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I have a 2004 Sunfire and I have had very similar problems that you described. My car usually starts on the first try most of the time, but on 3 different occasions in the past month it has not started for me. The time between failed start-ups has shortened. One night I tried for an hour to start it and it finally started. Ran well for 2 days and then the same thing happened; I stopped at gas station and it wouldn't start again. I had it towed, the dealership said it was the fuel pump and I paid way too much money to get a new fuel pump installed. That worked for about a day. Then one morning it wouldn't start again...and after 20 minutes, it started. The dealer couldn't find any problems and couldn't find any "computer codes." Just 2 days ago, my car wouldn't start and I finally got it to start, then I was going about 25 mph and it stalled once I applied the brakes, at about 0-2 mph. Everytime I try to start it and it won't start, it spins and tries to turn over, and sometimes catches, but only for a second, then turns off.
Does replacing the TCC Solenoid fix this problem?
Is it easy to troubleshoot this by unplugging the "square" plug on the transmission, like the "about.com Auto Repair" articles states?
Please...I need help with this...this is my only car.
thanks.
I don't know if this would help your car, but it's worth checking out.
I've been going down the most obvious path to see if I can rectify the problem - new plugs & wires, air filter, fuel injector cleaner. Although I can feel the difference in performance with these new parts and it idles much smoother, the underlying problem is still persisting. I've noticed the fuel filter has the under carrage oil protection gunk on it so I'd say it's been at least 5 years since it's been changed if at all. I made an attempt to change the fuel filter today but the quick release ring won't budge and probably needs a mechanic to cut it off and replace the filter intake elbow also.
I'm almost at the end of my short list of things I can diagnose/fix myself so I thought I'd post my problem before forking out the big bucks to a mechanic. $75 with no gaurentee it's even going to be fixed - who has that kind of money?!
did you check to see what's in your radiator?
google Consumer Affairs GM Dexcool
hundreds of complaints..
one guy says he solved the problem:
M L of San Rafael CA (08/26/06) *WE'VE FIXED THE PROBLEM(S)!!
And while it's irritating to look back and see how much $$ I've needlessly thrown at my '92 K1500 Chevy Blazer, several radiators, head gasket, heater core, trans cooler lines, uptake gaskets, pretty much everything that has come into contact with cooling fluids has either corroded or slowly disintigrated. All due to what turns out to be a basic electrical design flaw at GM.
radiator guy hates Dexcool, suspects that perhaps it's the electrolisis that causes the Dexcool to turn to a jelly goop.
Says the higher the amp reading in the radiator, the more goopy Dexcool seems to be.
My story: The original radiator in my '92 Chevy lasted a good while (hint: older radiators had A LOT more copper in them). The trouble really all started and in a big way, after replacing the original radiator. I did pay the $500.00 for the new GM radiator. (hint: the newer made radiators have little to no copper in them. They are mostly aluminum and steel) Within a couple months, I started having to dump money into my K1500 Blazer, LOTS of it!
When radiator #3 started leaking, I got fed up with my mechanic, who kept saying, it's a high milage vehicle. I should expect this. Not thinking it was even slightly odd that everything seemed to be connected to the cooling system or somehow come into contact with it, even though nearly every repair seemed to require draining the radiator?? So, I looked for the oldest, greasiest, busiest, radiator shop in my area. First thing the guy did, after hearing the list of repairs I'd made, was to drop a probe in the radiator to check for a charge, in other words, electrolysis. An acceptable reading is .03 amps. I was running at .38 amps!! Turning the engine off it would only drop it to .27 amps.
So, he replaced leaking radiator #3, and rechecked it,.. .58 amps!! It went up! He shrugged and said, new one must have even less copper than the last one. I've seen a lot of these GM's with this crap going on. I've been doing this thing that seems to fix this problem. Then an off-duty local cop pulled in with his Blazer, newer than mine. We got to talking, he'd had most of the same problems and this radiator guy fixed it for him 3 years ago, and hadn't had a problem since.
Here's what my guy did...
#1 - Attached three, braided ground cables, randomly to the radiator and the block, and grounded them.
#2 - Then took a piece of copper pipeing aprox 3 long, with the same hollow as the heater-core hose, soddered a copper ground wire to the side of it. Midpoint on the hose running from the radiator to the heatercore, he spliced this small copper pipe into the line using hose clamps. Then using the ground wire he had soddered to it, grounded it to the engine block.
#3 - Drained and refilled the cooling system with DISTILLED water and GREEN coolant. Dexcool in his experance is CRAP, and I quote him. He did all this very quickly, then dropped the probe into the radiator and poof .02 amps! It cost me $100. He has me come in to recheck the amps once a month. And still 6 months later, .02 amps, and no new problems. I was averaging 1 problem per month, a leak here, a suspicious gasket there. Now nothing. So, it seems to me that there are really two problems. One affecting the other. A cooling system grounding problem, electrolysis resulting in corrosion and dissintigration of parts and gaskets. And then Dexcool which is unstable in an electrically charged enviroment and turns to goop. Maybe I'm wrong but my '92 K1500 Blazer now has 212K miles on the original engine
Thx
AlliS
I did the exact same thing as you did...went to the mechanic and had new plugs, wires, fuel filter...all of that, and the problem was still there. Basically all of these problems started happening when ethanol became mandatory to be mixed in with your gas. The ethanol gums up your fuel injection system.
To get rid of the problem, fill up your gas tank and add 2 bottles of fuel-injection cleaner/gumout. The problem will go away. Gas treatment won't do it. The burned ethanol gums up the fuel system. As long as you keep adding the injection cleaner to your fuel system, your car will run fine. But if you quit adding it (like I have at time), the problem will again surface.
What I'd like to know is what exactly is sooo sensitive to the ethanol, and can this be replaced so additives aren't constantly needed to keep the Sunfire running smoothly
any one please help i am now without a vehicle and having it towed tonight to my house from where it stranded me but dont want to spend $241 on a new fuel pump. We did not change the fuel filter though so doing that tonight.....PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!!
Fixing my car last winter was a nightmare. I did every thing everyone said I should but it was just the ignition wire that wasn't making contact any more.
My car has been running great for the last 6 months but I just ran out of gas and now it won't fuking start again. It was the ignition wire last time, I wonder wtf it'll be now. Argh!
Anyways look into the ignition wire thing, its the answer.
I just mistakenly posted this on the wrong question, so sorry, but I wanted to address this guy so here.
Thanks!
Since we ripped out the anti-theft thingy about a week ago, it's starting and running fine.
Thanks anyway!
Let me know!
Mike
I brought it in because it was shaking and felt like it was pulling until I get to 2 rpm then it feels like it kicks in and goes. If I go to a stop light it sometimes shakes really bad and if I do not put it in park or neutral it will die on me. After I take it into the shop and reset the check engine light it will work for a little while like a quarter of a tank but then it happens again and I have to bring it in.
I have replaced the ignition coil twice. Had new spark plugs and spark wires put in. I got a new O2 sensor. PLEASE HELP!
P.S. Thanks so much for the response I really appreciate it... I was kinda getting to the point of no where else to turn to find the answer until I saw this!