Very low idle
 

Hi,

I have a 98 protege that i got in the winter, everything has been going well, till this summer. Recently on extremely hot days, my check engine sign comes on and the car idles really low, so low that the cars shakes a bit. this only happens for maybe 3-4 secs. and when I hit the gas while driving, the car bucks a bit. i was wondering if anyone has a clue what might be wrong.

Thanks

Naira

Check the air filter, and try to clean the injection system. It could be something as simple as that, or a lot worse, though I dont think so.

mine has been doing that off and on for almost a year, and mostly in the warmer parts of the year. the check engine light has come on and off more times in the past 2 months than any other time. when i get an oil change, it always slips my mind to ask the mechanic to look into the check engine light. the check engine light was on a few days ago and i looked under the hood and found a wire harness that wasnt plugged in near one of my headlamps. i plugged it in; no check engine light--though i doubt they were related. someone told me that a funky oxygen sensor will cause the check engine light to come on and can affect the idle of the car, though i'm not a mechanic myself i don't know how accurate that statement is. usu. when my car shakes while idle, i will put the gear in "N" until i have to accelerate. that usu. reduces most of the vibration. and with the a/c on, jebus its like an earthquake in my car!
-meGrimlock

Same vibration
 

Yeah, i get the same thing with my 98 protege. Some times when i come to a stop then the car idles rough, but i haven't figured it out yet. I brought it to mazda for a small tune up and i will let u know if it helps at all. I told them about that and they just called me back to say that the Distributor Cap and Rotor and spark plugs should be changed. Especially the spark plugs. So hopefully that will do it.. Gonna cross my fingers..

It helped
 

Well, it's not doing that rough idle thing anymore, i guess it was something they fixed. They changed the distributor cap, rotor and spark plugs. A small tune up and things are much better. :D