Chevrolet - Cavalier :: 2001 - Rough Idle - CEL And Trac Light On
Jan 26, 2013
This is my daughter in laws car. The rough idle, check engine light and trac light all happened at the same time. She was in a parking lot and drove over a speed bump when all the problems started. The check engine light flashes when driving above 25mph. It's on solid at idle. I found the EVAP purge valve plastic nipple was busted off so I replaced the assembly. I was totally surprised when this had no effect on the symptoms.
I find it strange that the car was running fine and then has all these symptoms after going over a speed bump.
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I recently bought a 2001 Chevy Cavalier with 85,000 miles in October 2014. Since that time, I've fixed the brakes, done emissions testing, etc. But recently the car started to act funny: the trac off and engine light would appear and then the shift between 1 / 2 gear or 2 / 3 would rev up high. I'd stop, pull over, turn off, turn on, and then continue. I was worried, so I took and the mechanic changed the transmission fluid.
However, the problem is getting worse. I was driving, the trac off and engine light came on, and about 30-secs later the oil and battery light appear and the car shuts off. I took it back in and they ran tests to check it, but what the problem could be. I don't drive my car very frequently, mostly weekends to visit my family who live about an hour 1/2 from me. But so far every time I drive it, the car stops.
Some suggestions I've heard:-- low fuel injection?-- wheel speed sensors
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Replaced Fuel Pressure Regulator but still notice smell of gas and sometimes at start up rough idle.
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I have a 2003 Chevy Cavalier that I have owned since new. It has 340,000 miles and I want to get to at least half-a-million. My wife was driving it last week and it started with a very rough idle and ran rough for 5-10 minutes until it quit running for her in the bank line. I came to get her and the car and started it by giving it some gas, but the idle was rough and jagged. Feels like it missing and gasping for air. Running on the road home at 30mph it seems almost normal, until i slow to a stop. Went to have the codes read at Advance and Auto Zone only coming up with PO440 woe the EVAP system, which has been showing for 200K miles. Have a clean K&N filter but no other modifications. I've done a lot of work myself and also have a good mechanic, but I don't want to drop if off blindly. I'm thinking maybe the Fuel Pressure Regulator or the IAC Valve. Haven't looked at the throttle body yet. Where should I go from here?
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A couple months ago my car (2001 Cavalier 2.4L) started running bad, it just happened one morning when I started it up. Its extremely rough idle at around 500 rpm for about 5 seconds and then it stalls out, if I rev it up with the pedal it'll stay going and you can smell gas coming out the exhaust. the car still drives but has almost no power. I changed the plugs and gaped them to spec of .050 as one of them was corroded really bad, that didn't work, so I replaced one of the ignition coil on the side of the corroded plug,I need to replace both ignition coils or the ignition control module isn't working right.
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Passengers side tail light doesn't react when braking, using hazards or blinker, what do I replace? The bulb is lit, but doesn't blink or brighten when the brakes are applied. As of right now I'm replacing the bulb socket seeing as when I replaced the bulb the contacts were covered in a brown crust, is there something else I should be looking at?
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I have a 2004 Chevy Cavalier with 113k miles. It is having problems starting. If it's sat for a while 10-15 minutes it's starting rough or in most cases needing me to press the gas pedal to get it started. I have replaced the fuel filter and used some fuel system cleaner to what appears no avail. I can hear the fuel pump turn on at startup, so not sure if that's the culprit.
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I have a 2004 Chevy Cavalier. I am having some issues with it.
When it first starts it idles really hard. The RPMs are up and if will try to accelerate without hitting the gas. This stops after the first minute.
The second part is that when stopped, but in drive, it idles hard. It does it though when the AC is turned off. You can see the RPM gauge go above and below the normal 500 RPM. If you turn the AC on then it levels out. It will occasionally idle hard with the AC on, but rarely and not as much.
The car drives well and is not overheating.
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I am having issues with my 2002 chevy cavalier.
The car occasionally surges forward while idle and revs up to 1500 rpm approximately occasionally when the air conditioner is on... if the brake is not applied I move forward.. the lurches are continuous every 3 seconds or so.
I am getting a code for an evap leak.. I have replaced the purge solenoid valve, gas cap, and checked all connections with no luck... slightly decreased gas mileage has occurred.
A little bit of a slick substance has been leaking from the car.. it has the consistency of water, but leaves a slight brown tinge on concrete.
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My daughter says that the AC on her 2001 Chevy Cavalier cuts off when she is idling.
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I recently bought this cavalier about a week ago its and 88 automatic trans with 1.8 4 cylinder I thing not that it matters much. I noticed the exhaust had a smaller pipe from the manifold and the rest was strung with a bit bigger pipe and was attempted to crimp the pipes togather it was loud so I crimped thhe pipes better and used exhaust glue to patch the holes it runs better now to a point. but when I start the car it revs up a fair im guessing 3 grand since I have no rpm gauge but then it dies down to a low idle to the point were the car shakes a little bit.
with the exhaust fixed I can get it up to 20 kilometres an hour with my foot off the gas when I turn fully it wants to lurch ahead/backwards. when I took it out for a highway drive today I came to a stop sign so I slowed and stoped and the car stalled out. started no problem. but I also tried later putting it in neutral and it doesn't stall as I role to a stop it doesn't shake in neutral. I would like to have this fixed but I need some pointers as of were to look. im not sure if this means anything but when I got the car it had a bad enough radiator fluid leak at the hose meeting the heating car on the engine side of the fire wall I repaired that and no longer leaks.
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I have a 2001 Chevrolet Cavalier. I've been getting a pulsing vibration which feels like the left front. It starts at about 40mph and gets worse the faster I go. The vibration completely goes away with the slightest left turn on the freeway. It vibrates on acceleration and deceleration, in neutral and in gear (5spd manual). I've currently replaced the front struts, strut mounts, pads and rotors, left front wheel bearing, tie rod ends, had the front end aligned and the tires balanced.
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Replaced the clutch on my son's 01 Cavalier 4 cyl. Replaced Clutch as it was slipping, and replaced hydraulic throw out bearing/slave cylinder at same time. New throw out bearing failed after only 500 miles or so, seal broken, started grinding on down shift and coasting (deceleration) followed by leak and no pedal. Replaced with new Slave Cylinder and Throw out bearing, the new one is starting to show same grinding noise on shifting and deceleration. What could cause this? Used the spline alignment tool to adjust the plate on center the right way. Could the pressure plate springs be off center? The flywheel was purple could it be warped and throwing the pressure plate springs off center thereby causing them to rub against the I.D. of the Throw Out Bearing slave cylinder seal?
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It's a 2001 Chevy cavalier. The key is stuck and won't turn the car off. Already have tried shaking the wheel and wd-40. The wipers won't work and the gauges won't turn on until I jiggle the key.
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When working, all is OK. When not, I have no high or low beams, a weak and barely moving wipers with a lot of buzzing coming from wiper motor area and drivers door lock tries to lock (or at least the lock sound is coming from drivers door). The DRL's function normally. The problems are definitely interlinked and it is very intermittent and can come and go several times in a few minutes.
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I have a 2001 Cavalier 5-speed manual 2.2. I have owned it for every day and every mile (204K) since I bought it new in April of 2001. I have had many mechanical disasters and problems mostly starting a couple of years ago - and a lot of them I have worked on or fixed and/or replaced the part myself.
The transmission fluid in this car has never been changed, looked-at, drained, added, etc....because I was told that it didn't need it. The manual says the same thing. For as long as I've had this car, it has had a intermittent rattle noise that I figured was just the "Getrag rattle" - so I didn't pay much attention to it. But over the past year - especially the last 6 months - this rattle has just gotten totally insane and out of control. It is now a constant loud rattle whenever the car is in gear - especially starting out in 1st or 2nd. I mentioned this to someone and they asked when the last time the fluid was changed and said that would fix the problem - and couldn't believe that the fluid had never been changed after 15 years and 200K miles.
This model has no dipstick. There is a big red vent cap and I think I found a HEX plug close to it, but before I go out and buy the wrong size hex key - what size these are and if they are even what I am looking for to fill/check/drain it? So frustrated. Also - since I can't find DEXRON 3 anywhere am I supposed to use this DEX/Mercon stuff?
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About 2 months ago, I needed to test my engine cooling fan motor. Was using two lead test wires with alligator clips and stupidly connected the battery ends first and then the wind blew the other connection ends together creating a spark. That may or may not have anything to do with what has happened since then. About 3 days after that, I started to notice that my lights were dimming and ac fan motor was slowing when the engine was under load as in 1st or 2nd gear or going uphill.
After about a week, the ALT/BAT light came on and I replaced my alternator. The problem with that was that getting the belt back on the new ALT nearly killed me and I got several pretty bad injuries and ended up having to get it done. The old alternator tested bad so I figured my problem was solved. But ever since then, I am still getting the same problem - a voltage drop or loss of electrical power causing the lights to dim and the fan to slow - except this time is doesn't happen under load - it happens while driving and just after I have come to a stop at a light or stop sign. I have had the battery and alternator tested several times and they always show up as being fine.
I checked all the cables and connections and changed the positive battery cable bolt. I get no codes thrown. I cant just take the alternator out and change it because of what I went through with the last one - not to mention it tests OK so I can't use the warranty as long as that is the case anyway. So I am left with this troubling, annoying problem and don't know what the cause or solution is. I am guessing the list of options has to have the alternator, battery, connections, belt (though I have no sounds or evidence there is a problem with the belt - I suppose if the tensioner was damaged with the belt fiasco that it might cause such a problem). What to do? It is the biggest problem at night because my headlights are affected.
2001 Cavalier 5-speed manual 2.2
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At idle, (600 RPMs, might need to bring it up?) the motor is Real rough, but doesn't stall out, just very "wobbly" Once the car is brought up to the 900-1000 RPM range everything flattens out, and at driving speeds it drives great! Pulled up to 90 mph on the high way, and passed a few cars on some back roads and everything ran great, until I hit idle.
It threw a code for the Cam Position Sensor after I tried to restart the car, and the person who work on this car before me had zip tied the connector into the sensor because he had broken it. Low and behold, you cant buy just the replacement part of the harness.
I tried to get the wires all plugged back in, and the CEL went away, but the idle was still pretty rough. Also, at idle, the oil light flickers just a bit.
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2004 chevy cavalier ... when i first start up the car & put it into the drive, it acts like it's going to stall and the low traction light comes on. if i go slow enough, the light will go out, if not both the ABS and NO TRAC and the SERVICE lights will come on. i took it to a repair shop a year ago and they jiggled the wires by the left front wheel and said they'd have to look into it more since I was there for them to just check out the brakes (they were fine). after they jiggled the wires, the problem didn't happen for another couple of months. today i took it to a chevy dealer & they said i needed to replace the left front speed sensor & harness. I just got my oil changed on the way home, the usual warning lights never came on when they would doing the usual starting up and backing out of parking spots. do you think that just a wire is loose and every time i have them look at it, it reconnects?
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I noticed last week that when I am traveling to work, only when on I-80 at higher speeds, the battery light comes on in the Cavalier (1999). When I am on smaller roads, at slower speeds, it goes away. The light is not on the entire time I am driving fast, it comes on for a few seconds, then goes off, then comes back on, and goes back out. It doesn't appear to be affecting anything else, but want to get it fixed so I'm not stranded somewhere. Battery is not very old and alternator was rebuilt within past two years. I do get a bit of a squeal from the alternator belt when the car is running. Do I just need to readjust the alternator or could it be worse?
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My girlfriend's 2001 cavalier has about 160k on it and about a week ago it started shifting harshly accelerating to highway speeds and the CEL came on along with the traction control/abs warning light. I pulled the OBD2 code and it was P0742, Torque Converter Clutch Circuit Stuck On. We took it to the transmission shop down the street the next day and they wanted $600 to diagnose. We called 'shenanigans' and decided she should take it to her regular shop. On the drive over the transmission shifted normally. Both shops noticed that the transmission cooler lines were rusty and seeping, but neither thought it was the cause of the problem. The shifting issue hasn't recurred even after a couple hundred miles during the week. She hasn't had the transmission fluid changed and doesn't know if it had been when she bought it about 80k miles ago. It seems to me that pre-emptively draining the fluid, changing the filter and refilling, especially to check for debris in the fluid, would make sense, especially if it was debris jamming the circuit that caused the error code in the first place.
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