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Chevrolet Cavalier Check Engine Light

34 messages,  Last post on Aug 22, 2009 at 9:06 AM

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#27 of 34 trac off/ check engine by phadre Apr 02, 2009 (10:04 am)
I have a 2000 Chevy Cavalier, bought secondhand. I've had it around a year... had almost no problems with it. A few weeks ago I was driving and my 'trac off' light came on and then my 'check engine' light started blinking. Being about 20 min from the nearest civilization, I decided to keep going until I could stop and get it checked. The car ran fine, seemed ok, just had the lights on. By the time I got to town, the lights went off and stayed off. I had no idea what to do, since it went off I decided to leave it alone. Since then every now and again my car will repeat the performance, only now its accompanied by a weird vibration, that has gotten progressively stronger. Having experienced the runaround with another car when the check engine light came on, overcharging and no real information and a doomsday diagnosis for something small, I am hoping that i can avoid a similar process and see if anyone can help me figure out what is wrong. Thanks a bunch for any help anyone can offer on this
#28 of 34 Check engine light flashing by swebs Apr 26, 2009 (7:21 pm)
I have a 97 Cavalier. The check engine/ETS off lights have been on steady for about 4 years... I can't remember the problem exactly, I think I was told it was a small leak in the gas line that no one could find...? It's been so long.   Also, it starts kind of hard when the engine is warm. I live in northern MN and when it's -30 out, it starts right up. If the engine is kind of warm, like say I went to Target for 30 minutes and got back in the car on a nice 50 degrees day, it would start hard. Usually I get it to start by pushing the gas pedal to the floor before starting, or giving it a little gas while it is turning over (if I forgot to push the pedal down before starting).   ANYWAY... now when the engine is warm, it is still starting hard, but temporarily the check engine light flashes. The whole car shakes and kind of smells like exhaust. I've tried letting it idle for a bit, giving it a little gas while it's idling... sometimes it works, sometimes not. Sometimes shutting it off and trying again works. Sometimes not. If I am not in a position to shut it off and try again the light stops flashing and goes back to just being on steady after 5-10 minutes. But the car is shaky whether idling in traffic or while actually driving. The shaking stops once the light stops flashing.   I plan to bring it to the mechanic this week but in the event that it doesn't misbehave for him like it does for me (which is the norm) WHAT IS GOING ON? If it is a quirk I have to get used to, fine, if not, I don't want to make the car worse by letting it go. I have had this car since I was 16 - I am 22 now - and it has been an amazing car, I know its quirks, and I am hoping to hang on to it for awhile longer!
#29 of 34 Re: vacuum lines??? [2000beastie] by cavaqueer Apr 26, 2009 (7:49 pm)
Replying to: 2000beastie (Jul 08, 2007 4:50 pm) check engine light could be o2 sensor, need sparkplugs and wires, or heater coil.. ive had to replace all those.. when i had trouble with them the check engine light was on..
#30 of 34 low trac, ets off and abs by paplay May 09, 2009 (3:35 pm)
I bought a second hand 1996, I have now had it for six months. The low trac light comes on when I start the car but then goes off after I drive a short distance, it also comes on when I park the car and turn the wheel to the curb. (IS THIS NORMAL, OR IS THERE A PROBLEM?) Last weekend the low trac, ets off and abs lights all came on and stayed on when I first started the car and stayed on even after driving for a few blocks. I pulled over and turned the car off and none of the lights came back on. Does anyone have any trouble shooting solutions or is this normal?
#31 of 34 A RED LIGHT?!?!?! by cdelahoya May 29, 2009 (9:22 pm)
THERE IS A RED LIGHT THAT KEEPS COMING ON IN MY 2004 CAVALIER... ITS A LITTLE RED BOX AND IN THE MIDDLE HAS A ARROW POINTING DOWN.... WE FIGURED IT WAS FOR SOME KIND OF LIQUID THATS LOW SO WE REFILLED EVERYTHING WE COULD THINK OF....   BUT ITS STILL ON. WHAT IS THAT RED LIGHT?
#32 of 34 2002 Cavlier Electrical Problems by ak23x Jul 20, 2009 (8:09 pm)
I have a 2002 cavalier that has been in a front end collision and it has some electrical problems, [the cd player doesnt work and sometimes when i turn on the brights i get some interference and i get a buzzing noise in the speakers] the check engine and trac off light have been on since i bought the car... i took the speakers out of the car to see if they worked and they do work, and i used a voltage tester on the wiring up to the front speakers and im getting a reading but since the airbag went off in the collison[before i bought the car] im afraid to take the dash off... what can be done to the cd player? and can i reset the check engine/trac off without taking it to a shop?
#33 of 34 Check engine light by kristina085 Aug 13, 2009 (11:31 am)
I have a 1998 Chevy Cavalier, and when it gets hot out the check engine light comes on and while driving in town my temp gauge drops from normal to cold, and when it does that my trans shifts hard. But when the light come on and im driving on the highway nothing esle happen it drives fine. Any sugestions?
#34 of 34 Re: Chevrolet Cavalier Trac Off Lights [morris2008] by deveau52 Aug 22, 2009 (9:06 am)
Replying to: morris2008 (Apr 12, 2008 9:40 am) If you have the Trac Off light coming on at random times and the transmission jumping into low gear here is the answer:   Replace the TPS (Throttle Position Sensor). $30 to $40 if you do it yourself or $70 to $95 if you have a service station do it. Of course you can pay a dealer to do it but they will charge you hundreds of dollars, (just my opinion). This will fix all of your problems related to the TRAC OFF light and transmission shifting into low gear.

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