[Dungen]

I bought a 2007 hatchback 2.3 back in March and it’s been amazing to me. I drove it across country, and I also use it for work, but I’m afraid my neglect is catching up to it. I’m not super knowledgeable on cars beyond changing brake pads and oil, but I’m broke right now and I’m going to have to do some things myself.

My biggest concern is my check engine light came on and gave a P0171 code, but the day after I pulled the code the light went off. I feel like this might be related to a problem I have occasionally, but not every time: after I start the car, and if I don’t give it gas or drive within the first minute or so, the RPMs slowly fall below 1000 and make little jumps up. Eventually it reaches 0 and the car shuts off. I’ve also noticed the car kind of vibrates or feels weird when I’m giving it gas. I’ve also noticed a ticking noise sometimes coming from the engine. The rate of the tick increases as I accelerate.

I’ve also noticed when the car shifts it feels hard, and sometimes shifting between drive and reverse there’s a bang noise that isn’t too loud but very noticeable. Occasionally I hear squeaking coming from the belt area on the left side of the engine. Especially if I drive it a lot in a day.

What can I do to remedy these issues? From my own research and checking fluids. I believe the transmission fluid needs to be changed. Pulleys may need to be adjusted and the belt may need to be replaced. The spark plugs should probably be changed / cleaned. But as for the check engine light and the falling rpm and shutting off thing I’m confused

I am beyond thankful to anyone can help. Thanks.

 

[Milanomike]

Start with easy stuff first, like vacuum leak(s).

P0171 – Meaning, Causes, Symptoms, & Fixes | FIXD Automotive (fixdapp.com)

 

[baileymotorswaps]

The ticking no

I bought a 2007 hatchback 2.3 back in March and it’s been amazing to me. I drove it across country, and I also use it for work, but I’m afraid my neglect is catching up to it. I’m not super knowledgeable on cars beyond changing brake pads and oil, but I’m broke right now and I’m going to have to do some things myself.

My biggest concern is my check engine light came on and gave a P0171 code, but the day after I pulled the code the light went off. I feel like this might be related to a problem I have occasionally, but not every time: after I start the car, and if I don’t give it gas or drive within the first minute or so, the RPMs slowly fall below 1000 and make little jumps up. Eventually it reaches 0 and the car shuts off. I’ve also noticed the car kind of vibrates or feels weird when I’m giving it gas. I’ve also noticed a ticking noise sometimes coming from the engine. The rate of the tick increases as I accelerate.

I’ve also noticed when the car shifts it feels hard, and sometimes shifting between drive and reverse there’s a bang noise that isn’t too loud but very noticeable. Occasionally I hear squeaking coming from the belt area on the left side of the engine. Especially if I drive it a lot in a day.

What can I do to remedy these issues? From my own research and checking fluids. I believe the transmission fluid needs to be changed. Pulleys may need to be adjusted and the belt may need to be replaced. The spark plugs should probably be changed / cleaned. But as for the check engine light and the falling rpm and shutting off thing I’m confused

I am beyond thankful to anyone can help. Thanks.

If the ticking noise is a high pitched noise, it’s probably the overhead cam shafts and valves opening. There’s a lot of smaller moving parts moving fast back and forth and that’s fairly normal. If the tone gets deeper and sounds like a car door closing repeatedly that increases with RPM, that could be piston slap where the cylinder walls of the aluminum block have worn and the piston are literally slapping the sides of the cylinder walls as they are transitioning from moving up to down and vise versa. That’s fairly common with these engine blocks. They cylinders aren’t sleeved with a harder metals.
The hard shifts could be the transmission bits being worn or broke but could also be a loose or worn engine mount. The passenger side upper engine mount tends to wear the fastest but is rather easy to replace. There’s three mounts on these engines, two very obvious ones on top and a third mounted underneath from the frame to the transmission. The bottom engine mount is the hardest to change.
The squealing could means you need a new accessory or compressor belts or, less likely, a pulley needs to be replaced. Belts are easy to replace and cheap. You’d also want to move the tensioner back and forth to make sure it’s not failing and holding the proper tension on the belts.

 

[baileymotorswaps]

I bought a 2007 hatchback 2.3 back in March and it’s been amazing to me. I drove it across country, and I also use it for work, but I’m afraid my neglect is catching up to it. I’m not super knowledgeable on cars beyond changing brake pads and oil, but I’m broke right now and I’m going to have to do some things myself.

My biggest concern is my check engine light came on and gave a P0171 code, but the day after I pulled the code the light went off. I feel like this might be related to a problem I have occasionally, but not every time: after I start the car, and if I don’t give it gas or drive within the first minute or so, the RPMs slowly fall below 1000 and make little jumps up. Eventually it reaches 0 and the car shuts off. I’ve also noticed the car kind of vibrates or feels weird when I’m giving it gas. I’ve also noticed a ticking noise sometimes coming from the engine. The rate of the tick increases as I accelerate.

I’ve also noticed when the car shifts it feels hard, and sometimes shifting between drive and reverse there’s a bang noise that isn’t too loud but very noticeable. Occasionally I hear squeaking coming from the belt area on the left side of the engine. Especially if I drive it a lot in a day.

What can I do to remedy these issues? From my own research and checking fluids. I believe the transmission fluid needs to be changed. Pulleys may need to be adjusted and the belt may need to be replaced. The spark plugs should probably be changed / cleaned. But as for the check engine light and the falling rpm and shutting off thing I’m confused

I am beyond thankful to anyone can help. Thanks.

Also, if you have to change the accessory belt, you’ll have to pull off the a/c compressor pulley first since it’s on the outside of the double stacked crankshaft pulley. If you jack-up your car, it’s at furthest down pulley. I have some tips there too if you go down that route.