My daughters 2004 tribute sat for about 4 1/2 days without being started. When she started it this morning, it was missing on several cylinders, running really rough with the check engine light flashing. I purchased it used and it has been a great car. Any ideas on where to start to diagnose this issue? I would be grateful.

 

Hi there:

With the CEL flashing it should not be driven (far) as the conditions are bad enough to cause damage to the catalytic converter.

I suggest you borrow a scanner and read the trouble codes, then let us know what there.

We also like to know which engine you have and how many miles are on it and what parts have been replaced recently.

You can already look for some basics: Airfilter, spark plugs, wires, coilpack. Look for loose hoses, check oil level, etc.

I don't like to recommend anything that would cost real money without knowing the trouble codes.

 

I had misfiring with my wife's 2003 V6. It had about 90,000 miles so I decided to change the plugs. While changing the plugs I changed the three back coilpacks since I would already be in there. A little expensive but figured I would save the old ones to replace any bad ones in front in the future.

So far I have had to replace one of the front ones.

When I changed the plugs and back coilpacks the misfire stopped. A few thousand miles later misfired again but I had bought an ultragauge that could read the codes. Learned that one of the front cylinders was misfiring and replaced the coilpack with one I had saved from the back.

Buying the inexpensive code reader was a great investment for me. I have used it to diagnose a few codes myself and lent it to friends to diagnose their issues. There are certain instances when you should not be driving the car which makes it impossible to go to a parts store to have them read the codes for you.

No issues for a few more thousand miles now.

Good Luck.