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Chevy Venture Starting/Stalling/Idle Issues

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Comments

  • srulizsruliz Member Posts: 7
    Thanks for responding.
    Is it a simple task to clean on my own?
    Would you be able to send me a picture or descibe to me the throttle body location?
  • azuazu Member Posts: 84
    Just take off the rubber air duct and spray some throttle cleaner and use a soft cloth to wipe off the plate. There is not much room but it can be done. Some will say to take the complete assembly off, but I was able to clean it enough and corrected the problem so I didn't go that route.
  • srulizsruliz Member Posts: 7
    Thanks a million. I'll try tomorrow and let you know.
  • srulizsruliz Member Posts: 7
    ok. I opened the hose and the throttle body and flap were relatively clean, however I did spray it out and wipe it down and my engine still races on idle when I start the engine and randomly while driving and parking. Any other ideas? I changed the Idle Air Control Valve and checked the continuity of the wiring from the IAC Valve to the PCM (computer) and its fine.
  • robfred1robfred1 Member Posts: 5
    Usually a surging or high idle problem is a loss of vaccuum. or to much air entering the system through the throttle body. Mine was actually caused from the throttle body gasket. It had deteriorated over time, and started sucking in air from the back of the throttle body.
  • azuazu Member Posts: 84
    3 things come to mind. Vacuum leak somewhere, bad TPS and/or bad MAF sensor. Have you had it scanned for any codes?
  • srulizsruliz Member Posts: 7
    My mechanic did a scan and didn't get any codes, however I will take it on Monday for another more intense scan.
    Funny thing though is that it only races when the engine is fully warm and races really bad when i put it into reverse and back into drive 2 or 3 times when parking on a warm engine.
  • srulizsruliz Member Posts: 7
    just did another scan for codes and what i get is an error for the idle air sensor which was the first thing i replaced with a delco brand. one mechanic claims its the pcm computer and the other claims that the idle sensor might not be siting right and wants to reset it. any idea?
  • tjh87tjh87 Member Posts: 4
    edited July 2011
    Back around January I was driving our Venture (right after a snow storm, clear and cold) and it said the coolant was hot, gauge was as far as it cold go to the right. Nothing noticeable that shown any overheating, nor did any noise go off, although I don't know if this happens when the car overheats. A few months back after the car drove about 30-40 miles, and was turned off for a few, it would start then stop, and it sounded like it was idling low and misfiring. Tried a few times, gave it a rest, and about 15 minutes later, it ran fine. Nothing happened for the rest of the night about another 40-50 miles. My father said it happened a few weeks later.

    Recently the heat gauge has been going from about half way between the middle and Hot to the middle and Cold (middle being the vertical line in the center for clarification) in a matter of second, and seemed a bit unreliable. Now on Saturday it reached H with the hot coolant in the display and no noise about 4-5 times, usually while it was stopped (same drive as the one before when it start and stall), started up fine after we reached our destination (car said hot coolant both on the gauge and the display, car was off for about 5 minutes), and was fine the rest of the day, about another 80 miles. Now again today, driving home, it reached H and all, and after I got home, I tried starting it, and it would start and stop. 15 minutes later and some gas, ran fine except for a little vibrating which happens all the time. When it started and stopped, it sounded like it was trying to hold idle, then it would drop, reach idle again, drop in idle, and then it would either stall, or reach idle, drop idle, then stall. We believe it could be the computer, but no real clue. Another idea would be the engine protection that kicks in when the engine overheats, but that doesn't happen while driving (car felt like it always does). Any ideas?

    Also, when the car overheats, does it make a sound or an alarm (I hear none although the display says engine coolant hot and gauge says the same)? Or is the display and the gauge tied together, and the display is not triggered by the comp but the gauge?
  • srulizsruliz Member Posts: 7
    OK. We finaly solved the problem for my Chevy Venture engine racing. We removed the throttle body to make sure that the gasket was not leaking and to make sure the idle sensor was sitting right. What we discovered was that the TPS (Throttle Postioning Sensor) needed to be replaced. We replaced the gasket and TPS and the car runs fine.
    Thanks to all of you for your input.
  • wdf73wdf73 Member Posts: 2
    I have a 2002 Venture. A month or so ago, it died while my wife was using it. After a lot of messing around, I discovered the plug that goes through the floor behind the driver's seat was bad. I replaced it, and all went well for a while. Then it died again, (Thankfully in the yard this time). Both times the fuel pump was not kicking on. I went through all the connectors, tried hot wiring the fuel pump, and finally dropped the tank. When I unplugged the wiring connector from the pump, I noticed some corrosion, so I cleaned it up and everything seemed to work. Now I have had fail to start twice. Both times it runs well until it is shut off (both times on a hot day), then will not start. One time a friend was helping me and removed the tubing from the fuel pressure regulator and the pump started working, and the next time I disconnected the plug from the bottom of the van and hot wired the pump to test it. It started up and then worked fine when I hooked the plug back up.
    If I understand the wiring diagram right, it appears that if the fuel pump relay closes, it provides power directly to the pump. Do I have a pump that is going bad and has a 'dead spot' in it, or could the relay be going bad?
    Thanks for the help!
  • stevie0040stevie0040 Member Posts: 2
    So sorry for the late late reply. Had to change the water pump anyway so I took apart other stuff to get to the camshaft position sensor. But for the life of me, just couldn't easily remove the power steering pump without disconnecting hoses.. Did not want to disconnect the p.s. hoses for a relatively minor problem. No codes are ever set. It just takes a second start sometimes if the engine has been off between 10 - 60 minutes. Strange that before and after that range it starts fine. Thankfully the starter is relatively new so it can take a beating and still keep cranking!
  • bigboy24bigboy24 Member Posts: 4
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  • benson75benson75 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2003 Chevy Venture. Recently it started stalling on me. I changed the fuel filter, and air filter. I got codes that led me to change the coil packs and module. When I went to start it up gas shot out of the fuel pressure regulator. I replaced it. Now I have no codes, and when it starts it will Idle for a minute or 2 and then stall. If I try to give it gas it begins to shake and stutter. I have no Idea what it could be since there are no codes. As far as I can tell I am not getting any vacuum leaks anywhere. All of the wiring seems good and connectors are good, and tight. I also replaced the plugs and wires. It is still having the same problems. Does anyone have any ideas of what the problem could be? Any advice would be extremely helpful. Thanks.
  • tjh87tjh87 Member Posts: 4
    Hi, Thought I'd bring this here. My parents have a 2000 Chevy Venture with over 130k, that I also drive. Over the summer, an interesting starting issue began, and it doesn't happen very often. What happens is the car will start, idle very rough, then stall. It has happened after sitting 5 minutes, after sitting for 40, and it has happened after a 40 mile drive, and a 1-2 foot drive (literally). I believe its something in the fuel system (but I am not sure), and a lucky well timed slap of the gas gets the car to a normal idle, as well. Has anyone else had this issue?
  • justachickyjustachicky Member Posts: 1
    Did you ever figure this issue out ? I have been having the same issue with my 2000 Chevy Venture (with the coolant light) and earlier today it died at a stop sign and now wont stay running...

    I replaced my fuel pump , filter and relay about 3,000 miles ago and can hear the pump click on... So im hoping that really isnt the issue again.
  • hoov2hoov2 Member Posts: 1
    I am dealing with the same issue. At first I thought it was an injector leaking down after shutoff but after further review, I discovered anti-freeze (very small amounts) in cylinder #1. There is a good chance it is a head gasket. This might sound a little crazy but when you first start it up stand at the back of the vehicle and smell the exhaust. If it is bruning anti-freeze it will have a sweet smell to it. You will not notice any loss in anti-freeze initially since the small leak will take time to notice and when you shut the vehicle off after running for some time the vehicle goes through "heatsoak". It actually heats up more, creates presure and as it cools it creates a vacuum which is how it pulls additional fluid from the resevoir tank. Problem is that if there is a small trace leak, this vacuum will never be created. You may want to have a mechanic you trust look at it before the engine gets damaged from the leak. Good luck.
  • sinclairgsinclairg Member Posts: 1
    I have just started having the same problem with my 2000 venture it also happens when i will be driving and the start to stutter some times it stalls I just had my fuel pump replaced and as soon as I left the mechanics it did it again. Did you have any luck finding out what it could be?
  • k9will2k9will2 Member Posts: 15
    my 2001 venture 3.4 after you drive it and then park for a few minutes it cranks and extra few cranks before it starts i have been told that it could be injector leak down causing a little flooding of cylinder, but it all ways starts, after it sit for along while it starts normally, it only does it after you run it and than shut it off for a short time and than try to start it, fuel pump has been replaced because gas gauge was acting up.
  • videostudio54videostudio54 Member Posts: 1
    I had this exact problem on my 1997 Chevy Venture. Stalling, no codes, no other apparent problems. I solved the problem by replacing the Camshaft Position Sensor. The sensor is located on the passenger side of the engine near the top. You have to remove a lot of stuff to get to this simple sensor, but it worked. Now I have no more stalling, failing to start or other related anomalies.

    I also changed the Crankshaft Position Sensor just because . . .
  • dungeon_monkeydungeon_monkey Member Posts: 1
    Thought I would share this. A few days ago, our Venture after pulling it into the garage and shutting it off for 5 min it would not start up. Acting like an ignition problem, I ran tests and replaced a few parts. The Ignition switch and relay and checked all related fuses. Having my wife try to start the van while I checked the circuits and tapped the starter I noticed the starter start smoking at the purple ignition wire on the starter solenoid. Around a month ago the Venture had a oil leak from a sensor right above the starter. I replaced the sensor and it ran great. The oil is now causing the starting problems. I plan to replace the starter and clean all leads. It should take care of it. Hope this helps. I was on the right track with the ignition curcuit.
  • pjb61pjb61 Member Posts: 1
    Have a 01 venture will not idle when first stared when cold. It will run if you hold foot on peddle and die when you let off.Dosent do it all the time. When it is warm runs fine till you step on it hard from astop sign it will die or hesitate. No codes good fuel pressure.
  • guardgirlsterguardgirlster Member Posts: 1
    Just recently I got into my van and it turned on perfectly fine, I drove it for about 2 min when I had to stop and wait for traffic and it just turned itself off. I went and tried to turn it on but it will not, it turns over so I have battery but that's about it. I put oil, coolant, and gas into the car encase it was any of those issues, but it was not. I let it sit for 10 min and tried again and it started fine, drove it around the parking lot for a bit and then turned it off, went to turn it back on and it would not. It just turns over but doesn't actually start! Anyone have any suggestions?
  • tjh87tjh87 Member Posts: 4
    It could be the fuel pump, and when you initially tried to restart it, was is accidentally in drive? The car will only start in Park or Neutral, I learned that the hard way. If the car is in Drive, Reverse or 1, 2, or 3, it will not even turn the engine. Back to your issue though, if it will turn but not start, it could be a few different things. Have you ever replace the fuel pump previously, because I suspect that the fuel pump could be bad, we had a similar issue where the van could not run without someone reving the engine. If you have the right gauges, you can test the fuel pressure. It might also be time to replace the spark plugs if they haven't been replaced, and check the air filter too.. A car needs three things to essentially run though, fuel, air, and spark, and without any one of those things, the car will not run well, if at all.
  • tjh87tjh87 Member Posts: 4
  • sfnystromsfnystrom Member Posts: 1
    I am currently having the same exact issue with my 2003 Venture...Did you ever come up with a solution for your problem? I really need help figuring this out cause the shop that my van is at wants a $1000 to replace the computer in the van but they are not sure that is what is causing the problem...I am NOT willing to give that kind of money without a positive answer for problem to be fixed.
  • kerrick1kerrick1 Member Posts: 4
    When my van had the problem of not starting or idiling and then stalling out we tried many things and then found that the problem was a loose wire behind the brake. It was a simple fix but took forever for them to figure out.
  • demeopdemeop Member Posts: 7
    my crank but no start after warm was the cam position sensor, solved it. then after the water pump went it started to happen again. the coolant shot everywhere and assumed it hurt the sensor again. put another in and seemed to work again. still once in a while will get a funny start but maybe other issues w/TPS or IAC.

    I'll get to them some other day, for now only real issue is gas gage and sometimes the coolant temp gage not reading correct. I always thought might be a wire to the instrument cluster. a wire behind the brake pedal? I'll look under there once I have a chance. also traction control issues once in a while. sometime "service traction control" message which means to me just turn it off. need to check/clean brakes soon will check connections then.
  • jimmy1966jimmy1966 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2005 chevy venture has always ran great, shut it off today and it would not start again. All the lights still worked, battery was good, starter checked out fine. My mechanic checked all the wireing and was puzzled. I tried my spare key. Guess what it started just fine.So try your extra key before you pay a ton to have someone look at your van. Hope this helps you out
  • demeopdemeop Member Posts: 7
    was happening with my key and my wifes key. I thought it could be the anti theft but fought this for almost a year before I got lucky and got a cam position low code. again we still get some funny starts but so far IMHO, that is what was stopping fuel.
    only $30 sensor and (1) screw but impossible without removing power steering pump which is not easy. damned front wheel drives!
  • redneckfromnbredneckfromnb Member Posts: 3
  • redneckfromnbredneckfromnb Member Posts: 3
    I got a 2003 venture and lately its starting to spitting and sputtering. it only does it once in a while though. put it in neutral and you can rev it all day.I dont want to start replacing a bunch of stuff without some input.it also lately dont want to downshift very good, any input would be appreciated
  • jeffrey26jeffrey26 Member Posts: 1
    The van periodically is not starting. You turn the key, it makes sounds like it's going to start, but doesn't. The lights and radio are fine so doubtful that it's the battery.
    Someone mentioned moving/pushing the van a little then trying to start it. That worked once yesterday.
    Any ideas as to what this could be?
  • lproctorlproctor Member Posts: 1
    Try cleaning the throttle body. Take it of and hold it up to a light. You should be able to see light. Use brake cleaner, it works well for those kind of jobs. I did the same for my venture and my trail blazer.
  • imdaman6909imdaman6909 Member Posts: 1
    Hello,
    I have a issue with my van that i cannot for the life of me figure out. A week ago it was running great, I shut it off and it sat for 2 days in freezing temps. I go to start it and all it does is turn over and make popping noises from out of the engine. It sounds like it wants to start came pretty close a couple of times but it will not turn over at all. anyone have any advice?
  • jay510jay510 Member Posts: 2
  • jay510jay510 Member Posts: 2
    1997 chevy venture idle perfect then drives 6-9 blocks when its cold, then it stalls and bog and turns off i have to pull over start up sometimes right away or sometimes i have to sit for a minute or 2 then it will start then drive a block or two and stall and bog out again i change fuel & air filter i dont know whats up it has 103,000 miles and there is no check engine light
  • ebar1ebar1 Member Posts: 3
    Did you ever resolve this problem? I just bought a 2003 Venture and it has the same issue. It dies while driving, just the battery light comes on, starts again after a few minutes. New battery, motor and other parts in it. Did you ever get an answer that worked?
  • kerrick1kerrick1 Member Posts: 4
    There was a wire underneath the brake pedal that was shorting out. They switched it out and it was fixed right away at the dealership. Had it at another garage for over two weeks prior to that with them trying to figure it out. Good luck and hope this helps.
  • ebar1ebar1 Member Posts: 3
    Thanks very much - I will check it out.
  • towheelietowheelie Member Posts: 3
    I had to replace the computer in mine to fix the problem.
    I spend $2500+ trying to fix the problems for 2 years and never did.
    Spent $844.66 for a new computer and reprogram at the dealership. Have not had a problem in several years now.
  • lwilliams68lwilliams68 Member Posts: 1
    Hi, I have a 98 chevy venture 3.4L with 190,000 miles. The problem I am having is that when i make a left turn, the van acts like it wants to shut off, and while i am sitting at a stop sign it lurches sometimes and other times it don't do anything wrong. What is the problem. It starts just fine, i don't hear any noises. All the fluids are fine. Any advise would be helpful.
  • ebar1ebar1 Member Posts: 3
    Hi - the best suggestion I found from someone here was that it was related to a wiring problem under the brake pedal. I have the same problem with my van - a 2003 Venture (no lurching though) - it just dies for no reason. I realized it was happening when stopped, when slowing or in the middle of a left turn. It doesn't happen often, but it is weird when it does. I'm waiting for an appointment to have it looked at but I suspect wiring is where the problem lies. Good luck with your van.
  • jenifersjenifers Member Posts: 2

    I have a 2003 chevy venture, problems started with it about 2 weeks ago. While i was driving down the road it would just shut off as if i was shutting off the key, i would pull over and it would start right back up most of the time other times it would have to sit a few minutes to an hour or so and it would start agian. Then the van started acting like it was running out of gas as I would try to go uphill or even drive on a flat surface. It would spit and sputter. Took it to advance auto and they used the hand held computer and a code came up for a sensor which was the "vapor pressure sensor" it is located at the top of the gas tank on top of the fuel pump, so that part was 42 bucks. My fiance replaced the sensor, the van finally started after a few minutes of spitting and coughing and grumbling, it seem to smooth out and it was running fine. I took it down the road it was fine, I took my daughter across town to her practice and after that I decided i wanted to go to the store, i had to go up a long hill (mountain if you will) and it started spitting goin up the hill, made it to the store, left there then and stopped at the gas station, put some gas in it up to a half a tank added some dry gas to it, it ran fine the way home about 5 miles, a couple of days later i tried to go up the hill and it started spitting and sputtering very badly but never stalled this time, but i couldn't make it no farther i had to turn around and drive it home. So yesterday I took it down to the local garage and they had a computer that read misfire code and emissions but it has an exhaust leak so that could be the emissions code, the guys at the garage told me to start with a tune up, so 60 bucks later for new spark plugs and wires it started and the check engine light was even off, but I went up the hill and it was still spitting a tiny bit, went to advance auto to get on the computer again it was still reading the same code for the sensor i had replaced, so i went to auto zone to use their computer, codes came up for emissions and misfire, they had my fiance convinced to put on a new gas cap, well that didnt solve the problem, brought it home now it will not start at all, it will crank but it will not start! The problem is not the fuel pump because you can clearly hear it running and my fiance took the filter off and blew threw it and put it back on, I asked the guys at the garage what to do if the tune up didnt fix it and they said "that should take care of the problem' which the spark plugs were very very bad so i thought for sure we had the problem fixed! can someone please help before i set this thing on fire!!! I have read every single post on here and alot of people had the same problem but the people that had the same exact problem im having didnt have solution. :(

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