02 taurus wagon

about 2 years ago during torrential rains, the engine light came on and when I was stopped at a light, the car would shake almost like it would stall, but never did. I was told then it was a 3rd cylinder misfire. Recently it happened again and when I brought it they said it was the engine coil wire which they replaced. Within a few days the engine light was back on. I took it back and they reset it but said they would have to check the code again and take the engine apart??? The light is still on, but the car is not shaking/vibrating. I have about 105k miles on it. What is up - please help. Going broke fixing the car.

Welcome to the forum!

Did the shop just replace the coil wire, or did they replace all the plug wires? If they only replaced the coil wire, then I'd suggest you have a proper tune up and get all the wires replaced with a quality set. If your 2002 has a separate coil and wire, which I doubt, a bad coil wire should set a random misfire code rather than a code for a single cylinder.

Also, most chain auto parts stores will scan the diagnostic trouble codes at no charge to you. If you were to get the exact code, in the form P0123 and post it here, we might be able to narrow down the areas to focus a bit more.

Vacuum leaks, loose intake air tubing, and bad Mass Air Flow (MAF) sensors can cause symptoms like you were experiencing (rough idle).

-Rod