My 2003 Chevy Malibu recently, out of nowhere, starting idling really hard. It shakes and jumps quite a bit when it idles, much like a car creeps when it's about to run out of gas. It drives fine at speeds over about 10-15 mph, but then when it slows down it gets shaky and bumpy.
View 9 RepliesMy car is idling hard in reverse, and the mechanic said, in fact, a problem with the transmission (a turbine?) Well, a new transmission costs much - so, not much savings there. I was told to try some simple fuel injector cleaner first. Chevy Malibu Classic, 2005....
View 4 RepliesMy '99 volvo s70 t5 with 132k miles is idling poorly causing the car to shake, and the mechanic who looked at it said I am not getting compression in cylinder #5. He recommends a valve job (not sure if it is the intake or exhaust valve but said 95% of the time that is the issue). The mechanic said they completed the compression test, and that is what told him it was cylinder #5.
View 1 RepliesMy car will start but die. it either wont turn over or if it does, the engine goes right off. The radio and lights work though. the throttle & iacv were all good. i got it towed and the mechanic brought it in his garage at end of the day. He said it wouldn't start so they left it for monday. The thing is that my ignition sometimes gets stuck and leaves radio & interior lights on. So when they tried starting car on monday, it was dead. They put different battery on & it started right up. they said everything else was ok. they charged my battery & I had no problems. until today, 3 months later, same problem. both times it happen when I am leaving work & both times it was raining & cold. Could my battery be bad? also wonder if place really checked everything out likethey said.
View 5 RepliesRecently my malibu would crank but not start. The consensus was fuel pump. I usually use Cole Muffler since they're close but I've had too many issues with them so I decided to take it to Sandone Tire. Upon further inspection, it turned out to be a wiring issue. I then received a call telling me that when the fuel pump was tested with their equipment, it had 0 electrical charge, and would not run the car for more than 3 seconds, essentially indicating that there was now a pump AND wiring issue, and the pump had to be replaced.
When the work was completed, about 2 days later, i hiked to Sandone to get my car, and was hit with an almost $900 bill. $300 fuel pump plus labor, $300 labor to run the testing equipment on the electrical system, gas fillup, tow, etc. I was told "Well, we fixed the problem of the car not running, as far as the other issues (small ongoing, and possibly linked electrical problems like lighter/ac, radio, locks, etc.. that may have led to the current problem) we'd have to bring it in and look at that"
I turned on the ignition to listen to the new fuel pump, and it would not stop priming. I read that that it can be 1 of 2 things, the fuel pump relay or the pcm not receiving the signal to turn it off after a few seconds. I tried to get back into the place, but he had locked up for the night. Ok, no big deal. It runs. We'll figure the rest out later.
It's now 1 day later and the vehicle is not starting again. Though this time it "tries" to start, with a little puff of combustion here and there, but will not start. I am going to ask if they put the right octane gas in, and tell them that I had a previous idle air control valve needing to be cleaned issue, but other than that I'm stuck on how to deal with this situation.
Also, if the fuel pump was running fine then "suddenly" crapped out, and the problem is electrical, how the hell does the fuel pump suddenly then need to be replaced because it won't run for more than 3 seconds?
I just picked up my truck from my mechanic after he was trying to determine what was causing a misfire in cylinder 3. He swapped coils and then did a compression test and found the following results in cylinders 1 through 4, in order: 143, 132, 57, 151. He said I need to replace the engine or start with adding Engine Restore. Is there a chance I don't need to replace the engine? Could it need a valve job?
View 10 RepliesIt is an automatic. (1999 Malibu) . Is it possible for a car to start but the gear shift to be frozen?
View 5 RepliesGot myself into a tight situation with a truck I recently purchased and seeing if any of you have experienced the same thing or know what may be going on. I bought a 1998 F-150 with 213,000 miles and a 4.2 engine. When I test drove the truck it had a small chugging vibration, for lack of a better term, but the check engine light was not on and it seemed to run great while driving. No problem at highway speeds nor below.
On my way home the check engine light turned on which turned into a blinking check engine light and I knew I had been taken by a person with a diagnostic computer who cleared the codes. He made a comment about it turning on before but his "buddy" fixed the issue but I took his word because he seemed like a decent person.
I took it to a local shop and, if I remember correctly, error code 302 came up for misfire on cylinder #2. He changed the plugs and wires and it seemed to run a lot better. About 5 miles later on my way home the check engine light turned back on, but it still seemed to run smoothly by the time I got home.
The next day I took it back to him and this time we got the same error code plus (again going of my poor memory) error 174 which he said was cylinder #2 running lean. Earlier today he called and said he checked over everything and couldn't figure out anything wrong until he checked the compression. He said the other 5 cylinders were around 130 psi and cylinder #2 was at 75 psi.
Now this mechanic runs more of a brake and exhaust shop so his next statements are why I'm coming to all of you for your opinions.
He said the cylinder was shot and everything inside was shot including the piston, rings, and everything else associated with #2. (I don't think he got in there to really check it out) After scouring the forums I hear more people talk about the valves may not be sealing correctly and what sound to me, to be smaller issues than the entire #2 cylinder being toast.
I'm not sure if I am going to go after the person who sold it to me or not yet but I would like to see what others may think is going on before I light this guy up. I plan on taking it to a more proficient mechanic to do the work, if deemed worthy of work, but would like to kmow where I stand.
I have a '98 F150 with 4.6L Triton with low compression in cyl # 4 @ approx. 30#; all other cyl are at 140# or so. Would it be a burnt valve, bent valve, cam? Any harm if I drive it like that? I have not have it on the road yet.
View 14 RepliesI have a 1999 chevy malibu with a 2005 chevy impala motor in it. Recently I put my car into reverse and it made a hard clunk and went into reverse. Later on that day I tried to go into reverse and it will not reverse. I had to have 3 people push my car back in neutral. However, in neutral I am able to press on the gas and drive forward... This is an automatic transmission. Am I just screwed and need a brand new transmission?
View 12 RepliesI have a 2001 malibu , my cars engine light has been for about a week. This is the second time it has happened. lately I have been having trouble starting my car. Does this have anything to do with my car , or because of the cold weather? How important is it for me to get my car checked out?
View 2 Replies1999 F150 4.2... Has at least a bad #2 cylinder valve. Very low compression. 200k on the truck. Here's the question: drop another motor or just do the heads?
View 5 RepliesI got a deal on a1997 f450 7.3 what does it take to swap to 2001 f250 7.3.mine has a bad cylinder with smoking nd low compression.
View 5 RepliesI purchased a 2003 VW Beetle Diesel and have compression leaking from the valve cover around the number 1 cylinder. It does not run or will barely run. Is this a common problem and what could cause this. i haven't tried anything yet.
View 2 Repliesbacked out of the garage fine later in the day went to put it away started hard would not idle and only rev to 2500 .cleaned map sensor,egg valve tested and it works.cleaned the IAC and that works ,fuel pressure is 58psi. starts hard it would idle now it doesn't dies, no code . with 58psi could the pump still be bad? it has 18 pounds of vacuum. where is the vacuum line for the fuel pressure regulator on the motor?
View 14 RepliesI have a 2003 Chevrolet Malibu LS.
The bulb for the parking light on the right headlight doesn't come on, it only comes on when the turning signal is activated. I'm not sure if it's the bulb or the fuse? If it's the fuse, do I need to buy electrical gloves and disconnect the battery before I "operate".
I have a 2003 malibu with 170000 miles on it. My husband uses this car to commute to work (10 miles one way). We will be buying a newer car in a month or so but my husband really wants to keep this car as a third/back up car. I purchased an OBD 2 scanner and downloaded the torque app (I really enjoy working on cars and I wanted to have more info easily available to me). The codes that it is showing me are P0131 (o2 sensor) and P0405 (EGR?). How should I proceed? I know I need to replace the O2 (easy) but im not sure about the other code.The car has a rough idle, terrible gas mileage and seems to drive as though I have shifted it past Drive and into 1st (its an automatic).
View 9 RepliesMy 2003 Malibu engine will stop running all of a sudden while I'm driving. It has happened four times and I need to know why before the car kills me. The accelerator pedal goes limp and within ten seconds the check oil light comes on, the check engine light comes on, the power steering quits and then the engine dies. AAA mechanics had this car for four days and couldn't figure it out. My local mechanic has had it for five days and hasn't figured it out. I have looked on the internet and I am not alone. But there is no definitive solution to this problem. BTW, it's not the fuel pump.
View 7 RepliesFirst off, its a new battery and I checked my battery connections which are tight and clean. Sometimes it starts up and sometimes it gives me nothing and takes a few times before it will crank. For a few days before that started the clock was resetting sporadically... sometimes i would get in my car and start it and it would be fine - and sometimes i would start it and it would reset to 12:00. Today it started to die, twice when i was stopped at red lights it would completely just lost all power - but I was able to crank it right back up and it started right away.
Last year I had the clock resetting thing as well, it lasted over a month - then one day after a long trip I pulled into a gas station and the car just wouldn't crank up - the battery was dead and I bought a new one. So the battery I have in there isn't even a year old yet. Funny thing is I had that battery tested and the guy said it was good - now I wonder if it was my battery last time at all. Seems like its something electrical, something somewhere. The a/c goes on and off on it all the time, but that has happened for a few years now.
2005 Chevy Malibu
When the driver side door is opened there is a clunk sound about half way through the swing. When the door is closed there is a couple clunks then a thud. The sound is coming from the front of the door.
What is causing this and does it mean big trouble soon?
I haven't started my passat for the winter and I finally did today. It was ruff start/idling and I pretty sure it was misfiring on one of the cylinders. I turned off the car and start it again...same thing, ruff idling like 3 cylinders were running. I waited five 5 mins and started it again, then it was a normal start on all cylinders. But the engine light came on, even though it started properly. I know I have to clear the code to get rid of the engine light. But I want to avoid any future misfiring. So I'm thinking new spark plug/coil overs.
View 9 Replies