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Thanks
Thanks
Based on your description, you should get it looked at right away.
When it dies I lose all power to the dash, lights kick off and guages drop, but the radio still works. There have been a few times where the dash has flashed at me, requiring me to put the ignition switch in the off position before restarting. When the dash doesn't flash I can just throw the car in neutral and restart. There have been a few times where the odometer/trip meter will kick from one to the other after it dies. I have also noticed that it will occasionally kick over to the tripometer after sitting off for a while. I'll have it set to odometer when I park the car and it will be set to trip meter when I restart it. The car has had an aftermarket head unit installed, and did not have a factory bose system. The head unit was installed a few months before this started happening.
I've been doing some searching and have seen quite a few issues with the ignition switch. Does this sound like it could be my problem as well?
Thanks
Terry
Are there any "check engine" lights on? Does your Intrigue start up right away in the morning? Are there any other drivability issues?
1. new brakes, 2. Ignition switch key doesnt always turn smoothly.
however, i have had identical electrical problems as you refer. I have given a diagnostic to a shop today and hopefully will get an indication in the next day or so.
I had all dash lights come on, windshield wipers came on and off, flashers and i had extremely hard steering control. luckily i was driving real slow and was able to stop. car restarted instantly but its is not worth taking a chance.
i see elsewhere in the forum of flickering dash lights, yes, i have had it since first few weeks, unable to duplicate at shop--random.
All in al
To those doing their own:
Be prepared to spend a lot of time on this.
Have adequate tools
Lift car and put front on jackstands
Remove pass front wheel
support engine with 12"x12 plywood on jack, don't push to hard its aluminum
remove rear subframe bolts 18mm
lower engine a bit to lower subframe
remove engine mount bolts to subframe 15mm
raise engine some
remove rear bracket and mount for engine mount through wheel opening, lower subframe as needed for clearance.
remove/install engine mount
reverse
Then the front one...*$*#&
The radiator, header, AC lines, starter, subframe were all in the way. ended up reattaching rear subframe, then dropping front subframe, battery cable, removing starter, front air dam, upper engine mount.
remove mount bolts
I "barely" got a 15mm gear wrench on the upper bolts between the header / heat shield and ac lines... lower bolts I used a socket, 3" extension, u joint, 12" extension. Old front mount was broken and way bad. Remove mount from bracket and install new, note orientatoin.
Reverse order for install.
By time I finished I was covered in grime and grease, despite about 14 hand cleanings. And I had access to a two post lift, two jacks, air tools, and still took a long time.
Have adequate tools
Lift car and put front on jackstands
Remove pass front wheel
support engine with 12"x12 plywood on jack, don't push to hard its aluminum
remove rear subframe bolts 18mm
lower engine a bit to lower subframe
remove engine mount bolts to subframe 15mm
raise engine some
remove rear bracket and mount for engine mount through wheel opening, lower subframe as needed for clearance. exercise curse words.
remove/install engine mount
reverse
Then the front one...*$*#&
The radiator, header, AC lines, starter, subframe were all in the way. ended up reattaching rear subframe, then dropping front subframe, battery cable, removing starter, front air dam, upper engine mount.
remove mount bolts
I "barely" got a 15mm gear wrench (if you don't have one go buy one) on the upper bolts between the header / heat shield and ac lines... lower bolts I used a socket, 3" extension, u joint, 12" extension. Old front mount was broken and way bad. Remove mount from bracket and install new, note orientatoin.
Reverse order for install.
By time I finished I was covered in grime and grease, despite about 14 hand cleanings. And I had access to a two post lift, two jacks, air tools, and still took a long time.
I was experiancing overheating on the highway. It was cold about 20. I would turn the interior temputure control off and the car would not overheat. So,when I ran cold air from outside over the heatercore, car would overheat. The coolant runs through the heater core all the time and activates the engine thermostat to allow coolant to flow through the radiator. So my origanal problem was the cold air was cooling down the heater core and not activating the thermostat. I saw online that there was a replacement thermostat housing and thermostat. I took it to the garage to have them replace the housing and thermostat and give it a flush.
Low and behold after they were through I was driving home and I got no heat. Nothing but cold air. That means no coolant through the heatercore and at idle the car starts to overheat. I take it back and ask why they send me home with no heat. They begin trouble shooting again and deside to pull the the water pump(which I told them was not the problem) and we check it out. Perfect condition. And yes its the original pump
. After arguing that I told them so and telling them it was not the radiator because the heater core provides the heated coolant to activate the thermostat they deside to replace the heatercore. After replacing the heatercore same thing. No heat and it would overheat when idling.
Well I decided to give them a lesson and I had them pull the intake line to the heatercore and check the flow from the motor. There was flow. Not a jet stream, but flow. It came out pretty good. I had them re-atatch the heater core inlet and detatch the excit line. No flow during idle. Hum. When you rev the motor above 2000 we have coolant flow. At idle no flow.
At that point they never charged me for the new heater core and I left because obviously they were just capable of replacing parts and had not troubleshooting skills at all.
So I go home and make sure the system is properly burbed and no air bubbles.I even tryed taking the return line from the heatercore off at the thermostat and ran the motor while filling it with a funnel through the thermostat housing while dumping the overflow back into the funnel. I bled the radiator with the car jacked up on the right side and got air out buy releasing the radiator burp plug on the radiator.
Still no luck I still have no heat now. Im out of ideas. Whatever they did they made it worse. At least I had great heat before they started. No oil in gass, no coolant in oil, no tail pipe plooms. Anyone have any ideas on how or what i can do? If they really replaced the heatercore then that leaves me with and engine blockage. Any Help?
Thanks
1) Does anyone have a coolant flow scamatic of the 3.5L(LX5)
2) Is there anyway to flush just the motor?
Second let me apologies to the auto shop were I took my vehicle to be serviced. Even though they tried there best to troubleshoot the vehicle, and misdiagnosed allot of things, the one possible cause they were correct on. Plus they did what they could to make a customer happy.
Third. The problem ended up being a HEAD GASKET.
After taking it to a proper dealer, they diagnosed it properly. Unfortunately the head gasket blew completely out on the way home from the dealer. So now I have to change the head gaskets out or get a long block.
Fourth. After looking at the price for used car prices, I think I will shoot for the long block. Why you ask? Because I don't have the room to drop the motor out to do a proper head gasket replacement and also if a head is bad it would cost even more money. So I have a dealer do it right the first time and even though it would cost more than the car is worth, I could not replace the car for a decent car for the price of a new motor. Then I would at least know its good for another 1000,000 miles, at least until the trans goes.LOL I can buy more trouble to fix, but why? the quality of cars that I could afford would have high mileage, and surly other issues.
Fifth. Rumors I want to dispel that I have read every were regarding the Intrigue.
1) The cooling system requires pressure in order to overcome the spring pressure of the thermostat to get flow to the radiator.
No. The thermostat will not open unless enough hot fluid from the heater core opens it. Its designed to run hot. If your car is overheating then its a flow issue from the heater core whether stopped up heater core or head gasket causing lock in the system.
2) Air in the system will prevent flow.
Maybe. If its allot. The system is designed to be self bleeding of air, except for the radiator which has its own bleeding screw. Since coolant does not always flow through the radiator it must be bleed independent of the rest of the system.There is a tube which comes off the top radiator hose that runs back into the reservoir bottle that self bleeds the system when everything is flowing properly. Take the cap off every once and a while to release excess air. It does not take extreme measures to burp the system, but the use of a vacuum coolant filler by your auto repair shop would be a bonus.
3) Heater core inlet hose is hot and outlet cold must be the heater core.
Maybe not. As in my case at idle I was not getting enough coolant pressure to get it to flow through the heater core. It ended up being the head gasket failure which created a lock at low idle and did not allow coolant flow.
4) Take out the thermostat and it will be fine.
That would be a no. This engine needs the thermostat for proper engine temp and coolant flow. You need the coolant to flow through the heads and motor in the first place to keep these aluminum head and parts from warping. and causing things like head gasket failure. Taking the thermostat out is just ignoring the main issue of flow.
Closing. I love my intrigue. It drives nice and has a comfortable cockpit. Since they don't make it anymore and Oldsmobile is now defunct, maybe in 30 years it will be worth something. Or not..LOLOL
Now the service engine soon, check engine, and trac off lights are on constantly.
Following things happened after mechanics worked on the tranny:
shifter was loose (like wasn't seating properly in each gear)
key in ignition was 'loose'...meaning sometimes had to wiggle it
dash lights were going on and off intermittently - service eng soon, trac off, etc
gas guage was going from full to empty and back and forth
RPM gauge was back and forth
Through all this intermittent gauge problem, service eng soon, trac off, etc lights would be on and off, BUT the car was running well (maybe a slight loss of power).
Now, besides the warning lights being on, only gauge not working is the fuel gauge.
Codes read were P404, co240 ABS, 404EGR, 463, 1571, 1605, 1610, 1626, 2961
Took it to a pretty reputable mechanic and he said it was too much work to try and track down the problem. Said I should take it back to the place last worked on! At least he didn't charge for the diagnostics.
Car won't pass inspection with the warning lights on.
Ideas anyone? Thanks!
My surge tank was just slightly warped around the cap area and was loosing pressure slowly through the over flow. I found one online for $70.00 delivered Make sure you get a new cap when you change it. (2 nuts on top pull it up and disconnect the hoses) That's it. of course I flushed the radiator as well. (NOT so fun) It was plugged ( NO FLOW). This is my expirience. Service manual says to flush it at 150k anyways.
Car running well except for maybe slight loss of power sometimes (but it's such a powerful engine, maybe it isn't running as well as it could).
Gauges were going crazy awhile ago but now the gas gauge is the only one that's not working properly.
Battery may need to be replaced (5 yrs old and a tiny bit of trouble starting...hardly noticeable).
Codes being pulled are P404, C0240, ABS, Hvac, etc etc
Thing is, think it's all related. Could it be because the battery is going? Could it have to do with the EGR circuits. Wiring harness? Ignition (they messed that up when working on it)?
This all started after mechanics replaced the bad tranny they put in a few months before. They did a sloppy job and I am thinking maybe messed up wiring or something.
Any ideas before I take it to yet another mechanic for diagnostics? Need it to pass inspection this month and with the darn light on, won't.
Thank you!
Diana
Will see!
Thanks again!!
Diana
Thanks for any help with this one.
Now I have more unresolved issues! After I got the car to pass inspection with an EGR valve replacement, the code P404 went away...along with the SES light.
Good news, right? Well, what I STILL have are the Service Vehicle Soon and Trac Off lights coming on....traction control and cruise stop working. Also had hard starting which I have never had (even in the coldest weather here). That (the hard starting) began after the EGR replacement.
Through all of this, the car runs fine once it starts.
Had already been to AutoZone and had them check my battery, which was fine...BUT the diagnostic strip said 'check charging system, alternator and connections'. The guy who checked the battery there said...maybe a parasitic drain on the battery. OK.
Took it back to the place where they replaced the transmission (twice) and the EGR valve. Mentioned the SVS and trac off light issue, but they didn't have time to deal with that...though they kept it all day.
Long story short...they replaced the battery for $152.00. Said it was fine.
Really??? Next morning, same thing...hard starting.
Yesterday, took it to a dealership. They found the battery connections corroded, cleaned them and it started fine.
This morning is the test...temp here is 14 degrees...so if there is going to be a hard start issue, it will be today.
The interesting thing is, I drove around a bit after the dealership cleaned up the battery connections, and the SVS and Trac Off lights did NOT come on, as they have been doing.
That's another issue I will be watching today, because those lights always come on eventually....oh, along with the Security light occasionally.
I have gotten some great advice here, and really appreciate it. Problem with mechanics is that, in general, they don't troubleshoot, just replace parts.
Will post what happens today!!
Now I have more unresolved issues! After I got the car to pass inspection with an EGR valve replacement, the code P404 went away...along with the SES light.
Good news, right? Well, what I STILL have are the Service Vehicle Soon and Trac Off lights coming on....traction control and cruise stop working. Also had hard starting which I have never had (even in the coldest weather here). That (the hard starting) began after the EGR replacement.
Through all of this, the car runs fine once it starts.
Had already been to AutoZone and had them check my battery, which was fine...BUT the diagnostic strip said 'check charging system, alternator and connections'. The guy who checked the battery there said...maybe a parasitic drain on the battery. OK.
Took it back to the place where they replaced the transmission (twice) and the EGR valve. Mentioned the SVS and trac off light issue, but they didn't have time to deal with that...though they kept it all day.
Long story short...they replaced the battery for $152.00. Said it was fine.
Really??? Next morning, same thing...hard starting.
Yesterday, took it to a dealership. They found the battery connections corroded, cleaned them and it started fine.
This morning is the test...temp here is 14 degrees...so if there is going to be a hard start issue, it will be today.
The interesting thing is, I drove around a bit after the dealership cleaned up the battery connections, and the SVS and Trac Off lights did NOT come on, as they have been doing.
That's another issue I will be watching today, because those lights always come on eventually....oh, along with the Security light occasionally.
I have gotten some great advice here, and really appreciate it. Problem with mechanics is that, in general, they don't troubleshoot, just replace parts.
Will post what happens today!!
Then, hard starting intermittently began.
Had that checked out and new battery installed.
Same problems.
Finally, alternator replaced and the gauges are fine and SVS & trac off lights are not coming on.
Now.....why was it so difficult for the mechanics to figure out my alternator was bad?
Just wondering.
Anyway, it's a shame that my car's body is being eaten away by the salt (tons of rusted areas), because I still think the 3.5L engine is great and the ride is just fine.
Am I safe in assuming that it is the torque converter?
Thanks
Terry
http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.ef2398d/5459
need to understand if this is ok to consider or will it create somekind of problem in the future and what that is....??
Thank you all for your attention and comments.