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Q: My car is jerking and the engine light is on.

asked by on February 18, 2017

I have an 2002 Mazda tribute. It just got two catalytic converters fixed, it has mostly new hoses, a new radiator, and a new battery. It jerks a little and the engine light is on. It might be on because of a bad gas cap or crappy gas. So, I plan on getting a new cap and I've been using Shell with the middle grade gas. I'm hoping it's just that, but I would like to see if y'all might have a better idea. I just got it back from my mechanic, so I don't want to take it in if I don't have to.

My car has 196600 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.

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A loose or leaking gas cap will almost never be the cause of a poorly running engine. It will set the check engine light on and set an Evaporative System fault, but will not make the engine jerk or misfire. With the check engine light on now, a fault code is stored in the system and is most likely the cause of the rough running. The fault codes should be pulled from the system and a proper diagnosis performed to find the exact cause.

Mazda
Tribute
V6-3.0L
2002
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