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Did the check engine light go off after the maintenance?
Have you checked your gas cap and its gasket?
I am thinking of having my car's A/C recharged.How much did they charge for A/C service? What is the right price for it?
Thanks.
Keep a close eye on your oil for any milky appearance that would indicate moisture is getting into your oil.
If it turns out you do have a head gasket leak, take a good luck at your cyliner head for any type of warpage, Sometimes they can warp and the gasket can lose its seal. Sometiems the gasket just gets old.
good luck!!
Do 1998 Prizm and1998 Corollas have identical rear doors? So I can use the Corolla belt moldings on my Prizm?
Thanks for the help!
Hope this helps
I have a 1993 Geo prism. The car has about 142K miles in it. The car was running fine but one day I saw the speedometer was not working any more. I thought it was a bad battery and changed it. All the other meters are working on the dashboard. Now sometimes when I brake instead of stopping the car starts accelerating and the speedometer starts working. After sometime the brakes work again. I find this situation can be life threatening. So, can anyone point me to the problem. I am worried to drive my car to the mechanic. If anyone can point out what could go wrong, I will be greatful.
Best,
Omar
left side is lit up, but the right side is still out. The car manual doesn't offer
any help, is there a different fuse for the right side? Or is it a burnt out bulb
under the instrument cluster? Is it something I could do myself? Thanks in advance.
First when I would try to take off my car would hesitate for about 3 seconds and then lurch forward and drive fine...untill the next stop. It did this randomly and not at every stop. The machanic told me to replace the O2 sensor and the throttle positioning sensor, and I did which helped for about a month.
I took my car from CT to CO and the car drove perfect! On the way home it started doing the hesitation again at toll booths but the machanic thought it might just need to adjust to the altitude and the changing oxygen levels.
By some chance, the car broke down the DAY I got home, and did the hesitation so bad that it took me nearly a half an hour to drive what normally takes me ten minutes.
I brought the car to the machanic AGAIN and they cleaned out the sensors they had replaced and checked the mass airflow sensor. They said that the computer was giving them a lean air reading and that if the cleaning did not work I would need to replace the MAF.
Within a day the Check engine light was back on and my car was doing a different problem. I replaced the MAF and it fixed any and all hesitation...but now a NEW problem has happened.
When accelerating my car feels like it is bucking slightly. I press on the gass at a consistant amount yet my car feels like it is gaining and losing speed in quick little bursts untill it is up to about 45mph and then it is fine. Sometimes when I slow down and then try to pick back up speed the car has no power at all untill i put the petal to the floor and then it shifts and picks back up to speed fine.
the CEL is on constantly and I have put new spark plugs in within the last year mind you, somebody told me to check the vaccume hoses or replace the fuel filter??
HELPPPP
thank you!!
Throttle cable might need adjustment, it is visible, you can check the cable yourself.
For engine surge, I would recommend use of Chevron Complete Fuel Treatment or a good alternative.It might be related to fuel pressure regulation, pumping or injectors.
Make sure the spark plugs are the correct type (not multi electrode ones) and at the factory specified correct gap. Change the air filter.Check the cap and rotor (ignition), also make sure your battery terminals are free from oxidation (white fluffy stuff).
Lastly, check your transmission fluid level and condition if it is auto.
I hope you find the problem and solve it without spending much.
P.S. I would also get the Chilton AND Haynes manuals for the car, they come in handy.
Have you replaced the timing belt? It might be worn or skipping teeth.
my car is not starting hard or shaking so I think that my timing belt is fine. I checked my transmission fluid and it is still red and the level is fine so I did not replace it.
My car surges now every time I try to accelerate and it's driving me nuts because I have spent over 800 dollars now trying to fix every little thing. I have one of the manuals and it has helped me but it is hard because I can only look up parts not problems so I can only go to the guide when I have a place to start.
Someone told me the rotor cap can get burned and leave carbon on the ions...but I have a 2000 prizm so I have 4 individual coils and no rotor cap according to the manual so this cant be the case.
Do you think it could be a vacuum line or fuel filter issue? Im hesitant to do the fuel filter because it is expensive but I think it might be all I have left.
Mine is a 94, it has a throttle body to be cleaned, yours must have some kind of throttle system too.On older ones it is easy to clean, lots of dark grime there.
They say not to replace parts without knowing they are faulty, but I would have done the same.
This is from Haynes Corolla manual:
Engine surges while holding accelerator steady:
1.Intake air leak
2.Fuel pump or fuel pressure regulator faulty (ch.4)
3.Problem with fuel injection system(chapter 4)
4.Problem with emissions control system(chapter 6)
Engine stumbles on acceleration:
1Spark plugs fouled
2.Problem with fuel injection or engine control system
3.Fuel filter clogged
4.Incorrect ignition timing
5.Intake manifold air leak
6.Problem with emissions control system.
Fuel filter, as far as I know, is not that expensive (20 dollars or so at rockauto.com)
But before changing that I would read the code through a scanner (it is easier and cheaper to get one and do) and see what it says.
Do you still have the old spark plugs? Picture of those might help in seeing whether or not they are fouled.
http://www.expertcarcare.com/eccguide/graphics/Spark_plug_Outlook_Analysis.jpg
When I brought my car to the shop last time they cleaned my throttle body I just discovered when I looked at my receipt. They said that even after they cleaned it my car was giving them a "lean fuel" reading no matter what they cleaned or adjusted.
thanks so much for your help it is so much nicer to have a second thought on what to try next!!
The fuel filter for my car was about $130 for the part plus labor because my fuel filter is a part of the fuel pump I learned after reading up on them which is why I was trying to hold off on doing that but its starting to look like everything is pointing towards that as the faulty part.
Anyway I came accross with this website, it might contain information for solving your car's problem:
http://www.random-misfire.com/
http://www.aa1car.com/library/vacleak.htm
'Hesitation or misfiring when accelerating. This may be due to a vacuum leak, but it can also be caused by a weak or inoperative accelerator pump in a carburetor, dirty injectors, or even ignition problems such as a cracked coil, worn spark plugs or incorrectly gapped plugs.'
'On fuel injected engines, check for clogged injectors and the cold-start valve and circuit. You also need to check for correct fuel pressure settings.
As a general rule on all computer-controlled engines, you need to also make sure that all input signals to the computer are working and accurate. This includes, but is not limited to, all temperature and pressure sensors as well as the EFI system components.
Lastly on all engines, check for vacuum leaks and weak spark or low voltage output. (Good reason for a better coil and aftermarket ignition unit "amplifier").'
The good news is the trim panel around the center dash console just clips and and can be take out pretty easily. I think there are a couple of screws you might have to take out to get to the back of the climate consol, ormight have to remove the radio to see (again not sure - been a while). I think you should see the bulb and wire in there. regardless not too tuff.
hope this helps.
There are 2 light bulbs for the climate control, one at the top and one in the middle, both are accessible by using your fingers, or take off the screws and pull it away some, it's up to you. They use fatter at the tip bulbs than the ones for the guage cluster and they have the blue condoms, the blue condoms just falls off the smaller around guage cluster bulbs if you try and reuse the blue condoms on the smaller around bulbs. To order from a Chevy dealer are almost 5 bucks for just 1, I got a bunch of them from other prizms at a salvage yard and corolla's and 2 worked, so saved 10 bucks...
Ps. A trick to use is to take a blue marker and color the bulbs a few times to make them darker, take a few coats, allow a few minutes dry time between coats, but it does work. indelible ink works the best...
Anyone have any advice for me? I've seen discussion about it being the alternator, but why would it flicker rather than stay on?
It might be related to the alternator, power steering belts.If they are loose or worn this might happen.
Also check the battery terminals to see if there is fluffy white powder on them.If there is, you can clean them with a wire brush and apply some arm and hammer soda diluted in warm water.After they are clean of any residue, you can apply some petrolleum jelly to prevent future oxidation.
I hope these measures takes care of it.
would you recommend taking it to the mechanic just to make sure? Or is there a way i could check myself?
I got a Haynes manual, it helps with illustrations etc.
If the belt is loose, and not worn (you can see yourself if it is just loose or worn) you can have it tightened. I had it done once and they did not even charge me for it.
I had Bosch Platinum 4 on my car, one month into it, gas mileage fell to 12-13 MPG. I replaced them with the cheapest most simplest NGKs and I started getting 33-35MPG on my 94 Prizm with a/t.
NGK and Denso have Iridiums too but I do not think they are worth it.
Never ever put any Delco/GM parts in your Prizm. Geo Prizm is mainly a JAPANESE car. The best parts are Denso and NGK brands when it comes to spark plugs. NEVER GM parts.
LOL@ GM parts comment. I agree.
Please report any mpg gains/improvements after parts replacement.
Thanks.
I got the Denso filter, tried putting it in, it almost fits but apparently GM put a tiny plastic in the air filter housing to force its customers use AC Delco filters only.
Any experiences with fitting this Denso filter in 1993-1997 Geo Prizms?
Can it be done? I see that Denso filter element is made with higher quality materials (not just paper) and I want to use Denso filter only. I need advice and guidance on how to fit this filter in the air filter housing.
Thanks.
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I got the Denso filter, tried putting it in, it almost fits but apparently GM put a tiny plastic in the air filter housing to force its customers use AC Delco filters only.
Any experiences with fitting this Denso filter in 1993-1997 Geo Prizms?
Can it be done? I see that Denso filter element is made with higher quality materials (not just paper) and I want to use Denso filter only. I need advice and guidance on how to fit this filter in the air filter housing.
Thanks.