3.5 v6 charger problem

**08chagerlopez** · 01-06-2010, 05:52 PM

i got up yesterday and started my car... a little bit of white smoke and a slight stutter when i took off then it stopped. temp was about 48 yesterday in houston. today about the same temp started the car fine... drove a few miles then the engine light came on so i pulled into the walnmart. check the oil and it was a little low so i put 2 quarts in it. started it back up and the car started to sputter when accelerated. engine light came back on and a lot more white smoke came out of the exhaust. stopped and got the code read and all it says is P0300 random cylinder misfire. not suer what it could be... searched and found mainly threads on plugs and other vehicles. i looked under the car and the oil filter was pretty grimey. like oil leaked out. no leaked oil on the topside of the engine. if anyone has experienced this pls let me know. i have 50000 miles on the car so im out of my warrantee. could it be a broken piston, rod, or spring? is my car dead?

**ToddStone** · 01-06-2010, 06:19 PM

Here's what I found.

P0303 Code - Cylinder #3 Misfire

Technical Description

Cylinder #3 Misfire Detected
What does that mean?

A P0303 code means that the the [COLOR=#009600 !important][COLOR=#009600 !important]car's [COLOR=#009600 !important]computer[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR] has detected that one of the engine's cylinders is not firing properly. In this case it's cylinder #3.

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Symptoms

Symptoms may include:

the engine may be harder to start
the engine may stumble / stumble, and/or hesitate
other symptoms may also be present

Causes

A code P0303 may mean that one or more of the following has happened:

Faulty spark plug or wire
Faulty coil (pack)
Faulty [COLOR=#009600 !important][COLOR=#009600 !important]oxygen [COLOR=#009600 !important]sensor[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR]
(s)
Faulty fuel injector
Burned [COLOR=#009600 !important][COLOR=#009600 !important]exhaust [COLOR=#009600 !important]valve[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR]
Faulty catalytic converter(s)
Running out of fuel
Poor compression
Defective computer

Possible Solutions

If there are no symptoms, the simplest thing to do is to reset the code and see if it comes back.
If there are symptoms such as the engine is stumbling or hesitating, check all wiring and connectors that lead to the cylinders (i.e. spark plugs). Depending on how long the ignition components have been in the [COLOR=#009600 !important][COLOR=#009600 !important]car[/COLOR][/COLOR], it may be a good idea to replace them as part of your regular maintenance schedule. I would suggest spark plugs, spark [COLOR=#009600 !important][COLOR=#009600 !important]plug [COLOR=#009600 !important]wires[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR], distributor cap, and rotor (if applicable). Otherwise, check the coils (a.k.a. coil packs). In some cases, the catalytic converter has gone bad. If you smell rotten eggs in the [COLOR=#009600 !important][COLOR=#009600 !important]exhaust[/COLOR][/COLOR], your cat converter needs to be replaced. I've also heard in other cases the problems were faulty [COLOR=#009600 !important][COLOR=#009600 !important]fuel [COLOR=#009600 !important]injectors[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR].
Other Reading

P0300 - Random/Multiple Cylinder Misfire Detected

I hope this helps.

**08chagerlopez** · 01-06-2010, 06:32 PM

yeah mine is p0300 random fire... so i guess its jumping from cylinder to cylinder ... its not one exact cylinder is the way im understanding it.

**ToddStone** · 01-06-2010, 06:39 PM

It's almost the same thing according to the OBD-Codes.com website:

Technical Description

Random/Multiple Cylinder Misfire Detected
What does that mean?

Basically this means that the the [COLOR=#009600 !important][COLOR=#009600 !important]car's [COLOR=#009600 !important]computer[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR]

has detected that not all of the engine's cylinders are firing properly.

A P0300 OBD DTC code indicates a random or multiple misfire. If the last digit is a number other than zero, it corresponds to the cylinder number that is misfiring. A P0302 code, for example, would tell you cylinder number two is misfiring. Unfortunately, a P0300 doesn't tell you specifically which cylinder(s) is/are mis-firing, nor why.

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Symptoms

Symptoms may include:

the engine may be harder to start
the engine may stumble / stumble, and/or hesitate
other symptoms may also be present

Causes

A code P0300 may mean that one or more of the following has happened:

Faulty spark plugs or wires
Faulty coil (pack)
Faulty oxygen sensor(s)
Faulty [COLOR=#009600 !important][COLOR=#009600 !important]fuel [COLOR=#009600 !important]injector[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR](s)
Burned exhaust valve
Faulty catalytic converter(s)
Stuck/blocked EGR valve / passages
Faulty camshaft [COLOR=#009600 !important][COLOR=#009600 !important]position [COLOR=#009600 !important]sensor[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR]
Defective computer

Possible Solutions

If there are no symptoms, the simplest thing to do is to reset the code and see if it comes back.
If there are symptoms such as the engine is stumbling or hesitating, check all wiring and connectors that lead to the cylinders (i.e. spark plugs). Depending on how long the ignition components have been in the car, it may be a good idea to replace them as part of your regular maintenance schedule. I would suggest spark plugs, spark [COLOR=#009600 !important][COLOR=#009600 !important]plug [COLOR=#009600 !important]wires[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR], distributor cap, and rotor (if applicable). Otherwise, check the coils (a.k.a. coil packs). In some cases, the catalytic converter has gone bad. If you smell rotten eggs in the [COLOR=#009600 !important][COLOR=#009600 !important]exhaust[/COLOR][/COLOR]

, your cat converter needs to be replaced. I've also heard in other cases the problems were faulty fuel injectors.

Random misfires that jump around from one cylinder to another (read: P030x codes) also will set a P0300 code. The underlying cause is often a lean fuel condition, which may be due to a [COLOR=#009600 !important][COLOR=#009600 !important]vacuum [COLOR=#009600 !important]leak[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR] in the intake manifold or unmetered air getting past the airflow sensor, or an EGR valve that is stuck open.
Other P0300 Reading

FaqFarm.com

**Bryali** · 01-09-2010, 01:29 AM

This, from what I've gathered, is because of the poor design of our 3.5's in reference to head flow. I had the exact same issue (as I just posted about here) and a TSB fixed it. It seems to be cause by poor airflow in, around, and through our cylinder heads but it could also be any number of other issues. Try this:

Buy a can of Sea Foam (or the Mopar top end/combustion chamber cleaner if you feel like taking a trip to your local Stealership) and run it through the top end just as you would any other top end cleaner (through the brake booster vacuum line). Then go out and drive the car. If the surging and stalling and lurching problem goes away for about 500 miles or so, which seemed to be the magic number for my car, but then comes back, look into the TSB that covers cleaning the top end, rotating the valve stems, and replacing the locks/retainers. My service contract covered all but a $100 deductible. For the price of the entire TSB (not exactly sure what it would cost completely out of pocket), you might be able to get a set of reworked heads from one of our vendors (Inertia, for example). With the TSB, you get the stock parts replaced with "improved" stock parts. With the aftermarket pieces, you get more go-fast. 1 of the 2 options could solve your problem.

I spent almost 4 years chasing that light and code till I found a dealership that would pull their collective heads out of their collective "seat-warmers" and believe me when I told them what my car was doing. Maybe fnkychkn will get on here and give you other options. Good luck with it, though.

**08chagerlopez** · 01-21-2010, 01:06 PM

thanks for the info... its running alright... still gets the sputtering here and there on take off... like if it idles for a minute then take off it might sputter then then catch. driving at a steady pace or higher pace there are NO symptoms of anything. the engine light only comes on when the car sputters then the light shuts off. someone said i might have just busted a valve but i HOPE its not that bad. ill keep everyone informed. not sure if i want to take it to a shop and have them take my money for all the time its gonna take them to find whats wrong or what. i am going to try the sea foam.

**marty2916** · 01-29-2010, 01:02 AM

I had the same issue about a year ago. My maggie threw the same code. I brought my car to my mechanic. Apparently, the 3.5 have airflow issues due the fact that they are prone to carbon build-up. To make a long story short, my mechanic had to rip the head off and clean it. The result was a lot of loss power was regained and i was handed a bill for about $700. My tip is if you do get the head work done, the use seafoam aleast once or twice a year . Good luck.

**08chagerlopez** · 02-10-2010, 10:57 AM

got some seafoam today to clean out the combustion chamber... its pretty cold here in houston so im gonna do that and see if it works it out. The car has been running alright just at times it will click a little and shoot white smoke out. It seems like a valve or valves get stuck and the coolant mixes wrong and just throws it off. I guess thats the reason for all the white smoke when it does that. ill probably run the cleaner tonight and see what happens.

**08chagerlopez** · 02-11-2010, 09:42 AM

Ok.... so yesterday i got home. Did the seafoam treatment. Temp was about 50 degrees in Houston ( wtf al gore ), and a little wet. I sucked the treatment up through the vacuum line and added the rest in the crankcase and gas tank. I let it sit for about 15 minutes and then fired it up. Had a good bit of white smoke so I let it run for about 10 minutes and then I took it out on the road. when i took off it started clicking and sputtering like it did but this time it was worse. Once I got to the freeway I floored the pedal and got up to about 6k rpm. The car just seemed to snap out of what it was doing wrong. Almost like I dropped a new engine in it. Runs smooth and it doesnt click or hesitate. No symptoms of problems and no error codes. Had the oil changed about 3 hours after I applied the seafoam.
My guess is that i had pretty bad carbon build up making the valves stick or they werent seating properly. Im glad it wasnt anything major.