I own a 2014 Sonic LT. I purchased it used in July, 2016 with 22,682 miles on it. I am now just short of 90,000 miles and I have had no real problems and I have kept up with the maintenance. I had a head on accident but repaired it with OEM parts by a reputable body shop and that was in May, 2017.
Last Monday I had an oil change because the car indicated it was time and I didn't want to wait until I hit 90,000 miles to do it (at the time I was at around 88,700). It was uneventful save for the suggestion of an air filter which I decided I would pass on until I did the 90,000 mile service.
On Friday after work while sitting in traffic, suddenly my check engine light, another check engine light and the Traction Control Light also went on, all of the lights were solid. The engine immediately began running rough. Since I was in traffic I was unable to give it gas and the car stalled out.
It stalled a few times as I kept starting it, going a short distance in the traffic, and then having it stall again. After repeating this several times I finally was able to hesitantly steer it off the road, serendipitously into a garage that was still open.
The mechanic came out when I found her and I asked if she could pull a code. She hooked her tablet up and looked confused while she was clicking through some things. She finally got up to look at the engine. It was running really rough and she said that it was acting like it was misfiring but she knew it wasn't. She also said it sounded like a vacuum leak. I asked if I blew my head gasket (my previous car had that happen) but she said no.
Since the car limits the revs while in park or neutral, she attempted to power break the car to rev the engine however the car also disallows that maneuver. She was a little frustrated but then said she thought it was suddenly running more smoothly.
Sure enough we checked under the hood again and it was running like normal. She decided that the car might have hit a pot hole or maybe some water got into it (it was raining heavily) and it freaked out but it might be fine now. She cleared the code and took no money and off I went.
The trip home was uneventful. The next day I drove 140 miles between two jobs through four states with no problems. The next two days I was off from both jobs and did some errands without any issues.
I remotely started the car on Tuesday AM a few minutes before leaving for work in the morning and it started. However as soon as I put the key in the ignition all of the lights that lit up before came on and the engine started running rough again. I tried to rev it and looked at it but it kept running rough and actually stalled out a time or two.
Since I was home I didn't want to risk trying to drive it and wind up having it dead in a more inconvenient location or maybe hurt the car running it with a problem. So I called work to arrange working out of home and had the car towed to my mechanic who was closed on New year's Day, unsurprisingly.
He looked at the car Wednesday and of course it was running fine! He took it on the highway, even. No problems!
He had some theories - he said that the PVC valve going bad is common and would cause these symptoms - but the valve is fine. None of the codes saved in the computer make any sense for what could cause my problem. He thought that maybe a wire was loose from an accident but the last accident was over a year and a half ago.
So although he will run another diagnostic test or two today, unless he actually can determine the problem, I am getting the car back with no repairs and in perfect running shape. It has bewildered two mechanics who looked at it, one of whom I don't know but the other is one of the most respected in the area and I completely trust him.
So.. Is my car possessed by Satan?
My concern of course is that the car will do this again and leave me stranded. A self-fixing car is great! Until it doesn't self-fix anymore. Or I really mess something up.
Has anyone else had this kind of issue? If so what was the problem? Do I need to trade my mechanic in for a Priest? If not, any words of advice I can give him to check out?
Last Monday I had an oil change because the car indicated it was time and I didn't want to wait until I hit 90,000 miles to do it (at the time I was at around 88,700). It was uneventful save for the suggestion of an air filter which I decided I would pass on until I did the 90,000 mile service.
On Friday after work while sitting in traffic, suddenly my check engine light, another check engine light and the Traction Control Light also went on, all of the lights were solid. The engine immediately began running rough. Since I was in traffic I was unable to give it gas and the car stalled out.
It stalled a few times as I kept starting it, going a short distance in the traffic, and then having it stall again. After repeating this several times I finally was able to hesitantly steer it off the road, serendipitously into a garage that was still open.
The mechanic came out when I found her and I asked if she could pull a code. She hooked her tablet up and looked confused while she was clicking through some things. She finally got up to look at the engine. It was running really rough and she said that it was acting like it was misfiring but she knew it wasn't. She also said it sounded like a vacuum leak. I asked if I blew my head gasket (my previous car had that happen) but she said no.
Since the car limits the revs while in park or neutral, she attempted to power break the car to rev the engine however the car also disallows that maneuver. She was a little frustrated but then said she thought it was suddenly running more smoothly.
Sure enough we checked under the hood again and it was running like normal. She decided that the car might have hit a pot hole or maybe some water got into it (it was raining heavily) and it freaked out but it might be fine now. She cleared the code and took no money and off I went.
The trip home was uneventful. The next day I drove 140 miles between two jobs through four states with no problems. The next two days I was off from both jobs and did some errands without any issues.
I remotely started the car on Tuesday AM a few minutes before leaving for work in the morning and it started. However as soon as I put the key in the ignition all of the lights that lit up before came on and the engine started running rough again. I tried to rev it and looked at it but it kept running rough and actually stalled out a time or two.
Since I was home I didn't want to risk trying to drive it and wind up having it dead in a more inconvenient location or maybe hurt the car running it with a problem. So I called work to arrange working out of home and had the car towed to my mechanic who was closed on New year's Day, unsurprisingly.
He looked at the car Wednesday and of course it was running fine! He took it on the highway, even. No problems!
He had some theories - he said that the PVC valve going bad is common and would cause these symptoms - but the valve is fine. None of the codes saved in the computer make any sense for what could cause my problem. He thought that maybe a wire was loose from an accident but the last accident was over a year and a half ago.
So although he will run another diagnostic test or two today, unless he actually can determine the problem, I am getting the car back with no repairs and in perfect running shape. It has bewildered two mechanics who looked at it, one of whom I don't know but the other is one of the most respected in the area and I completely trust him.
So.. Is my car possessed by Satan?
My concern of course is that the car will do this again and leave me stranded. A self-fixing car is great! Until it doesn't self-fix anymore. Or I really mess something up.
Has anyone else had this kind of issue? If so what was the problem? Do I need to trade my mechanic in for a Priest? If not, any words of advice I can give him to check out?
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