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Pontiac Bonneville
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All-season
Touring
HTH
Thanks for the link and I appreciate the help. What tires are you using on your Bonnie? May look to get some tires in January after X-mas and my main concern is with a=the age of the Firestone Affinity.
Appreciate the help,
Merry Christmas
SXB :shades:
I have an SLE, therefore it sports 235/55 on 17" rims. As you can see here, it suffered from the dreaded vibration issue.
After the OEM Goodyear Eagle RS-A, I tried Continental Conti Premier Contact, but settled for Michelin MXV4+ (there aren't many manufacturer choices for this size). They are much quieter and more comfortable than the OEM tires, though don't corner or traction as well as them. But I'm happy with them.
HTH
Maybe the oil pressure sensor is hosed, maybe there's something wrong with the engine. Has anybody had this problem? Any tips?
TIA
w/ the car it was a option to have a trunk release button and unfortuneately mine didn't come with one. For 3 yrs now i can't figure out how to pop the trunk. i've read something about a valet thing? and i know i can pop it open from the inside i just don't know where to pop it open on the inside of the trunk???
also it takes me 11 times to turn the key and start the freekin' engine what could cause that i been told it's not the starter, and i do have a brand new battery??? OK...anyone out there please help this single young female w/ no idea about mechanics LOL (thanks)
HTH
Most of the time my AC and Fan do not work. On it’s own sometimes, it will come on and work fine. Nice cool air. When working, directional controls don’t work and most of the time blows out of the defroster. If the control is pointing at your face, it may start blowing there in 5-10 minutes or maybe never. Very strange..
Possibly a related issue. My windshield wipers are intermittent in cold weather. When first starting car in the winter, I try and clean the windshield with fluid or wipe off frost and the wipers do not work. After the car heats up a bit, the wipers and windshield washer work fine until the next morning.
Is there a common control or circuit that handles both the air/fan and wipers?
Thank you for any insight you can provide.
new tires with all kinds of new balancing techniques were installed. The tire and wheel set have been removed from other bonnevilles and installed on this problem car to see if that cured the problem.... nope.
One dealership rebuilt the transmission because of some valve and this did not cure the vibration.
One dealership installed new half shafts. nope.
They say the torque converter is fine.
They also say that even though the car is under warranty still, they can't fix it because they can't find it.
So, here's exactly how the vibration happens....
Once in a while (not all the time) when driving on a smooth road, you can feel the steering wheel start to shake and then go away. Also, sometime, you can feel a shake start to happen when taking off from a stop light and then it goes away. Once in a while a very faint clunk along with the vibration near slow speeds at stop lights. But, nobody can diagnose this! I'm STUMPED and NEED YOUR EXPERTISE!!!
Any ideas???
Sincerely,
Kevinistic
HTH
Good luck
TIA
The problems I have are minor, I can't figure out how to switch the heads up to MPH instead on KPH. When I open the sun roof, I have to give it a shove or it makes a "rat a tat noise" and stays shut, the shove gets it moving and it opens and closes fine. I also can't get the lights to go off any sooner than 3 minutes. I have turned the "twilight sentinel" to min, but it makes no difference.
I'm also trying find ways to get the correct fobs for the factory car starter and doors, all I got with the car was a single ignition key. I've seen the programmable fobs on e-bay for the door. Any help would be GREAT!
and like the Bonneville best. It gets 30 highway mpg instead of the 27 I get in the LeSabre. BUT the chrome wheels on the Bonnevilles sometimes are a problem. Our old Bonn. (98) had some leaky wheels even though we had the rims redone and rebalanced... the alum and chrome sometimes get eaten up by salt, etc. and you get tires that have a slow leak.
The engines on both these cars are the same, I'm not sure why the superchgd
Bonne gets better mileage. The LeS. does have more gauging, I can see instantly
what my mileage is under various conditions. But as for comfort, the Bonneville is unsurpassed, roomy cushy seats. Make sure you get a sunroof, though, because it adds so much light to the interior, makes the car a joy winter and summer.
I have 85000 miles on the LeSabre, we just bought the 02 Bonne with 94000 miles on it but mint condition knock on wood (a kid car purchase for us) and our old Bonne was totalled, still ran beautifully winter and summer with 167000 miles on it. We would have fixed it but all the airbags went off, so not possible or feasible. I almost cried. I loved that car better than some dogs I have had.
Unfortunately, in the last couple of years, the repair bills have been increasing steadily. At first, I thought that although big-ticket items had broken down, having new ones meant that the car could be in service for a few good years. I was slow to recognize that it was just the beginning of a series of increasingly more expensive break-downs, and eventually I had to draw the line. After the last major repair - involving yet again the intake manifold, though fixed "for free" if I did a tune-up (I smell a shadow recall by GM, since it's been replaced as part of a recall some 3 or 4 years ago) - I traded it in before something else would break on me.
I now drive an used 06 Acura TL. It's not as roomy wide-wise, but comparably roomy length-wise. It's much more powerful and poised and quite more richly finished and trimmed. As a matter of fact, it's the first non-American car I've ever had. Ever since GM and Chrysler don't have to make products anymore, just give the White House a ring, I refuse to support this automotive Kabuki theater.
And I have to say that as far as first impressions go, the TL is in another league. Truly, the Bonneville seems antediluvian in comparison. It had a good chassis, but its contents were cheapened as much as possible, from the wheezing V6 to the lackadaisical assembly. In hindsight I think that I should've checked the competition sooner.
Yet, it was a good drive while it lasted. May its next owner enjoy it for many years.
That sounds like your own personal political opinion. I have one that differs. Such as the car brand you're driving is partly responsible for the demise of the US auto market by being allowed favored treatment through the decades.
I don't keep track of models, but Hondas that are gussied up are given an Acura name although they are basically an Accord or Civic with extras. Yes, I know. The fellow and wife across the road have had several from a Integra(?), Legend, 3.5RLs (two), and a newer RL with Super drive or something like that which is his newest. He currently owns three out of the above list.
Then there's the VCM problems on Accords and the transmission problems on the Odysseys (as well as other Honda models through the recent years).
Speaking of cheapened I shopped the Honda dealer sitting in Accords of the previous era a couple winters back. The Civic SI had a nicer interior feel than the Accords. Plus I was reading recently about people having lint problems with it sticking badly to the seat surface (same type of quality lack I had noticed).
As for wheezing V6, my two give 31-38 mpg rolling on the interstate or normal glacial plain open highways. That is sans the warmup mileage. That V6 gives lots of torque through a well-calibrated 4-speed transmission. I do not road race although I would win some drag races from stoplights with the motor but I don't drive my car that way. :sick:
>lackadaisical assembly.
"adj. Lacking spirit, liveliness, or interest; languid:" (dictionary.com)
I don't know how you can tell the mood of the workers while assembling your car.
If quality of assembly (rather than quality of materials assembled) is your meaning, I find my two leSabres to suit me just fine. They were well-assembled machines when delivered new to order.
Please just go enjoy your TL (good luck with the automatic transmission, if you have one) and then tell those folks your complaints about your TL. :shades:
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I don't know what area of the country you're in, but some cruise-ins may have people attending who know how to find what you're after. Corvette club members may also be aware of the type of info about older cars.
Good luck with the car.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Is this smoke white? Is there a lot more of it after shutting the car down when it's thoroughly warmed up after a longer drive and less when starting up after a short trip or 1 mile or less and a shutdown?
My guess would be coolant? Is the level dropping in the reserve tank AND/OR in the radiator? Take the cap off and check when the car has sat for a while to cool down the pressure.
Stand behind and smell the smoke. If it's coolant it will be heavy and sweet smelling.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
First, flashing check engine light. Not all the time, but about every third time I drive it. It does sound like it's missing when the light is flashing. Runs perfect otherwise. I checked the codes on the car and am getting the following: P1630-System voltage too high or too low, P1361-Ignition control Cylinder 1 not toggling after enable or low voltage, P0342-Camshaft Position Sensor "A" circuit low input (Bank 1 or single sensor). I've done a little research and read about intake issues, plugs & wires, maybe coil packs. Does anyone have any input since all three of these codes are present along with the flashing check engine light? One other thing. The voltmeter does ride just at the top of the red section during driving. The altenator was replaced just before I bought the car, about 400 miles ago.
Defective battery?
Bad connections at battery or grounds?
I recall some people on some years had to wire a connection to the alternator to get proper charging.
First move would be to have Advance Auto, Walmart, someone, run a test to see if the alternator is producing the right voltage.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Buy or loan a fuel gauge set and tape it to the windshield while you're driving. When the car sputters check the fuel pressure. I do not know the correct pressure for your year car.
To see if you lose spark, take an old spark plug and pull off the plug wire from a front plug and put in the old spark plug and lay it on the engine metal. Have someone crank while you watch the spark. If no spark then your got an ignition control module or connection going out or you've got a crankshaft position sensor losing magnetic contact with the heating.
Some people say you can splash cold water on the crankshaft position sensor and if that helps it make magnetic contact and start sending again, that would indicate replacing it.
Also when the engine sputters does the tachometer go crazy or drop to zero indicating no sensing of the engine's rotations? That would point to electrical problems.
You can disconnect the MAF when it won't start. It should start and run without it, but not the same as normal.
Diagnosis is needed. You may have replaced parts that don't need be. Oxygen sensors are tricky. Some think that after market sensors cause more trouble than people think.
A third guess is when it sputters and slows and dies do you get a smell of a hot catalytic converter? I don't know that this would keep the engine from restarting, but you might pull the vacuum hose off the fuel pressure regulator on the fuel line. See if there's liquid gasoline in it right after the car's been running. That would indicate it's leaking through the diaphragm.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,