CEL Issue

[crash_test_cuppy]

About a month ago I was sitting at a light and all of a sudden my car started rumbling and shaking and the RPMs got really low. I pulled the car over and the CEL started flashing. It was still driveable so I tried to get home and eventually the CEL became a solid light and the car was driving normally. My dad took a look at it and said that it could have been bad gas or something. He reset the CEL and it was fine for about a month.

This past weekend the same thing happened. One of the O2 sensors and the spark plugs were replaced about a year ago. I also had the timing belt, water pump, etc. replaced too. She has 115,000 miles on her and she's starting to fall apart! It's probably the other O2 sensor, but someone said that it might be the distributor cap...could that be the problem?

Please help!

[noR]

you don't have a distributer cap.

You'll need to scan it and pull the codes for it. Other than some REGULARLY SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE, I don't see alot in your post suggesting your bug's "falling apart". sensor's go bad, it's what they do. They measure, then they fail. At least nothing has broken yet.

[crash_test_cuppy]

I didn't think I had a distributor cap. I guess I'll have to find an AutoZone or something to get the code.

My bug is falling apart! In the past year I've had to replace the driver's side window controls and now the passenger's just fell out. The mount for the window controls is also broken on the driver's side. The air conditioner doesn't work when the car is stopped and I just had to replace the passenger's side seat frame. The driver's side headlight assembly has a bolt in it to keep it together because a piece of it broke off and the 'lights on' warning doesn't ding anymore. Oh, and I'm missing a hanger on my exhaust so my car sounds like a ricer.

Thanks for your help!

[noR]

Awww crap. Sorry. I hope this one isn't too major. I see what you're talkin' about now though.

Whatever # the autozone guys get will help narrow down your search greatly.

[crash_test_cuppy]

So I had the code read and it was P303. I replaced the spark plug wires (which were never replaced ) and she was running ok for about a week...and then it all went down hill. One morning she wouldn't turn over and when she did, the air bag light was on and she was running rough. A few days later the CEL came back on and I thought the engine was going to jump out of the car. I drove her to the shop (barely made it) and they tell me that there's oil in the third cylinder and all over the spark plug (which I just had replaced there 20k miles ago). They said that it could be the engine rings which will cost $3000 to do b/c it involves rebuilding the engine. If it's not that, it could need a new engine.

Does that sound right? Well, anyway, I'm going to just put in a new spark plug to get it running and trade her in on a new car. Doesn't look like I'll be getting another beetle though...