2004 vue 3.5L v6

[Thecwb]

I bought a 2004 Saturn Vue with the 3.5 Honda v6. The previous owner said that it had a misfire and would need to have the plugs and coils replaced. She even had the diagnostic print to go with it. I noticed it was running ruff due to the misfire, but other than that it was a smooth ride, and the automatic trans was smooth as well. On my way home with the vue I noticed a shudder around 40mph-60+mph felt like the care was going to fall apart at higher speeds. I passed it off on the misfire. I changed the plugs and coils and noticed it was a way smother idle and ride, and no shudder. I did notice one of the spark plug tube seals were leaking around the #1 cylinder. Not even 8 hours after changing the plugs and coils it was missing again. I changed the tube seals and valve cover gaskets as well. It ran fine for about 3 days then the shudder came back. The check engine light will flash when it shudders. I let off the gas peddle and it stops. I ease back into the gas and it starts again. This seems to be an intermittent issue at the moment. Sometimes it won't happen at all. I noticed the cel flashes when the studdering is happening. Any ideas where to start? It is FWD.

[lord_varon]

Thecwb,
How many miles on the car? Also, what plugs did you use? The Honda power plants like Honda recommended parts. I did use Autolite iridium plugs in mine and it seemed okay with those. Just go back through and ensure that all the plug wires are firmly seated and screwed down tight, the gap is right, and nothing is loose. Also go through and check all the ground cables for corrosion and tightness.
On a different note, do at least one drain and fill on the transmission, with Honda DW-1. I can tell you very definitely from personal experience, the transmission HATES non-Honda transmission fluid. The Honda transmission will give you a stuttering feeling around the 35-55 mark in town due to the lock up torque converter and the computer programming. There was a TSB, about doing a computer reprogramming to help with this, but not sure if it is still being done.

John

[Claybury]

There should be pending codes set in the computer. Have the codes scanned and post them. Sounds like more than the typical idle misfires.