You are here: Forums Sedans Pontiac Grand Am Pontiac Grand Am Service Engine Soon / ABS / Trac Off

Pontiac Grand Am Service Engine Soon / ABS / Trac Off

101 messages,  Last post on Oct 15, 2009 at 5:46 AM

You are in the Pontiac Grand Am Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens

What is this discussion about? Pontiac Grand Am, Sedan

Messages Page 9 of 11 1 ... 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Prev Next Last

Go To Msg # Search This Discussion

#73 of 101 still the same by kimijo Aug 09, 2008 (5:49 pm)
I also rented the code reader form autozone as I could not get my car there. it comes out as a pass, no codes. I have checked all of the fuses in all 3 boxes everything is fine tomorrow is the relays. I also know that after a problem is fixed the codes should be erased with this same diagnostic unit. we ar thinking the gas is bad. and it would not code for that.
#74 of 101 Service Engine Soon by shonta Aug 28, 2008 (7:08 am)
As I was driving this morning, my check Engine Soon light came on. I have no idea what that could have been, my car was driving smoothly. Can anyone tell me what that is?
#75 of 101 ABS TRAC OFF by gwhonda1 Nov 21, 2008 (2:21 am)
Here we go again, it is a sensor and a lot of money to fix. It does not mean you don't have brakes, you have regular brakes just not ABS. If you live in the snow you may want to get this fixed. I also found that if my tires were not equally inflated it kicked that sensor on also.   I will never buy another Pontiac again!!!!!!!!!!!
#76 of 101 00 grand am misfire by micwilliamsjm Dec 03, 2008 (4:14 pm)
I have read through all these posts and my car is doing the same thing....2.4, 93,000 miles on it. It has been hesitating and recently died while I was driving it. Had the cat convertor checked and it was not clogged, changed the fuel pump, changed the spark plugs. Drove it for about a half an hour and died again. Then we changed the crank sensor and the coil pack. I had the radiator flushed out last year because I had to change the water pump. My ABS, traction contol and service vehicle lights are all on. My service engine light was on, but we coded it and it just came up "misfire"...nothing else no codes or anything just "misfire". After changing all these parts we can drive the car and it wont die but there's still a hesitation there. I've been reading through all the suggestions and the ignition module keeps coming up...has anyone with similar problems changed the ignition module and had any luck? I also thought maybe it was water in the gas or bad gas. I just had the fuel filter changed last year, but thought about trying that as well. After the work I've just had done and the parts I'm up to about 400$ Looking for any suggestions....I've also seen about cleaning the EGR valve, and possibly the PCV valve??? I'm at a total loss here. Replies to this message: jimsmith2354 (Dec 23, 2008 8:03 pm)
#77 of 101 Too Many Problems At One Time by dsudelta Dec 23, 2008 (6:56 am)
I have a 2003 Grand Am and for the past 4-5 months I have been feeling a jerking while my car is idle (stop light, stop sign). My TRAC OFF light has been on for the past week and my SERVICE ENGINE SOON light comes on and off. When I turn on the heat or defroster, i smell gas fuels that get worse when I accelerate. In September, I had a tune up and the fuel filter replaced. Still the car jerks. All of these problems started at the same time. About 2 years ago, I had the fuel pump replaced (from a shisty mechanic friend of my husband), and the floor of my trunk gets moist and I don't feel as though I am getting a full tank of gas even though the gas gauge reads FULL. For the past two month, I have been using fuel injector cleaner as well as had my muffler checked and my injectors checked.   I know this is a lot, but I am tired of having all of these problems at one time. Do you think it could be the fuel pump? or maybe I need a new gas cap? there is definitely something going on with the fuel system. HELP!!!???? Replies to this message: jimsmith2354 (Dec 23, 2008 8:21 pm) dsudelta (Jan 05, 2009 10:57 am) burdawg (Jan 05, 2009 12:25 pm) jimsmith2354 (Jan 05, 2009 7:34 pm) meatydojo (Jan 09, 2009 2:46 am)
#78 of 101 Re: 00 grand am misfire [micwilliamsjm] by jimsmith2354 Dec 23, 2008 (8:03 pm)
Replying to: micwilliamsjm (Dec 03, 2008 4:14 pm) I can't offer any suggestions to fix the hesitation, but the ABS and Traction lights are controlled by the ABS brake computer and the $100 readers at Auto-Zone and others will not see the codes. You need to go to a dealer or a better repair shop as the ABS readers cost many hundreds of dollars.   My ABS and many other lights were ON in my 2003 Grand AM and the ABS reader said both front wheel speed sensors were bad. I also had one wheel bearing that was noisy after just 50K miles. The Grand Am wheel speed sensors are very cheap and water gets sucked-in and corrodes the wires and the bearings. When I tore apart the old ones it was obvious that water had gotten in. I replaced both front wheel bearings and used silicone RTV to seal out further water problems.   You should get the ABS fixed as soon as possible because an intermittent ABS can so some very dangerous things.
#79 of 101 Re: Too Many Problems At One Time [dsudelta] by jimsmith2354 Dec 23, 2008 (8:21 pm)
Replying to: dsudelta (Dec 23, 2008 6:56 am) Wow, two dangerous problems at once. First you should have a competent mechanic find and fix the gas leak under the hood. It could be fuel rail, the pressure regulator, an injector, or a pipe / hose fitting. A leaky injector would also cause poor idle and performance.   I assume by a wet trunk you mean wet with water, the trunk seal on my 2003 Grand Am was not installed correctly from the factory, but it was easily corrected.   The fuel pump for most new vehicles are pretty standard so I think the pump should be OK, but it sounds like the mechanic didn't re-install the float correctly to make the gas gauge read correctly. It's a big annoyance but also some work to correct. I'm in favor of only paying a mechanic half until you see if he did the right thing - can you tell I don't go to a mechanic very often...   The ABS and Traction lights are controlled by the ABS brake computer and the $100 readers at Auto-Zone and others will not see the codes. You need to go to a dealer or a better repair shop as the ABS readers cost many hundreds of dollars.    My ABS and many other lights were ON in my 2003 Grand AM and the ABS reader said both front wheel speed sensors were bad. I also had one wheel bearing that was noisy after just 50K miles. The Grand Am wheel speed sensors are very cheap and water gets sucked-in and corrodes the wires and the bearings. When I tore apart the old ones it was obvious that water had gotten in. I replaced both front wheel bearings and used silicone RTV to seal out further water problems.    You should get the ABS fixed as soon as possible because an intermittent ABS can so some very dangerous things - but so will an engine fire...
#80 of 101 Re: Too Many Problems At One Time [dsudelta] by dsudelta Jan 05, 2009 (10:57 am)
Replying to: dsudelta (Dec 23, 2008 6:56 am) FOLLOW UP: I finally took the car to a reputiable mechanic. They worked on my car for two days, only to find out that the 2003 Grand AM's have one of the most complicated engines ever made. The "misfire" that the computer was reading was the the result of the bolt holding the Tension & Timing Belt in place. The only way for the mechanic to find out if any damage was done by the "floating bolt", was to take my entire engine apart..$2,000. However, the bad news is that there could be more damage done and they would not know until the engine was fully taken out. Well as luck would have it, a 2003 Grand Am with 1,000 miles was totally wrecked this past Friday and the mechanic called to say that he could install the new engine in my car for $1500.00. I will now have a 1,000 mile engine in car that actually has 103,000 miles.   I would suggest to anyone, have your mechanic check with local salvage/junk yards, before committing to doing the work.   I will keep you posted on how this works out. Replies to this message: burdawg (Jan 05, 2009 12:25 pm) jimsmith2354 (Jan 05, 2009 7:34 pm)
#81 of 101 Re: Too Many Problems At One Time [dsudelta] by burdawg Jan 05, 2009 (12:25 pm)
Replying to: dsudelta (Jan 05, 2009 10:57 am) I think I would tread a little lightly here. I don't don't see how a problem with the tensioner bolt (what's a "floating bolt"?)could cause a misfire, nor do I believe a 1000 mile car of the exact same type just happened to get wrecked right when you have been convinced you should swap out the engine Also, the statement that the 2003 Grand Am has one of the most complicated engines ever built, either the 4 or the 6, is interesting. With either engine it's not even close.
#82 of 101 Re: Too Many Problems At One Time [dsudelta] by jimsmith2354 Jan 05, 2009 (7:34 pm)
Replying to: dsudelta (Jan 05, 2009 10:57 am) I agree with all of burdawg's comments. First I do hope this cures all your problems, but I cannot fail to add that an engine swap in a FWD car is not trivial and could easily cost $1500 in labor and misc belts and hoses to make it all top notch. If you really did get a low mileage engine then this is a great deal... but anytime something costs more than a few hundred dollars, I automatically get a second opinion. In this case I suspect the mechanic found the real problem for the misfire and just made-up a complicated story - one good for $1500... After all $1500 for a new engine seems like a bargain against a $2000 repair for the old engine. Sorry for the skepticism, but I do hope all your problems got fixed.

Messages Page 9 of 11 1 ... 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Prev Next Last

Go To Msg # Search This Discussion

You are here: Forums Sedans Pontiac Grand Am Pontiac Grand Am Service Engine Soon / ABS / Trac Off