I have been having a couple problems that started last night. I was driving home and my car started to shake REALLY bad under 2k rpms, but it would actually get 100% if i kept the engine over 3k rpms. As I continued to get home it got signifigantly worse and the check engine light was flashing. By the time I got home the check engine light was solid and it was shaking everytime I pressed the gas.

I noticed after that that the air filter was very dirty, filled with dirt from this past weekend. I took my dad's car to autozone, got a new filter, put it in and everything seemed to be perfect again. I went about 1/2 mile at about 45 mph without any trouble. I thought I had fixed it, so I reset the ECU.

This morning I got in and everything was fine for the first 3 or 4 miles but then it happened again. Shaking really bad, but no check engine light.

Any idea what it is? I am regretting resetting the ECU because now I cant check the code. I will probably take it to the stealership later today. The engine only has 82k miles on it BTW

 

THere is a good chance you are having mis fires....a flashing check engine light is a mis fire...then it goes solid when it reads to many of them. You could have a faulty Coil pack (one of 3) sending the engine into a unstable mess (shake shake shake)

Check the codes...even if you dont have a CEL on you can still have codes stored.

 

Even though the CEL may be off, the codes are still stored. You're most certainly misfiring.

Have you done the ISR mod?
How old are the plugs and wires?

 

No ISR mod, plugs/ wires havent been replaced since I bought it 12k miles ago.

Do you think it would be bad to drive 4 or 5 miles to autozone to have the codes read? They wanted 170 bucks to loan it to me. . .

 

If you can drive it safely, go for it.

If the wires are OEM, they'll have a year stamped on them. If they're original, or aftermarket, replace 'em. When mine had the same symptoms, it had just rained and my old wires got moisture in them. Changed them out, and it ran perfect.

 

Another thing I think I should mention is that I have had a pinging problem since the day I bought it.

 

That sounds like it could be what it is, read this thread. https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f123/cleaning-engine-compartment-98020/

Only 2 days ago I cleaned the engine out.

 

Yep, I bet that's your problem. You probably have water in the wire connector at the coil packs.

It's a good time to change plugs/wires.
Now the pinging, that's another issue...

 

Ehhh newb question- what are the coil packs? Is that the thing right above the fuse box in the engine compartment?

 

They're the black boxes that cover the spark plug holes on the passenger side of your motor. Plug wires attach to them, and connect to the Driver's side plugs.

 

That definately sounds like a misfire issue. Obviously change the plugs/wires first (use OEM stuff only). Also inspect the coil packs and verify water isn't getting in under the coil packs and causing issues. If the plugs and wires don't help then you can look into testing the coil packs but do the easy stuff for now and see how it does.

 

Yup, definately misfire. Just got back from autozone.

I got some new plugs, I am going to try swapping those out first.

 

these are two of three coil packs i cleaned my engine and had no problems i use a garden hose not a power washer

 

Atta boy elton, what with the pictures, with the circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one 'splainin what each one was...No wait...sorry, thats officer Obie. (If you get the reference kudo's)

 

also when changing the plugs use anti seize and heres a good tip remove the plugs with a sparkplug socket then use it when reinstalling them just get a few turns on the plugs remove it and switch to a deep metric socket i think it was a 18mm and when they get snug only go a half turn more dont wont to strip the threads

 

Just changed the wires hoping it would fix it, but it didnt. I am not looking forward to switching the plugs. Looks like that is next though. . .

 

its easy, just gap them correctly

 

plugs is easy!! No sweat man. your post was almost 30 mins ago...so I am going to say maybe your done? So now you have plugs and wires changed, and the verdict is?
A) Fixed.
B) Coil Pack Time.
So which is it jwbehm??
Where you located at in Atlanta? I'd be willing to help you on anything you have trouble with. Giveme a shout

 

ditto and ony use denso or ngk .... i used denso's when i changed mine and didint gap them and had no problems

 

I called Toyota of Roswell and they said that they wouldnt report it as being lifted to the warranty company so I just gave it to them to finish it. I only have a $50 deductable sooooo I decided to be lazy