Land Rover Repair: 2002 LR Discovery Series II stuttering, blinking engine fix light., discovery series ii, maf sensor

Question
Hi Nigel,

I own a 2002 LR Discovery Series II. The vehicle has 112,000 miles. Two days ago the "Service Engine Light" began blinking and the vehicle began stuttering and feeling like there was a loss of compression. It did not stall out. This happened to me three months ago and went away.

Both times this has happened he gas has been less than a 1/8 of a tank and the first time this happened I equated it to moisture in the fuel line.

This time, it has not stopped (although I have not driven it to the gas station as I do not want to hurt the engine.) I drove it today and it stuttered and would be sporadic in the power. The engine fix light would go from being solid, to blinking.

When the vehicle is in park and I hit the accelerator it does not stutter and sounds fine. When in Drive it stutters and sounds/feels quite off. I tested in the driveway by putting the brakes on, putting it in drive and accelerating. It stuttered and sounded different than when in park and hitting the accelerator.

I did some quick research and thought maybe this is a MAF Sensor issue?

Any thoughts os help would be greatly appreciated. If this is something that is common or a fairly straight forward replacement, I can do it myself. Before I take it to the shop, I would like to try and get a better understanding of the potential problems.

Thanks Nigel

Eric

Answer
A blinking check engine light indicates a sever misfire.  You need to have the codes read to fully evaluate the problem.  If it is just the misfire it could be plugs, plug wires, coils, or an indication of a loose or porous liner.  Driving it with such a severe misfire can lead to costly catalytic converter damage.