Blinking CEL
 

Hey there,
So I've had my check engine light with code p0301 on for about a week now (while looking for cheaper new oem parts) and have been told by the dealer a while ago (when replacing one of the 4 coils) that I will soon need to replace the rest of them.
This morning I go to leave and when I turn my car on the cel is no longer solid, and is now flashing. Pretty much, I shut it off and left... kind of upsetting.
I've been told not to drive it if the light is flashing but is it okay to start it? if the light is flashing is it still only the p0301 code still or is something else most likely very wrong as well....
The reason i'm asking is that when i tried to check the code while it was flashing my reader decided to erase it before i got the chance to see if there was any other code., and now I'm kind of stuck... :(

Thanks

well if you have known misfire on cylinder 1 code already blinking cel might have been random misfire. when's the last time you changed coils wires and spark plugs? I suggest you should change them soon if its been long and go ahead clean the maf sensor with maf cleaner. having dealer change 4 coils gonna cost ya 800 dollars so go ahead and order bhr ignition kit for 500 dollar and look up a diy its not too hard to change them actually.

Well the coils are oem n3h1-18-100c so there's no way its been over a year since they've been changed and there's no way the car has had over 8k in this last year because it was mainly summer driven. Slightly confused as to why they're failing so quick... spark plugs not sure if they've ever been changed but dealer said it was coils that were ready to go :s as for a diy I would be okay doing it but its a 06 so the engine still has warranty so I'm trying not to void it. Sticky situation lol

A flashing CEL is ALWAYS a misfire. 100% of the time. And misfires can be caused by a rather large list of things.

https://www.rx8club.com/tech-garage-...t-here-222280/

Thanks that's a great link! Unfortunately it doesn't fully answer my questions though, I'm still not sure if I should start my car again or try to drive it at all... so I dpnt have to pay for the tow truck to the dealer. And if I start it im guessing the codes would come back which would be good.
Still also looking for an answer to whetherits still only the p0301code or if it would tell me something new as well. I got that it might be the random misfire, p0300 but if it is the cat lets say that caused more misfires andtipped it over to flashing, would it be another code?

Part of me wants to say: "if you are taking it to the dealer, a tow truck fee is the least of your problems". You will get hosed there as they will keep swapping parts until it's fixed, and probably not even on one visit. Nearly everything in the list in that thread can be checked and fixed easily by yourself or help from local members.


But as a literal answer to your question, if you are only driving it to the dealer, yes, you are fine. Misfires will clog your cat very very quickly, sometimes in under 100 miles, but less than 50 miles or so shouldn't be a problem if you are taking it in for diagnosis. You are still doing harm to your cat in the process, but it shouldn't be enough to cripple you on the way.

Okay sounds good, thanks. Unfortunately the dealers here are complete assholes, no surprise, and they would more than likely void my warranty if I didn't get this fixed with them. I already know that its my coils that are bad, we checked, so that's not necessarily the problem. I just don't feel like paying 2k out of my pocket if they decide I didn't do what they told me to do and voided the warranty.
And I've actually been driving with it misfiring for a while now, it misfired even before the light came on so I'm not sure the condition of my cat... I'm tempted to remove it altogether as I just passed emissions testing and I wont need to do it for another 2 years.... but then again if I passed emissions testing I should be okay for a cat right??

I don't understand what's going to void the warranty. If you know your problem is bad coils why don't you go ahead and change it? bad ignition system will cause misfire coil/wires/plugs and bad coils/low compression can cause the plugs to go bad real quick too. 20 feet driving in bad engine caused my brand new plugs to go bad so... switch the coils if you can afford it go with BHR coils which WON'T void the warranty if you're referring to that.

Hey thought I'd post an update on the status of the car...
I called the dealership and after asking 3 or 4 people from the service department about my warranty I finally got it out of the manager that no, I can put in the BHR system and my warranty will not be voided as they can't prove it would be wrong installation or the system itself that would cause engine failure.
So I went ahead and bought the system with the spark plugs and long story short the thing is absolutely amazing!!!
After installing my engine was way smoother, much more responsive throttle and so far better gas consumption.
I had 2/4 spark plugs malfunctioning, full of gas and oil, and 3/4 coils were burned to a crisp... oops
But the shipment came quickly and caused no problems, no error codes, no tweaking, nothing. amazing.
Only thing I would have a complaint about is how absolutely ridiculous it is to switch the spark plugs... they are almost 100% inaccessible (through the top, not on a lift). So as a diy project all I can say is be patient and prepare for scratches, pinching, poking and cut up arms and fingers. Not an easy car to work on!

thanks for your guys' help :)