So i made the mistake of washing my engine bay with water because it was dirty. after an hour after washing it, i started the car and the engine started to shake....a lot. The shaking stopped for a little and i proceeded to drive the car as i was using a friends yard. The car had a very rough idle and was jumping when coming to a stop. Acceleration was not normal. It seems this is a common problem for people and it has to do with spark plugs being flooded or wet from the water....when this occured the check engine light came on. i let the car rest for a day and the shaking and rough idle stopped, i reset the battery and the cel was gone. however the next day after driving fine for 2 miles or so the rough idle and rough acceleration comes back and it has been this way for a week now. low on funds to have a mechanic change the plugs. i would do it myself but the procedure on a lexus gs300 is complicated. Am i headed in the right direction? 98 lexus gs300 2jz-ge engine

SOURCE: Misfire

One question, have you replaced the ECTS (Electronic Cooling Temperature Sensor)? These cause no end of different seemingly unrelated problems on Saturns. Peice is about ten bucks and is an easy install. Just search on youtube for a how-to video. Even if that's not the problem it is reccommended to replace this peice just the same as they ALL end up going bad at some point.

If that's not a fix, start pulling plugs. Check to see if they're correctly gapped and if they have any damage/corrosion. If you're running Platinum plugs, immediatly change to a copper plug as Platinums have no place in these motors. Most people have the best luck with NGK copper.

Check to make sure that your plug wires haven't been crossed. This sounds like a plug or wire issue most likely so it has to be in that family, if the plugs are good, wires good and not crossed, sensors are fine, then time to replace your coil packs. If you've replaced everything up to the coil packs then that is most likely the cause of your dillema.

SOURCE: Rough idle, Car shakes, sputters and misfires upon acceleration

It sounds like you may have a problem feeding the fuel to your engine, I had the same problem with my 89 RS. All the 1989 model's fuel systems were recalled. I think you may need a new fuel pump. The fuel pump is located inside the gas tank in the rear of the car right under the rear axle. The fuel pump itself isn't too expensive, but with other small parts such as the electrical harness upgrade and fuel filter and the labor you should be looking somewhere in the $500 range. I hope this helps.

SOURCE: Car stalls when idling at stop light

have the car checked when the check engine light is on,also a good scanner will be able to give you the history codes,get back to me with the codes and we'll go from there. you need someone with a professional scan tool

SOURCE: Check Engine Light Flashing During Acceleration/Rough Idle @ Stop

check engine light on usually mean emissions. ie catalytic converter, o2 sensor.

Mike Butler

• 6674 Answers
• Posted on Aug 23, 2009

SOURCE: 2004 subaru forester, 99,000 miles. Check engine

Drop in to an Autozone, or Pep Boys, or similar big parts store & they will usually scan for codes free. This will hopefully eliminate all the guess work, or at least point everyone in right direction for better diagnosis. If not obvious from codes what the problem is, get back to us and we'll help you out.

Testimonial: "Thanks for the great suggestion . I'll have Autozone read the codes on Monday. Thanks again!"