i have a p0300 code coming up on my 2006 chevy cobalt. what can i do?

[Met fanatic]

i have been having issues with this car for the longest time. my car idle jumps up and down, and when i'm in park i hit the gas for a slight rev. and the idle drops very low and the headlight dim as if the car is gonna die/turn off. Sometimes i'll start the car and the drive is rough and a few feet later when i stop or slow down or when i go in reverse my car turns off. especially when gas is low its at its worst. my car sometimes will turn off after i hit a right/left turn and i go to push on the gas and it cuts off. although everytime it happens it starts right up again....someone please help!!!!!

 

[bandit_60]

po300 is a cylinder misfire. it could be a bad plug wire, the cap and rotor or if you don,t have a distributor the coil pack. it also could be a plug misfiring.

 

[Frankie]

There are many causes for this obd code. Since it is a "random misfire" or "multiple misfire" this means that the misfire is on different cylinders and not just one all the time. This means that the most likely causes are things like:

Low Fuel Pressure
Vacuum Leak
EGR system malfunction
Internal Engine Problems (such as low compression)

BUT other things that can cause this code are:

Faulty Coil
Faulty Spark Plugs and/or Wires
Camshaft or Crankshaft sensors
Ignition module
Computer

The first thing I would do if the problem wasn't obvious by inspection is a full tune up. Many times this will fix this code. If you want to do more diagnosis so you don't just throw parts at it you will need to check each of the above items starting with the top four.