2002 Sunfire acting weird

2002SEsunfire

2002SEsunfire

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hi I'm new to this forum. I might be re-posting this so forgive my possible re post. This morning i was backing out of my driveway, then i put the car into drive and the car completely lost power. The engine did not stall, i stepped on the gas and the car only crawled forward. And i also did not have power steering and the oil light (bottom left coroner) came on. I then restarted the car and it worked just fine afterwards. i checked the oil and it was in the normal range. (the car is a 2002 sunfire 2.2 ohv automatic 132000 miles) i found out that this has happened before. Any help would be helpful, thanks.
 
1. Do you have a check engine light on?
2. When the car was crawling forward was the engine revving?
3. What do you mean you found out this has happened before, with another driver? If so same thing happened exactly?
 
the check engine light was not on

the service engine, trac off, abs, and oil lights were on at the time
the engine was revving ever so slightly ( half throttle only moved the tach a few houndred rpms)

it happened to another driver, they just restarted the car and that solved the problem.
 
Not much to go on. I would check the battery cable connections at the battery, the starter, and ground.
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I checked all of the cables and they're all tightened and there. Could it possibly be a sensor of some sort?
 
I would expect a check engine light to come on for a sensor. You could have the computer checked for codes in history.
 
maybe this will make a difference, earlier this year i had too replace the knock sensor because the check engine light was on. I had Big O do the check and the knock sensor was the only code they found and they checked twice. Sorry i forgot about this.
 
Your car was in limp in mode.
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okay makes sense. So limp mode is basically the car trying to go into a failsafe, get to a safe spot mode? It hasn't done this since june
 
here is a video that gives a generic idea on how to spot limp in mode, as described in the video many things can cause this, from a corroded connector, blown fuse, transient high voltage from the ignition system etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOP0V31oqoQ

This may have been what your vehicle was experiencing and may experience again, unless you found and repaired the cause yet didn't know the part you worked on effected and cured the problem.
 
this was 6 months ago.
1. Has it happened again?
2. Since the service engine soon light was on, did you ever have the computer scanned for codes in history?
 
no, the car actually has been running good, besides a clunk in the front right (maybe a wheel bearing) which i will diagnose within the next 2 weeks

no, i have not had it scanned, because the light has stayed off, except for the abs light (been on forever) but i am also going to get it scanned soon (its finals in college)
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good luck with the finals
 
thanks! just finished them actually.

would a bad motor mount or loose caliper cause a clunk in the front?
 
It depends on when you hear the noise. Why would you suspect a caliper is loose, they usually don't come loose. I would first look at things like lower ball joints, control arm bushings, sway bar links, etc.
 
actually i didn't event think of the caliper or motor mount. but my aunt who works at a rental shop where all they rent out and repair are cavs and sunfires told me check those first.

I actually at first suspected a cv axle, but those were just replaced, then i googled it and wheel bearings came up. its on the drivers side, only happens when coasting from a maximum of 20mph and decelerating from downwards of 15mph.

Thank you after the xmas season i do plan on working on it (i work retail so i catch no break this time of the year).

When i do i will look at everything ball joints, bushings, sway bar links, bearings, calipers, motor mounts, look for leaks, any cracked rubber, any damage.

one more question. when i have it on jack stands, could i run it and put it in gear and get it up to 30mph max and slowly decelerate to see if it clunks, or is that bad for it?
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if you have traction control, running a car on jack stands will not work out for you unless you can tun off the traction control.

Since the car is not under load you may not hear the same clunk anyways.

Do not sweat the small stuff, just inspect the car and look for the obvious. if the noise is that bad I am sure something will jump out at you and be very obvious.

Isn't this the same car that had a motor mount torn away from the subframe ?
 
i do have TCS, thanks for that info,

and as far as i know the motor mount isn't torn away, but damaged in some sort. when its on stands i will inspect the frame.
 
take pictures of the damage to the mount or sub frame that has sustained damage and post it. so we can give you ideas on how to address it.
 
i will, and i do plan on addressing it, even though my mechanic said do not worry, i have seen ones way worse than yours and the car drives perfectly. i will not leave this untouched because this is a critical part and if it fails then someones life besides mine could be in danger.

oh by the way, the spare jack that came with the car is rustyish (from the leak) should i toss it or just wd-40 it and use it?
 
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