Fickle!

At first I thought it was a case of some bad gas. On one of my early Saturday morning trips to Wal-Mart a few weeks ago, the van started shaking and sputtering when I was stopped for a light. The next day, as we were driving home from church, I noticed the "Check Engine" light was on. Billy checked it out that afternoon and decided the problem didn't warrant an emergency trip to the Mazda dealership.

Then came Christmas and all the busyness that tends to come with the season. I drove the van when I needed to, always a little worried that it would sputter to a complete halt. Thankfully it never did.

Just last week, as the boys and I were making our weekly trip to lunch and the library, I noticed the van wasn't shaking anymore when it idled. Bad gas? Maybe so..., but the "Check Engine" light was still on, and I wasn't sure that would have an effect on it. Low and behold, after we left our last stop and headed home, the light went off! Maybe it was bad gas after all...?

New Year's Eve, the boys and I made a quick trip to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things for our party. No "Check Engine" light! No shaking and sputtering! I filled up the tank (at a different place than the last few times) and was thankful that the problem had somehow remedied itself.

Today was my first day to drive it again. No "Check Engine" light! No shaking and sputtering! For long. Then it started back - ever so slightly. When we left Wendy's after lunch, the "Check Engine" light came back on. Oh, well...

I guess a trip to the dealership is in order after all. Hopefully it won't be anything major.