Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
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A reporter would like to speak with you about your experience; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 7/22 for details.
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but the labor was over $300. Which I gladly paid. Runs and idles great now.
http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBroker?ForwardPage=/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/1- f/4f/b5/0900823d801f4fb5.jsp
I don't wish to alarm you but from what you are telling me, your mechanic makes no sense...or you might have left out a few things? Exhaust systems don't "clog" (EGR valves do, however, so maybe that was it?) and timing belts can't really be "off"---your car would barely run, and then only enough to let the valves smash into the pistons.
I dunno...from what you've said I don't have faith in this guy...
Thanks
I'm a frequent poster on Edmunds, but have never had one as crazy as this. My car's check engine light came on a few days ago. The car ran well enough with it on for a few days. The light even went off briefly. However, this morning, the light had returned, and the car refused to shift out of first gear. Additionally, the input to the pedal did not directly correlate with the motor's reaction. Strangest was my fuel gauge, which now randomly meanders between 1/2 tank and empty and settles for awhile before wandering again (I have a little bit less than a half tank remaining). I took it to a local auto parts store where they ran the trouble codes. TPS was listed as one of the codes, and so I replaced it. The car now idles well enough, but still refuses to shift out of first, and the TPS trouble code refuses to be erased when clearing codes with the OBD II. The clearing of the codes appears to have settled my idle, and replacing the TPS has made my pedal input better correlate with the motor's reaction. Additionally, the fuel gauge problem appears to have righted itself, but the car still won't shift out of first.
My friend suspects the problem lies in my Electronic Control Module, but he admits he doesn't know GMs all that well. I have the following questions:
- Does anyone else think this is the likely culprit?
- Would a repair shop be able to use their Snap-On Diagnostics to better pinpoint the problem?
- Is there any sort of traceable relay that might be fouled between the computer and the transmission?
- How likely is it that the problem resides in the transmission (I had it flushed a little more than a year ago)?
I appreciate any thoughts on what's ailing my car. Thanks.
i have bought an 8th hand car for little cash since i'm backpacking but have spent 3 weeks trying to fix a problem that started off looking like an easy 1 but now it has me baffled and many mechanics i have spoken to .
here goes to sum it up :
after the car runs for a while / runs for a while , is off for an hour and then runs again the engine stops when coming to a stop + low gears / going up a hill . the engine will stop and won't start again until i bleed an injector. when stops uphill , even after bleeding an injector it will stop again after a couple of meters.
leaving the car when it doesnt start and coming the next day it will start again as if it's self bled itself.
things i have done :
first off checked the fuel injector silenoid - replaced that couple of times and have removed 1 time the plunger and spring from it (stalling it to stop it) but didn't help since the engine still stops . - that elimantes electrical fault.
have replaced fuel filter / bypassed fuel filter still stops .
have checked fuel tank to c if anything is blocking the tank - all clear .
have left fuel tank lid open to make sure there is no vaccum problem- still stops .
have put in new fuel pipes and checked with clear tubes to c if air is coming out - no problem there .
there is no leaks anywhere .
have connected a different fuel tank directly to the injector pump (by that elimanting the fuel tank + pipings along the way and fuel filter) - still a no go.
have added an electric fuel pump - still a no go .
the last thing i havent dont is change the actual fuel injector pump ( which includes inside it the fuel pump) .
but b4 i do that ( since it costs alot of money ) is there anything else i should check ? i have no idea where the problem is - it's as if car parts gets heated after a drive and something expands and by that sucks in air and makes a air blockage (fixed by bleeding) and then over night the air is bled out somehow or after a long run the fuel injector just doesnt do it's job . !
plz help me since i've nearlyy taken a baseball bat to this car !
any1 else had this problem ?
thanks in advance
Smeghead
I have an 99 infiniti Q45t and lately have been noticing a problem when the car is idled. It seems there is some loss of power sort of a feeling like the car is running out of gas. I have done a fuel cleaning, but the problem persists. Has any one experience this, if so, can you let me know what you did to resolve the situation. Thanks.
thats again.
Thanks!
You have an interesting problem there and I think I have the same thing. I have the impression the fuel gauge isn't working properly any more. Does this stopping happen close to when the fuel tank is empty? I now watch the mileage and fill up according to the number of kilometers I've driven and that seems to be keeping the problem away.
Thanks
Rick Shousha
Montreal
Are these new coils expensive to replace?
TIA folks!
The Sandman :confuse:
Been to the dealer twice, will not throw any error codes, but sputters at idle as if there is fuel cut-off.
Dumped $690 into it last week to replace spark plugs and do a positive pressure injector clean. Helped, but still acts up after about 20 seconds at idle.
No power loss above idle, runs smooth as silk on the road. Very frustrating!
I thought then that it might be the catalytic converter so I took it to a muffler shop and explained the problem to them...they said no..when a catalytic converter goes out it doesn't matter what the temperature of the car is...they said it was a fuel problem.
I changed the oil and put a gas treatment in the fuel tank..no result.
When the engine is hot it runs very rough..if I continue to drive it runs and get progressively worse til it just dies and it won't start. If I let it cool down completely it is fine ... til it gets hot again.
It is fine for short trips and for long trips if I don't stop. I have driven it as afar as 120 miles with no problems ..til I stopped. Then runs rough and sometimes it works itself out sometimes not. Also, it doesn't trigger the check engine light everytime and the engine temperature indicator on the dash never shows it as running hot.
My funds are incredibly limited and I can't afford a mechanics runaround..does anyone have any ideas here?
Thanks :confuse:
serpentine belt
tension pulley
harmonic balancer
water pump
MAF sensor
Throttle positioning sensor
ECM (a year ago)
The serpentine belt kept coming off, finally narrowed that problem down to the harmonic balancer wobbling, which threw out the tension pulley. Also replaced the water pump, in case this was also a problem. After doing that, I found some water leaks, and tore the engine down to the intake manifold, found a few bad hoses and connectors. Then after putting everything back together, the van is now stalling when idling (sometimes) or coming to a stop (sometimes). It doesn't matter if the engine is warm or cold. I've gone back through and checked all the vacuum hoses. Everything looks okay.
The "Check engine light" was on , the codes came up as P0102 and P1441. P0102 was the Mass Air Flow sensor, so I put on one of those. Then reset the codes, drove it around, stalling again, check light comes, check the codes, same as before. Faulty MAF?
Go back to auto parts, get another one. Same routine. Still stalls. My buddy at the auto parts gives me a new MAP sensor to try and see if this is also a propblem. It's not. So I go back home, and fiddle around with all the connections, look at the wiring harness and can't find anything wrong. Some research on the internet and the Chilton's manual suggested a new Throttle Positioning sensor. So this morning I put on one of those.
My wife takes it for a test drive, after letting it idle for about twenty minutes in the drivewayy. Seems to run fine. We stopped and started with no trouble and go back home. Then later this evening, she takes it out and guess what? IT STALLS!!!!!!!
Does anybody have any idea what else is wrong here? What else should I look at, how can I test for other problems? I read something about the brake booster. Anybody know anything about a faulty brake booster causing a stalling problem? I've already thrown several hundred dollars at this and really don't want to waste another 200-300 dollars on somemthing that may not even be the problem.
Thanks in advance and sorry so long!
John
I have a 92 VW Cabriolet when I drive the car for about 20 min it starts to choke, won't excelerate and black smoke comes out the tailpipe and dies. I have to pull over and let it cool for 10 min or pull the oil/air seperater off the crankcase so it can breath. Other than that it runs fine. Can you help me
Thanks
P