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1989 Chevy Beretta GT problem...

lawgrl21lawgrl21 Member Posts: 5
edited April 2014 in Chevrolet
Hello. I am having a problem with my 1989 Chevy Beretta. I have taken my car to a mechanic three times, and no one is able to find what is wrong with it.

My car stalls out when I come to a stop, whether it be a stop sign or a stop light. It happens randomly. I can start it back up again, and it will keep running, but as soon as I put it in gear and hit the gas it stalls out again. I have to wait at least 15 minutes with it running before I can even give it gas without it stalling out on me. It has also stalled out when I put it in reverse.

I have gotten the wires replaced as well as the oxygen sensor, and I still have the same problem. I have also been told that it's not the coils because if it was, my car would stall and I wouldn't be able to get it started again if the coils were shorting out.

I would greatly appreciate any advice. Thanks.
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    tobestertobester Member Posts: 9
    Does the problem occur after maybe 15 to 20 minutes of driving? Does the car restart after it cools down? If so, it is a sensor inside the transmission. What you described happened to my 1988 Beretta GT. My mechanic knew immediately what the problem was when I described the symptoms, and said that it usually happens around the 100,000 mark, but I got 150,000 miles out of mine. It was a $30 part with another $100 in labor (less than dealer rates). Hope this helps.
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    lawgrl21lawgrl21 Member Posts: 5
    The problem has occurred when I have been driving for 30 minutes and it has occurred when I have been driving for over an hour. I can re start the car right away, but I can't go anywhere. Once I put it into gear and hit the gas it stalls out again. I have to wait 15 minutes before it will start up again and not stall. I have 137,000 miles on my car.

    I just had the sensor inside the transmission replaced. I am waiting to see if that works.

    Thank you very much for taking the time to respond. I really appreciate it. Thanks again.
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    adc100adc100 Member Posts: 1,521
    You had time to make an appointment, get a sensor in a transmission replaced and then get back home to write about it. In 2 hours!!! Right......
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    lawgrl21lawgrl21 Member Posts: 5
    No, actually my car was already at the mechanics getting fixed when I wrote the message. I picked it up yesterday. The mechanic thought that it was the sensor inside the transmission and replaced it. Perhaps you should think before you write such an ignorant response adc100. :o)
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    blackgtpblackgtp Member Posts: 19
    Some people are in Edmunds only to cut down other Town Hall members. I am tired of seeing worthless responses like what adc100 wrote. It seems like no matter what you write, someone has something stupid to say.
    Anyway, I hope your car is fixed.
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    lawgrl21lawgrl21 Member Posts: 5
    Thanks blackgtp. :o)
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    tobestertobester Member Posts: 9
    So... did that seem to fix it. I hope so. Let us know.
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    lawgrl21lawgrl21 Member Posts: 5
    Hi. I have not had any stalling out problems since I got it fixed. So I am corssing my fingers that it is fixed.
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    dvr2dvr2 Member Posts: 2
    I have a 1990 V6 3.1L automatic Beretta with 100K on it. At 90K after replacing an alternator, the engine started stalling under similar conditions as lawgrl21 describes in the first message here. With the exception that I could restart the car right away and continue to drive.

    Then the replaced alternator went bad pretty soon (three weeks), and I got a premium one.

    I had an engnine tune-up at 93K and the shop didn't find anything wrong with the engine. Somehow a week later the engine stopped stalling and started hunting in idle.

    Can these two problems be related to each other? Thanks a lot in advance for any advice on how to fix this!
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    suzzziesuzzzie Member Posts: 6
    I had the same problem and I my husband and his father thought I was nuts because it only happened when I was alone. Finally my husband made an appointment at a transmission shop. The mechanic said it sounded like the Torque Convertor Clutch Solenoid. My husband canceled the appointment, bought the part (about $30) and spent about 4 hrs. replacing the part. This happened at around 90,000 miles. We now have 165,000 miles and no other problems.

    A friend with a Corsica was describing the same problem. Had taken the car to the shop and they had tried several different fixes, but nothing worked. Finally told the mechanic to replace the Torque Convertor Clutch Solenoid and it worked.

    I love my Beretta and really need to replace it, but it runs perfect. The only problem is the interior is starting to get worn (crack in dash, carpet and seat fabric worn, etc.). We're having a difficult time finding a replacement for this car.
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    xena16xena16 Member Posts: 10
    and my mechanic knew exactly what it was when I finally managed to make it to the garage. I only had about 70,000 on her at the time, though. I have an '89 V6 Automatic that I love (her name is Greta), and I'm also having a hard time with the realization that I have to replace her. So I can sympathize and agree with Suzzzie, the interior is falling apart, lousy paint, slight oil leak, but she runs like a dream and boy, can she move! But, I need something newer and more family oriented (yuck!). So, I put in for the car loan and I've been haunting Edmunds for about a month now. Great site! Learned alot and I've narrowed down my choices to the 95-97 Luminas, maybe a '97 Malibu (it's a Chevy thing), the 95-97 Bonnevilles or a '97 Grand Am. I never had a Pontiac, but I've liked what I heard on the site. Any opinions?
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    poochsterpoochster Member Posts: 7
    My '89 Beretta keeps blowing the 20 amp fuse that runs everything from the horn to the trunk release and the convienence center. In other words wires run to every point on the car. The fuse blows when starting the car, usually when I have to crank the engine more than once to get it going. After I replace the fuse I'm good for any from a couple of days to a month. Other symptoms are that the horn does not work, although I can hear the relay pick up.
    Any body have any ideas?
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    ltilleyltilley Member Posts: 1
    I'm having a problem with my Biretta at 118,000 miles that seems similar to the posts that I have read so far. One thing that is different is that the car surges forward without any pressure on the gas pedal and then stalls out. When I try to start it seems to be flooded, but after several minutes it does start. We had it in to the shop and they replaced what was called a MAT sensor and got a tune-up but it is still doing the same thing. Has anyone experienced the surge before the stall? If so, any ideas on solving the problem? Thanks!
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    alotawattsalotawatts Member Posts: 44
    Stalling when stopping = faulty TCC solenoid. I recently had one replaced in an 89 Cavalier with aprox. 80k miles.
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