Thoughts on an issue with womans car

"itschrome" (itschrome)
03/18/2015 at 14:02 • Filed to: None

Hey ya'll, so my Girlfriends car is acting goofy and I think I may have an idea whats up. But i know there are far more qualified people here to ask for advise.

She has a base model 2012 Malibu and basically under acceleration he car will some times stop accelerating while your pressing the gas. Slow down a bit then take off again. this doesn't seem to be speed or gear related. I'm thinking it might be a mass flow sensor issue. Was thinking of popping it off, spraying ti down with cleaner, give the car a new air filter and go from there. thoughts?

Have a Malibu wagon for your time!

DISCUSSION (41)

OPPOsaurus WRX > itschrome
03/18/2015 at 14:06

thats a common problem with the Malibu's. The cause it she has a Malibu, the fix is simple

Kinja'd!!!

sorry I couldn;t be more helpful and just an ass.

itschrome > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/18/2015 at 14:07

haha been trying to get her to trade it in on a mini van. she's having none of it.

CalzoneGolem > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/18/2015 at 14:07

You're not sorry. Don't lie.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > itschrome
03/18/2015 at 14:10

Sounds right. Do it in any case, it won't hurt anything.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > itschrome
03/18/2015 at 14:10

2012 Malibu

Well there's your problem!

crowmolly > itschrome
03/18/2015 at 14:12

Looks to me like you are on the right track. How old is the air filter itself?

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > itschrome
03/18/2015 at 14:12

I'd probably even rather a minivan over that thing. At least minivans have a purpose beyond being big and stuck several decades in the past.

itschrome > crowmolly
03/18/2015 at 14:18

that's the million dollar question. haha

itschrome > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
03/18/2015 at 14:19

big? The Malibu is not big.. that's our small car. haha but yeah malibu's suck.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > itschrome
03/18/2015 at 14:22

Lol, I grew up on imports and the biggest car I've ever owned is probably either my Mazda3 (felt bigger than it was because of modern crash test bullshit) or my old Elantra Wagon (vice versa), so I'm biased. To me, modern compacts are too big.

Needmoargarage > itschrome
03/18/2015 at 14:22

Wouldn't make a whole lot of sense as it's a 2012 but that could be fuel issue as well. Sounds very similar to a failing fuel pump or clogged filter. Then again, I'm just a backyard mechanic.

wkiernan > itschrome
03/18/2015 at 14:24

I've had those symptoms from a tank of dirty gasoline resulting in a clogged fuel filter.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > itschrome
03/18/2015 at 14:30

My wife's car was acting funny, though she'd never said anything to me. But I drove it and it just didn't feel right. Idle was off, some hesitation and then a bit of surging on acceleration. I checked the air filter and it looked so bad I would almost swear it was the original one out of the factory. Put in a new filter and it's much better now.

itschrome > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
03/18/2015 at 14:33

haha you should dd my caddy for a bit!

jariten1781 > itschrome
03/18/2015 at 14:34

Yup, that'd be the first thing I'd check. I'd also check out the EGR valve at the same time, if it's sticky it can cause hesitation. If it's bad it can kill your cat which is stupid expensive so it's worth looking into regardless.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > itschrome
03/18/2015 at 14:34

Lol, I'll pass. I have to drive my grandma's crown vic kind of often, so it's not like I'm incapable of driving a big car, I just don't like them.

OPPOsaurus WRX > CalzoneGolem
03/18/2015 at 14:39

i mean kinda, the guys asking for help and i'm telln him to nuke the car. hows he suposed to find all that plutonium?

OPPOsaurus WRX > itschrome
03/18/2015 at 14:42

a minivan?

itschrome > Needmoargarage
03/18/2015 at 14:43

I was also thinking the fuel system. I was gonna run some techron through the tank as well.

itschrome > wkiernan
03/18/2015 at 14:44

Tis the season. I personally like to run some fuel cleaner this time of year after a long hard winter of nasty dirty winter blend.

itschrome > Snuze: Needs another Swede
03/18/2015 at 14:45

woman. am I right?! haha I might do just the filter first and maybe run some fuel cleaner through the car as it is that time of year when we start to see the switch from the nasty winter blend.

Sweet Trav > itschrome
03/18/2015 at 14:47

Check the Air filter, MAF, MAP, everything measuring air in.

Then see if the cat is plugged (could be if moisture got in there)

Finally maybe a cam phaser or sensor is bad for the VVT

Also unless she's driven 50k a year, take it to the dealer 100k/5yr warranty right?

itschrome > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/18/2015 at 14:47

Oh, I have sources... Don't you worry about that!

itschrome > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/18/2015 at 14:49

fuck yeah! super hand and use full to have! Great for hardware store runs, estate sale shopping, camping, road trips in general, any a million other useful things! I want a mini van! but I also don;t wanna drive it all the time, so why not have her drive it? MUAHAHAHA

itschrome > Sweet Trav
03/18/2015 at 14:51

Also unless she's driven 50k a year, take it to the dealer 100k/5yr warranty right?

HAHAHA, you'd think as she bought it new. but no her dad got scammed hard on this sale. in order to get a lower price they let them carry over the warranty remaining on the 08 aveo she had. not 3 years after buying the car the warranty expired 3 months ago... thing only has 30k some odd miles too.

JGrabowMSt > itschrome
03/18/2015 at 14:52

I'm going to pretend that I didn't just read that someone on Oppo wanted a mini van, and I'll just keep going about my day................

Just trade it in on a Mazda wagon, a used CTS4, or something nice.

Fucking mini vans....how could you?!

itschrome > JGrabowMSt
03/18/2015 at 14:57

but.. but... They carry a sheet of ply wood, and fit a queen sized air mattress, or a dresser, or any other number of oddly specific things I can think of. They can be a camper, a hauler, they are very comfy and generally just super useful!

OPPOsaurus WRX > itschrome
03/18/2015 at 14:59

dont mind that helicopter, and those guys jumping down from the ropes, they just wanna be your friend

itschrome > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/18/2015 at 15:05

oooh, new sky ninja friends!! I always wanted those.

JGrabowMSt > itschrome
03/18/2015 at 15:17

There are wagons and pickup trucks and sleeper tops and crew cabs and all sorts of things that make the world a better place. Hell, I'd rather put a trailer hitch on my car than buy a mini van just to be "super useful."

Trailer hitch would probably be even more useful anyway. I've talked to a guy who pulls a 22' boat with his Magnum RT...

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/18/2015 at 15:18

Uh Libyans duh.

Sweet Trav > itschrome
03/18/2015 at 15:21

huh? I dont think that it works that way. Take it to a different dealer and be like, this is a GM vehicle, 2012, inside warranty term

Call Steve Lehto :D

Does the window sticker say 100,000 mile 5 year warranty, i know my fusion says 36k mi 36 month warranty or something like that on the sticker.

http://www.chevrolet.com/content/dam/Ch…

itschrome > JGrabowMSt
03/18/2015 at 15:24

yeah but check it. You named off 4+ different types of verticals all of which can be covered by one! A mini van! it does all that and more! also ever try to fuck in a wagon? I dunno about you but as a 6'2 dude I like the head room a van offers.

Autofixation > itschrome
03/18/2015 at 15:31

Verticals?

itschrome > Autofixation
03/18/2015 at 15:39

yeah.. sorry I reset my phone and my auto correct has been a bit, well over enthusiastic ever since.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > itschrome
03/18/2015 at 16:14

Ugh. I'm not super into fuel additives and stuff, but I will put some dry gas through a car a couple of times... usually in the dead of winter and then in the spring once all the winter blend fuel is gone. I've been harping on her to do it too but the bottle I bought her is still rolling around in her car.

And the thing is, I don't entirely blame her for the air filter thing. My wife is good about stuff like that, if she knows, but I don't think her dad ever really taught her anything about maintaining a car. And the car itself came from her mom, who also bought it used. Come to think of it, I should have left that filter in and hoped the thing ate it and died. I hate that damn car and can't wait for it to die.

itschrome > Snuze: Needs another Swede
03/18/2015 at 16:21

Dry gas shouldn't do a whole lot honestly. The only additive I use is Techron, which is the only thing I have ever seen any real results with. Run it through my car ever year around this time and then again in like may.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > itschrome
03/18/2015 at 16:23

I'll have to look into Techron then.

itschrome > Snuze: Needs another Swede
03/18/2015 at 16:29

yeah check it out. I highly recommend as part of a seasonal tune up.

and 100 more > itschrome
03/19/2015 at 10:05

My Patriot does that occasionally. I've always assumed it had something to do with the electronic throttle body. If the filter and MAF aren't the causes, maybe it's this?

itschrome > and 100 more
03/19/2015 at 10:21

could be. I did change the filter last night and it was fucking nasty! took for a drive and she seems like maybe all it needed was filter. still going to clean flow sensor though this weekend.