I have a 2006 F-150, V6, automatic transmission, a little over 214,000 miles. When I started it up this morning, no issues, but when I dropped it into reverse, it started shaking pretty bad. Got on the road and put it in drive, and the shaking continued, then the check engine light started flashing. Haven't had any problems up to this point. Checked all the fluids including the transmission fluid a few weeks ago and all was well. Any ideas? Want to know a little something before calling a mechanic.

 

Use an OBD code reader and read the codes.

 

code reader is definitely needed to get specific. Normally I would suspect a bad coil - poor ignition . Take to a auto store or somewhere they will read the code and give you the code NUMBER.. .. some places will try to tell you what the problem is from the given CODE.. they may or may not be right.

 

when the CEL flashes, that is usually a misfire. get the number of the code.

 

It isn't usually a misfire when the CEL flashes. It is ALWAYS a misfire when the CEL flashes. The codes will tell you which cylinder is misbehaving.