders misfire originally? I know you said new plugs cleared it up, but did the  plugs have help going bad? As in bad O2 sensor feeding a rich mixture, oil blow-by, coolant leak into the cylinder? I suppose the plugs could have just been bad from long use but I feel like there is an underlying issue.

[ThrottleJockey]

Is the gas cap on the drivers side or the passenger side? This will often tell you where the car was built, drivers side=USA. If the cap is on the passenger side it was likely built in Japan and this is the problem, as the Japanese built cars are made from sub standard, recycled pot metal. In the latter case, you will have trouble for the life of the car(or as long as you own it). It is unlikely that a sensor would be bad without a code coming up. It is more likely an issue with a plug wire, coil pack, improperly installed or torqued plug, improper plug gap, injector fail, or warped cylinder head/bent valve. These problems while minor are often costly to repair, as the only way to diagnose is to just keep throwing money at it until you get the right thing. I prefer to keep my cars in the following guideline. K.I.S.S., Keep It Simple Stupid. My cars are often older, and all mechanical. Very simple to diagnose and repair, cheap too. And for the same price of a new car, you can buy and completely restore an older one often with money left over for new guns!

[Gewehr98]

If the cap is on the passenger side it was likely built in Japan and this is the problem, as the Japanese built cars are made from sub standard, recycled pot metal. In the latter case, you will have trouble for the life of the car(or as long as you own it).

Oh, really?   

[K Frame]

"it was likely built in Japan and this is the problem, as the Japanese built cars are made from sub standard, recycled pot metal."

BBBBBBBBBBBBBWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!

Stop it, you're killing me!

I've bought new American cars. The biggest, most enormous pieces of crap I have ever owned in my life. The ONLY way I will purchase a new American car again is if the company in question goes out of business and is resurrected by one of the Japanese companies as a shell corporation, and only AFTER all of the American designs have been scrapped.

Inferior pot metal?

Snicker! 

[Jamisjockey]

Is the gas cap on the drivers side or the passenger side? This will often tell you where the car was built, drivers side=USA. If the cap is on the passenger side it was likely built in Japan and this is the problem, as the Japanese built cars are made from sub standard, recycled pot metal. In the latter case, you will have trouble for the life of the car(or as long as you own it).

Which orfice did you yank that out of?
Firstly, at current, I own two american cars.  Both of those gas caps are on the driver's side.
Secondly, "inferior pot metals"??    Do you have any sources?  And WND doesn't fly as a source.

[41magsnub]

Is the gas cap on the drivers side or the passenger side? This will often tell you where the car was built, drivers side=USA. If the cap is on the passenger side it was likely built in Japan and this is the problem, as the Japanese built cars are made from sub standard, recycled pot metal. In the latter case, you will have trouble for the life of the car(or as long as you own it). It is unlikely that a sensor would be bad without a code coming up. It is more likely an issue with a plug wire, coil pack, improperly installed or torqued plug, improper plug gap, injector fail, or warped cylinder head/bent valve. These problems while minor are often costly to repair, as the only way to diagnose is to just keep throwing money at it until you get the right thing. I prefer to keep my cars in the following guideline. K.I.S.S., Keep It Simple Stupid. My cars are often older, and all mechanical. Very simple to diagnose and repair, cheap too. And for the same price of a new car, you can buy and completely restore an older one often with money left over for new guns!

Not to post to just join in on the bashing, but how then do you explain the various Japanese cars cracking the 200K mile barrier and still running?  How many American cars have done that historically?

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

man i was too slow to get any licks in. i'm gonna go get in my crv with 178 k on it and go to a funeral. funny just did first repairs to that car  put in a timing belt and the distributor went bad just before that. i did brakes at 100 k. the distributor was a shock. not like a honda.

[ThrottleJockey]

Well, I'm not bashing japanese cars, about 85% of them are made right here in the USA from materials that are found right here. I agree that the japanese seem to be better at constructing them and hold quality control to a higher standard. What I am pointing out is the fact that some japanese cars are made here and some are still imported from japan. The difference is obvious. The gas cap thing is just one way of recognizing one from the other. Sort of like the Honda Goldwing, The ones with reverse gear were made over seas, while the ones without were made right here in the USA.

[alex_trebek]

man i was too slow to get any licks in. i'm gonna go get in my crv with 178 k on it and go to a funeral. funny just did first repairs to that car  put in a timing belt and the distributor went bad just before that. i did brakes at 100 k. the distributor was a shock. not like a honda.

Ironically a bad distributor is Honda's reputation for their 90's era vehicles. You will get about 10-12 years out of a Honda distributor, at least on the civics and accords. It seems to be more environmental than mileage based, meaning that replacing with a used one is a bad idea. On the civics and accords it is a small 70 dollar chip ( ignition module or part of the ignition module I think) that usually corrodes out.

I think it happens because Honda pushes the limit on their distributors to get more fuel efficiency. I don't really think it is unreasonable to have to start replacing things like this after 10-12 years. Espcially when it easy and relatively cheap. 250ish for a brand new one at autozone, cheaper online.

One thing that is very important on honda's (espcially the v6's) is the kind of fuel you use. This is why I asked the OP about it.  Honda recommends only top tier fuel , and for good reason. My friends accord (2004) started mid firing when he put cheap gas (brand) in it.

I only use marathon BP or shell in my civic, and usually put in premium or mid. Research has shown that premium increases mileage and performance in small economy engines. This is partially due to the high compression ratios that Honda usually run. Just FYI

[Jamisjockey]

Reread your post, I had the sides mixed up, you're probably right there afaik.


However, your cheap pot metal comment is unquantifiable unless you've got some engineering and metaluragy reports to back it up.

[K Frame]

The two best cars I ever had, bar none, were legal immigrants from the land of the rising sun.

The two worst cars I ever had? Corn fed American cars.

[alex_trebek]

The two best cars I ever had, bar none, were legal immigrants from the land of the rising sun.

The two worst cars I ever had? Corn fed American cars.

I have only owned honda's. I am sorry to say that i won't be buying a new one, unless Honda does something about their funky designs. I am mostly refering to the size of the new accord, and the two tier dash on the new civics.

One thing I have noticed is Honda owners are so spoiled that the slighest imperfection sends them into a fit. Start reading about complaints and you will see what I am talking about. The slighest little squeek and these people are up in arms. Most don't realize how good they have it. Nothing designed by man is perfect, except the 1911.  :LOL:

[RocketMan]

Pot metal my rosy red posterior.  That's a silly assertion.
The only Japanese cars I've owned were 70's era machines, two Toyota Celicas and a Datsun 1200.  I can assure you they weren't "pot metal", although the Datsun could have used a little more sound deadening material in the doors.
All three ran just fine unless I buggered something up in a misguided attempt at a tune-up during my formative years.  One of the Celicas was still going strong, not burning a drop of oil, at 260,000-plus miles when I finally traded it in.
The other was taken out by an idiot left-turning college student in Mesa, AZ at about 180,000 on the clock.  Prior to that it was running fine.
I sold the Datsun to my brother before it had a lot of miles on it, but he ran it for years without difficulty.

During that period my father was an executive for Toyota and later Subaru.  He would have laughed at your assertions, ThrottleJockey.  He still would.  (He's selling his 96 Camry right now.  Better than 250,000 on the clock, replacing it with a 2006, just because he and Mom wanted something newer.
And his 86 Toyota truck is stronger than my 97 Dodge Dakota.
Anyway, enough ranting...

[Gewehr98]

Speaking from a metallurgical and forensic background (somebody had to...), the U.S. has been buying some of their best steel from Japan, for many years.

Steeltown, USA just couldn't keep up. It's not just automotive, either.  Tool steel, stainless, 154CM, ATS34, D2, A2, 01, you name it. 

Pot metal?  Yeah, sure, ok.   I have a steel bridge to sell you...

[Jamisjockey]

The two best cars I ever had, bar none, were legal immigrants from the land of the rising sun.

The two worst cars I ever had? Corn fed American cars.

Well that explains alot.  Don't feed your cars corn, silly goose.

[lupinus]

Kinda hard now that every damn station is cut with 10% ethanol 

[ThrottleJockey]

Speaking from a metallurgical and forensic background (somebody had to...), the U.S. has been buying some of their best steel from Japan, for many years.

OK internet ninja. Since the only things Japan exports were first imported, there is really no such thing as "Japanese steel". Japan is an island and has nearly NO natural resources. As for the pot metal, yes, that is exactly what was used for japanese engine blocks for MANY MANY years. This is where the technology of "sleeveing" the cylinder came from, and the only reason we can now make blocks from aluminum. Since the ONLY cars made in the USA anymore are made by Japanese owned companies, I have no problem with them. They provide jobs for us, and high quality automobiles. As an ASE certified auto mechanic, and former machine shop owner, I know of what I speak. Besides, if there was "japanese steel", and it was sooo good, wouldn't gun manufacturers buy it to make guns from?

[ThrottleJockey]

I can assure you they weren't "pot metal", although the Datsun could have used a little more sound deadening material in the doors.

Since pot metal is a cast material, I have no doubt that the malleable body panels were not constructed from it. However, in the '70s and '80s specifically the cast components (like the engine block) were pot metal. Ever notice how bad those things rusted? because the steel used for the body/unibody was bought USED and RECYCLED from other countries, it was much cheaper that way. Since their refining process wasn't yet perfected, neither was the metal. The Japanese made it big time in the auto industry, because they spent no money on R and D. They found cheaper and easier ways to use the tech that other nations had developed. This is not the case anymore. In this case gentlemen, you are arguing with an automobile manufacturing FANATIC, as I spent nearly 20 years of my life owning a service and repair / machine shop and made my living knowing more about them than the next guy.