2011 Malibu LS Throttle

Get it fixed. Three different garages have, apparently, diagnosed the same thing.

Get it fixed. Isn't it under warranty?

Get it fixed. Find a garage that you trust. DO NOT take it to a AAA recommended repair facility.

My wife's van transmission was unnecessarily replaced by AAA repair facility when the problem was only a broken control wire. She was out of town and had no choice. She normally has ALL the work done by a dealer.

Get it fixed. Go to the dealer.

Sell it, get another car.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Yx2O7vdVO4

"Published on Oct 3, 2013

This is the 7th time my car had broken down for the same problem.
The car shakes violently, the trantion control goes out, the car feel like its running in 3rd gear because it dies if I slow down below 5 mph, and the engine feel like its running with the power of 2 cylinders. I've had transmissions rebuilt 3 times, throttle bodies replaced 3 or 4 times, new wiring harness or wiring of some sort, new computers, new sensor (wasn't told which one) and now a new peddle assembly. I have a mountain of paper work that the director of the service department at the dealership tried to withhold from me. I tried to express my concern that I don't feel safe in this car anymore when it breaksdown on the freeway in traffic and I was cursed at by the director of the service department, who is no longer there for some reason, because he didn't want to have a "pissing contest with me". I've been without my car for over 110 days in a 12 month period. You can see my 9th breakdown athttp://youtu.be/nNyJ46BQFdM "

If you don't want to take it to the dealer then I would highly recommend getting a really good repair manual with wire schematics and trouble shooting guides, make yourself familiar with the manual. Then TS the system and repair it yourself. It can't be all that complicated, just be sure to have an open wallet

Otherwise it to complicated to troubleshoot it over the internet.

On second thought, it might be cheaper to take to the dealer, have it repaired right and save the extra expense and heartache of DIY

Internet auction sites (names withheld) are excellent solutions for problems like this. One simply lists the vehicle with a few photos, then in a few days someone shows up, swaps it for some money, and takes the problem away. Highly recommended.

Did you even ask what the error code was so you could look it up and see the possible causes?

Maybe if you just drive with the door open!

This comes too late for the OP and thousand of Cavalier owners, but todayGM announces Mary Barra as the new CEO. And then, "Mary Barra to staff: 'No more crappy cars." She's got her work cut out for her!

So how does shutting down Holden in Oz meet Mary's declaration?

Holdens weren't crappy at all. Far from it. Just not enough folk in Oz to buy them.

It doesn't, but like every other corporation, it's about money and how big of profit shares the CEO can take home. It's not good at all, especially for the employee's that are going to be let go and the Australian economy. It seems that GM isn't the first to close up shop in Australia. "The decision is also a significant blow to Australia's auto industry, which has suffered in recent years as a wave of manufacturers including Mitsubishi (MBFJF) and Ford (F, Fortune 500) have ended their operations in the country." And, "Analysts worry that Toyota, one of the last industry anchors still in Australia, could soon follow suit." Not Good At All

Don't get this car fixed. Take the car to a few more repair shops in your town to get some more diagnosis. Don't let them fix anything. Keep this up until every repair shop in town is pissed at you for wasting their time and efforts. Then consult with every engineering forum about your car problems and how cost conscious you are. Make sure that you explain to the people on the forums that you expect them to remotely reprogram your car for free. When that doesn't work consult with the last relatives you have that own a socket wrench about your problems. Don't let them fix it because you don't want to spend any money on this car. A four year old car is not worth fixing. Finally take this car to a town that doesn't know you and leave the keys attached to the antenna and your registration signed by you for transfer of ownership. Leave the name of the new owner blank so that you ease their pain when they take this lemon off of your hands.

As I said, a four year old car is not worth fixing at all.

This was a very irresponsible reply. And from you, who has a good deal of knowledge. I would have expected more from the likes of you.

What the OP should do is trade the car while it is running well, and get into something more reliable. A Cavalier comes to mind. There may be a few owners out there that are willing to let go of one of these, now that they are getting a little older. We never hear complaints about these cars idling poorly, or having drivability issues.

Ahem, it was a joke. I just absurdly continued the OP's pattern of taking this car to three mechanics, getting the same diagnosis and not performing any repairs.

I do like your idea of trading for a Cavalier.

Check with a Chevrolet owners club website. Chances are someone will have had the same problems that you are having.

There are also sites on the internet that you can post your question to a certified Chevrolet mechanic online. (Numerous certified mechanics for all vehicle types) If one has the answer to your question, you and that mechanic can negotiate a price for the answer.

I have previously used the site for a Nissan pickup smog related problem. I paid $15 for the correct answer, which was a whole lot cheaper than taking it to a dealership. It was apparently a common problem~~overfilling the gas tank to the top of the filler pipe, which then drained back down into the carbon canister, which then back filled the suction (vaccumn) line from the engine with carbon granules.

The site works on the honor system, so I suppose you could screw the guy that helped you solve your problem. It was well worth it to me. I used the site ASK.com to get to where I needed to be.

Good luck!!

Cmn,

It sounds suspiciously like a problem I had a long time ago. On a return trip from CA we had loss of power, bucking, and so on, then after a short wait it would start and then do the same again. About three cans of gas line antifreeze (methyl alcohol) fixed the problem of water in the gas. Even though we have ethanol in the gas now, this is still a possibility, and certainly the possible fix is low-cost.

--JMM

GA

That is a very good fix for water problems that can affect almost any car/truck, but are often found to happen earlier where the owner drives around with the tank almost empty and only does the small "fill up" (like my wife!), instead of filling the tank full.

Do modern cars still have a water trap? If so, the OP should empty this first.

This problem could be water as you rightly say......

I have used up to 2% of alcohol/Meths(UK) in petrol engines previously, it worked real wonders......

Say 1 alcohol liter in 50 of gas/petrol if you prefer that method......and when the tank is almost empty, you can do the same again......I have not heard of anything negative, except when the problem remained because it wasn't water.....

I would guess that even a Diesel engine could suffer from this, but as far as I am aware, they also have a water trap...Is that still true? (Anyone know?)

GA

I would have liked to be able to put a VGA on your post!

Really interesting and fits in with all my personal knowledge as well, though I hadn't gotten it anywhere as near "buttoned-up" as you obviously do. Many thanks.

I am amazed that I am the first with a GA, most of the other CR4 people get there faster than I generally do.....

In the earlier post, I failed to say that this was in mid-winter when the southern CA temperatures were in the 70's and the KS temperatures closer to 20. Thus the separation of the water from the fuel.

--JMM

TPS => Throttle Position Sensor

MAS => Mass Air Flow Sensor

Failing or restricted fuel pump

Bad or damaged electrical connections at firewall plug and/or ECM harness connection or other location.

I had a problem simlilar to this one with GM product and the ECM harness wiring to the ignition module had been caught between the transmission dipstick and the housing tube at one time causing the wiring insulation to be stripped.

When the road got rough the wiring would short out against the tube and the car shutdown.

If in order to save money, you have NEVER done anything but put gas and occasional oil into this car, then my first recommendation is a new GAS filter. Slamming a door can be just enough vibration to temporarily resettle debris in the filter and then you get your performance back. Filters are not expensive nor hard to replace but they can cause the performance problems you describe. Dirty fuel found in some stations will shorten the life of a filter.

Good idea to check the fuel pressure as a possible cause.

It can be done at/on the fuel rail at the engine via the test port and would narow the cause down to the fuel pressure regulator or the fuel pump.

Unfortunately on most GM cars the fuel filter is inside the gas tank and is part of the fuel pump which makes changing it a real "pain" as well as expensive.

Never seen an internal filter. Most on my GM model vehicles were mounted on frame between tank and engine. Simple replacement.

I apologize.

You are correct.

There are actually two filters: One on the fuel pump inlet inside the tank and in this case on the Malibu there is a cannister type in-line filter located on the body above the fuel vapor cannister between the gas tank and the rear body panel.

The fuel vapor cannister must be removed in order to get to the in-line filter.

No worries - thanks for the acknowlegement !

Some European cars at least have two filters (US cars no idea...), a "sieve" type in the tank to filter out "boulders" and a fine one near to the engine. So you could both be right on the money....

I would not be surprised if some models had even more, but I personally have not seen that....one per injector would be good for example!!

It seems as tho the OP has left the room. Can someone please close the door? It's still cold outside!