Buick - Lesabre :: 2001 Loses Power At Highway Speeds
Feb 3, 2015
My 2001 Buick Lesabre 3.8 loses power at highway speeds, sets a PO101 code (MAF sensor). I have replaced the MAF sensor 3 times, as well as the coolant temperature sensor, the crank position sensor, the throttle position sensor, the MAP sensor, the intake manifold gaskets (upper and lower) , the pcv valve, the egr valve, the Idle air control sensor. After cruising at highway speed for about 3 miles the car still loses power for about 20 seconds then gradually regains power only to repeat the fault again 3 or 4 miles down the road.
Otherwise the car has plenty of power quickly achieving 100+ mph going though the gears smoothly and normally. I have inspected the intake plenum and vacuum hoses for leaks and have found none, all in very good condition. The car ha 122,000 miles on it and has been well cared for, very clean under the hood with no leaks. I did reduce the egr chimney size to 3/8" while replacing the intake gaskets and that reduced the symptoms somewhat, i.e., the car only loses about 15 mph instead of dropping to about 25 mph before recovering.
View 8 Replies
Advertisement
2006' screw, 5.4L, 116K miles ... The truck looses power at highway speeds to the point that I need to pull off of the road. When this happens the check engine light is on and the truck is still running but will not accelerate, is it possible the computer is going into limp mode and if so what would cause this?
View 1 Replies
I have a 1995 Buick LeSabre with just over 100,000 miles on it. Recently it has begun to shake at low speeds. The car shakes as if it were driving over a rough gravel road, and makes a sort of chugging noise when I step on the accelerator at speeds from 15-25 miles per hour. When I accelerate beyond 25, the shaking stops, and the car stops making the chugging noise as well. It drives beautifully on the interstate, but horribly when I am in town. After taking the car for a drive on the interstate for about 30 minutes one day, the shaking at low speeds actually ceased for over a week, but then came back. The "check engine" light has not come on. I maintain the car regularly, getting oil and filters changed, fluids filled, etc. I'm wondering if this sounds like it could be caused by a problem I can fix myself, or if I need to have the car looked at by a professional.
View 2 Replies
My 2001 Buick Lesabre has always shown to run exactly normal on the temperature dash unit until recently. I checked my coolant level and it was a bit low, so I added. After I filled the radiator I have noticed a coolant leak spot on my driveway, after I drive it now. I have removed the gravel shield and have tried to pin point exactly where the leak is coming from, but cannot. Now, each time I park, after driving it, I put a clean piece of cardboard under it to try to see exactly what area the leak is coming from. Last night I put the car on ramps and crawled under to discover that the leak is located just above the oil filter and is actually dripping from the oil filter, but I still cannot see the exact location of the leak.Actually the leak does not appear until about an hour after I park the car, so it sounds like something is contracting after the engine has cooled off, but what? The leak has seemed to be getting worse each time I drive the car. How can I determine exactly where the leak is coming from without just changing a bunch of parts.
View 10 Replies
It feels like its catching, or its off and then comes back on ?? No codes, none.
View 11 Replies
I just bought a 2001 Buick Lesabre and it was driving fine until this morning when it misfired on the highway. I was going about 40 mph and I felt a little jerk in my engine and my CEL started to flash. I pulled it over and got it towed to my house and my code reader says a p0300...which is a random misfire code. So I figured i just need a tune up so I went and bought new plugs and wires and replaced the old ones. And to my surprise...still a noisy shakey rough erratic start and idle. Before this there were no problems the car shifted properly to all gears and picked up and accelerated like a champ there were no obvious issues. Now I cant get it out of my driveway. I was wondering if any other problems could cause this misfire, and how to eliminate problems without buying parts?
View 19 Replies
I have a 2001 Buick LeSabre (Limited), with 101,000 miles. It runs great and a very reliable car except:
After going for some driving in town during a warm day (60 F or above) doing business, the engine gets warm but within normal temperature range, and after making a stop to get groceries for eample, I have to be very careful when starting the car again. If I let the starter go for more than a quarter tourn (crank), the engine gets week and acts like it is flooded with gas, just like when we had carburators in old car and it dies after a few shakings.
So I have to wait for 15 minutes at least before I restart the engine but doing so I have to be really careful again not to let the starter crank for more than a quarter turn. However, this problem does not happen during cold weather days (say below 40 degrees F). What is going on with my car?
View 2 Replies
When starting my car first thing in the morning, for the first few minutes there is a loud roaring seems like. The sound subsides and the car sounds normally after a little bit. The next issue is when I start the car after it is already warm. It starts very strange...It is a little hard to describe. As soon as you hit the starter it just turns over instantly, seems almost prematurely. And when you go to shut the car off, it just seems like it makes a loud noise and the motor abruptly shuts off. I am not too educated with vehicles, and I am just looking for some input. I just purchased this car a week ago with 82,200 miles on it I have never driven a Buick before so these things may be normal.
View 4 Replies
Got a strange one here. 1995 Buick Park Avenue, supercharged 3800, 159K miles... an older car, but an unmolested one. A little over a week ago I began to notice an occasional miss when cruising along at highway speeds, along with a slightly rougher idle. Both the fuel filter and the plugs/wires predated my ownership of the car (a little more than 6 months); so seeing no obvious culprit, I replaced them and hoped for improvement.
Unfortunately, neither had any impact. The missing continued to become more noticeable. It was never present under acceleration. Most of it was like a split-second long version of "bucking" that could be observed while cruising at lower (<2000) RPMs. It was also very noticeable at idle. Eventually a code was set: P0341, camshaft sensor issue. If the story had ended there, it would have been just another night in the garage. But it didn't.
As I was noticing the aforementioned symptom increase, I also noticed my voltmeter would occasionally "twitch" in the downward direction. Eventually I had an incident where I came to a stoplight... transmission in Drive, foot on brake, gauge dropped to around 10-11v. It returned to 14v momentarily, but dropped back down, held there for several seconds, returned, etc. No particular rhyme or rhythm. Of course my first guess was that the alternator was failing; a separate problem from the other.
I checked all the relevant connections (at the battery, at the alternator, etc), and cleaned them for good measure. All were tight, relatively clean, and the cables showed no resistance on the ohmmeter. It happened that I had another correct alternator on hand (used/working pull), so I swapped it in. No change. I reinstalled the original and was back where I started.
On my most recent drive, I noticed both issues had become very noticeable. The drop in voltage was happening at nearly every stop, and the missing was happening a few times per minute while coasting along. There seemed to be some correlation between the missing and voltage fluctuating, but it wasn't absolute.
I decided to attack the voltage issue again. Re-checked all the cables; same result as before (all OK). Looked all over the car for possible bad grounds, loose connections, or other visible problems, but found none. My next thought was to run a jumper from B+ to the voltage regulator's Sense input (have seen issues there on more than a few older vehicles) - but after reading that this car uses the PCM as the voltage regulator, I didn't proceed.
Just to be certain I'm going to have the alternator tested by the local auto parts store. But I suspect it'll pass.
View 8 Replies
I seem to lose power steering pressure when I hold the wheel in a turn. It is only temporary as it cycles until I release the turn. I happens turning in both directions and a any speed. I have replaced the struts and strut mounts and have rotated the tires. The power steering fluid quantity is good with no leaks.1995 Buick Lesabre.
View 2 Replies
My 2002 Buick Lesabre has about 160,000 miles on it I keep up with maintenance regular oil changes and what not. Today when I am driving to work and right as I get on the freeway my car starts lurching forward and slowing down repeatedly so I pull over turn the car off look under the hood everything looks normal to me. I wait a bit start the car up and the lights on my panel go from the dimmest they can be to blinding bright and I could not adjust the brightness at all. Any way the car drove fine the rest of the way but the lights were bright as can be the whole way there. What could be causing this? Bad battery?
View 5 Replies
1998 discovery. Replaced fuel pump, crank shaft sensor, battery is good, had tune -up. Driving on highway and car just loses engine power, still have radio, lights, etc. Pull over and start it right back up. Drive about 15 minutes more and it happens again. Starts again. Then it does it again, but now won't start. Clicking sound in dash on passenger side. I leave it sit for 2 days. Starts right up, then rpms start revving then stops and dies. I have had every diagnostic known run, no codes coming up. I have had local mechanic keep it for days to drive it. He is also at a loss. I am REALLY tired of replacing random parts to no avail. Not to mention the $$ I have spent.
View 7 Replies
My 91 4 runner, with 192k miles, has very scarily lost power twice on the highway. She gets to about 50mph and then drops to 40, 30, 20 rapidly. First time I had her towed because I didn't want to take the chance I couldn't arrive safely at mechanic. 2nd time, I just sat for awhile with her running, and tried and succeeded to get her to mechanic. First time, mechanic thought there was some boot loose around the fuel line.Second time, mechanic is stumped.
She has new fuel & air filter (and battery + leads); catalytic converter tested fine. Had a tuneup less than 5k miles ago.While I feel safe driving around town, I am terrified of highway driving and need getting it fixed so I can resume highway driving.
View 5 Replies
My '04 Santa Fe (135K miles) has been doing this for a little while.
Between 65 - 75 MPH on the highway, under acceleration, I experience what I can only describe as a "shudder".
I don't believe it's a wheel balance issue, because if I'm coasting or maintaining that speed everything is stable.
View 4 Replies
We have an '03 Santa Fe (2.4L). We are the original owners.
About 18 months ago, one of our Ignition Coils cracked and caused a misfire when then engine was under load. I replaced the coil, wires, and plugs myself at that time.
Since that time, we have experienced intermittent engine jerking while at highway speeds. There does not seem to be any pattern, and it does not happen every time we drive it.
I took it to the dealer who diagnosed a valve cover leak. They replaced the gasket, one ignition coil, wires and plugs. The problem still happened intermittently after that. I brought it back to the dealer, who diagnosed a valve guide/seat leak. Oil is getting into the cylinder and fouling the plug they say.
I could not afford the fix (and was very dissatisfied by the service I received) so the dealer recommended to change the plugs every 3 - 5K miles to get me through. I was told this on 03/31/09 (125695 miles). I replaced the plugs, wires, and BOTH coils again at that time.
Last week @ 130K miles the engine jerked again. I replaced all four plugs again Sunday morning, but the ones that I pulled were NOT look oil fouled. I showed them to a mechanic friend and the guy at the auto parts store. Both agreed that the spark plugs looked almost new. Sunday evening, while driving on the freeway, the car jerked again!
Since this happened again SO soon after changing the plugs, I really have a hard time believing the valve guide diagnosis. Some possibilities I have seen/heard:
- Crank position sensor or camshaft sensor (This was replaced at 78K miles along with the all of the belts)
- Clogged fuel filter
- Bad O2 sensor
- Vacuum leak from the hose that is between the throttle body and the engine casing
- The dealer's valve seat suggestion
View 23 Replies
The wife and I own a 2003 Hyundai Elantra with 163k miles.
We just had our oil changed and we are currently running 5/30 and the oil light came on about a week after the change. I stopped the car immediately and checked the oil level and it was fine and oil was super clean. So I jumped back in the car and the light was off. Drove down the road about 2-3 miles and the light came back on and stayed on. Today it stayed off for a good 5-10 min while driving at highway speeds of 55-60 and then it popped on. The car runs great and it's not running hot that I know of and doesn't sputter or anything.
I was wondering if it was a bad Oil Pressure Switch? Where are they located at in the motor? I just put 1k into it with new new belts, valve cover gasket, spark plugs, wires and tires.
View 5 Replies
I have a 2001 w/94k. New tires and alignment (3k). Recently I have been hearing a humming noise which can start to be heard around 45mph which gets increasingly loud up to 65mph, and then seems to quiet down if I go above 70mph. From the driver's seat it sounds like it's coming from the driver's side rear of the car and from the passenger seat it sounds like it's coming from the passenger side rear of the car. So it definitely sounds like it's coming from the rear of the car. Bringing my car in to get looked at it is difficult with my work schedule, so I thought I would try here first. Around the city there is no noticeable sound and there has been no loss in MPG that I can tell (44-47).
View 8 Replies
I have recently noticed that my car will stall out when I get up to about 20 mph. My car starts fine, no check engine light on. I has a tendency to just die in the middle of the road at times too. I have changed the spark plugs, spark plug wires, and a new fuel filter. Do I need to change the mass air flow sensor? Or the crank position sensor? I have no problems starting the car either. Runs good when it runs.
View 10 Replies
I have a 2005 6.0. I just got done doing the HPOP seals, injector o-rings, stand pipes and dummy plugs. I have drove the truck 600 miles since the work with no problems other than a wiring issue I got fixed...
I was driving at highway speeds, and all of a sudden I lost power and got a shake when trying to accelerate. I pulled over and turned it off, and when I went to restart it I got nothing at first, then it went to what seemed like a partial crank followed by a thud. So I'm thinking I just hydro locked it. I waited a few mins and tried again, and it started but had a few knocks for 15 seconds or so, then it ran rough with smoke pouring out of the exhaust (grey then turned kinda white).
I the only codes I have are for the egr which I've had unplugged for a long time, and a glow plug code, but when I started it back up, I had no codes. I'm baffled. I did notice I have oil on my oil filter housing at the cap, a little oil had slung on to my wire harness and my intake. I don't even know where to begin!
View 14 Replies
I have a 2006 f250 6.0. the truck has 101k miles and to this point I have had zero issues. I am having trouble loosing power after running at highway speeds. Once I stop and begin to accelerate the truck looses power for a few seconds ,Belches smoke and begins to operate normally. I had an egr code, so I replaced egr and the problem persist. It is intermittent and does not happen if I stay under 50 mph.
View 12 Replies
Where is the relay box for turn and hazard signals in 98 Buick LeSabre custom? my hazards ans signals don't work switched fuses but didn't work. Where the box is I've never owned a Buick til now. there isn't one under the hood just the main on the driver's side.
View 1 Replies