Automotive Technicians Technical Discussion and Fixes for Apr 26, 2012

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	Help Request	Answers
	2004 BMW X5 4.4i 4.4L engine VIN: 5UXFB53524 I am fighting a smoking X5. After warming up to operating temperature any time the car is left idling for more than a couple of minutes it will start to smoke from the drivers side exhaust. The smoke is grey/white in color. The vehicle is not using coolant as ...	View
	1995 Buick Riviera 3.8L ABS module VIN: 1G4GD2215S ABS light will not go off, P1670 (QDM #4 failure)code repeat, transmission will not shift to 1st gear. Will only start out in 2nd and then shift up and down normaly but will never go to 1st. Climate controls will not light up. Customer says when ABS light goes...	View
	2005 Chevrolet Impala 3.4L No Start VIN: 2G1WF52E25 car was brought in because speedometer and coolant gauges would mess up.we took trim off and got cluster out to check.when we went to put gear stick down out of the way,key would not turn. we got new switch and key lock cyl.ok this is were i am confused,turn k...	View
	2003 Chrysler 300M Special 3.5L O2 sensor VIN: 2C3AE76K63 My brother bought this car with the cel not working. Sure enough it has codes stored. Erased. And redroved . Code comes back p0161 o2 heater performance b2/s2. Look like new o2 sensor put put one I'm anyway. Code comes back in 5 minutes. After checking wires f...	View
	2004 Chrysler Town & Country LX 3.3L No Start VIN: 2C4GP44R14 Vehicle was towed in by customer. won't crank. asd and fuel pump relays buzz when ign key turned to run and start positions. No power to start terminal on starter, no communication with pcm. Tested all powers and grounds with headlamp at pcm. All test good. Wi...	View
	2005 Chrysler Town & Country LX 3.3L Fuel Smell Inside The Vehicle VIN: 2C4GP44R85 The customer complained about smelling fuel in when the ac or heater was on some times. We looked for leaks but found none. The #2 injector quit working, it did not inject any fuel into the cylinder. We replaced it & put in new spark plugs. The fuel smell cont...	View
	2007 Chrysler Sebring 2.4L Cruise control Car driving fine no cruise working ,cruise light on in dash. no codes any ideas	View
	1997 Dodge B2500 3.9L Hesitation, Stall, MIL Lamp on VIN: 2B6HB21X7V Van came in for misfire at times and dies out .Test drove runs pretty good but at times seems to cut out.Brake torque no problems will brak tires loose.Check mis fire counter on scan tool and can see cylinders misfire 1,2,3,4,5.Cylinders 1,3,5 are the worst.It... Trouble codes: P0351, P0301, P0303, P0305, P0300	View
	2003 Dodge Durango Sport 4.7L Wipers VIN: 1D4HS38N83 Vehicle presented with wipers that do not park and will pulse once about every 15 seconds KOEO, even when multifunction switch is turned all the way off. Acts exactly like wipers are on lowest intermittent setting, even though they're turned off. I'm lacking i...	View
	1998 Ford Windstar GL 3.8L Tcc VIN: 2FMDA514XW OK here goes,I have this wonderful Windstar in my bay with a P0743 code that will set immediately after start up. So I Ohmed the solenoid and the readings where 43 Ohms, ok no problem replace the solenoid, received the new solenoid from Ford and installed. Sam...	View
	2000 Ford Taurus SE 3.0L Misfire, MIL Lamp on VIN: 1FAFP58S4Y I have this vehicle that has a intermittent misfire on #1 cylinder ( at rear against firewall, ) I performed a borescope inspection of the cylinder while pressurizing the cooling system to ck for leak ( none found) then did the reverse while checking for exces... Trouble codes: P0301	View
	2001 Ford F-250 Super Duty Lariat 7.3L No Start VIN: 1FTNX21F61 This truck was towed in because of no start. Owner said that it had been starting hard for weeks and was running rough and now won't start. I pulled it in and confirmed no start. After checking it out I determined that it needed new valve cover gaskets and an ...	View
	2003 Ford Explorer XLT 4.0L 4x4 VIN: 1FMZU73K93 Hey Fellow Techs. This explorer Intermittenly will flash the 4x4 Light and set P1824 - 4x4 drive clutch relay failure. I have replaced the switch and the module. I also ran a ground wire from the transmission case to transfer case. 80% of the time time the 4WD...	View
	2004 Ford F-150 FX4 5.4L MIL Lamp on VIN: 1FTPW14514 This truck has fuel trims that slowly climb after a kam reset. after about 50km it will be at about -20 ltftm. when decellerating down hill the fuel trim increases. it seems to set the code when going down hill. If I go down hill (let off gas to stay at hyw sp... Trouble codes: P0172, P0175	View
	2002 GMC Envoy XL SLE 4.2L oil gauge VIN: 1GKET16SX2 The oil gauge was jumping high, we replaced the oil pressure sener, problem still persists.	View
	2003 GMC Envoy SLT 4.2L air bag VIN: 1GKDT13S93 hi there to all. i have a left front drivers frontal deployment loop (stage 2) open ... current when car came in then went away. checked all conections all ok no corrotion. checked clock sping and ok at this time. has any one seen this to help me so car does n...	View
	2004 GMC Yukon XL 1500 Denali 6.0L Can not fill gas VIN: 1GKFK66U34 I have got this Yukon that is really kicking my a**! You can not put gas in this truck. The gas pump handle repeatedly kicks off and would take 20 minutes to fill this thing. I have checked and replaced the vent valve (intermintantly sticking - no surprise), t...	View
	1990 Honda Civic DX 1.5L Head Gasket VIN: 2HGED6348L Hi Guys I was torquing Head bolts and was not paying attention, and I torqued them to 67 ft lbs instead of 67m NM. That is 18 ft lb over torqued. I torqued it in the correct sequence and all... Should I scrap the head gasket and start over or do you think...	View
	2003 Honda Odyssey EX 3.5L Engine Shut Off VIN: 5FNRL18003 I need some help from Honda techs. I have this Odyssey that came with the following situation. When you make a hard right turn or when you drive on a bad road sometime there is an intermittent on cluster and then shut off. The vehicle starts immediately. We ch...	View
	2007 Honda CR-V EX 2.4L Door Locks VIN: 5J6RE48797 Thanks In Advance to Everyone. I was wondering if anyone had ran into this problem. This 2007 Honda CRV while you drive it the door locks will lock and unlock at times. Sometimes when hitting a bump. we unplugged each door lock one at a time and test drove. th...	View
	2007 Hummer H3 3.7L Draw VIN: 5GTDN13E17 Ok thanks in advance guys. This friend of a relative that lives out of town brings in this Hummer because the battery will die over the weekend with out driving it. Got a "new" battery from O'reillly's on friday had to jump it on sunday. We get the thing on a ...	View
	2000 Hyundai Sonata GLS 2.5L Misfire VIN: KMHWF35V7Y Hello all, This Hyundai sonata 2.5L came in with a dead miss on #2 cylinder. I checked all the basics and found a loss of injector drive on #2 cylinder. I have power at the connector so I tested the harness back to the computer and found no problems with the h... Trouble codes: P0302	View
	1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 4.0L Poor Idle Quality, Hesitation, Cuts out, Stall VIN: 1J4FX58S9T Vehicle was purchased new. Relatively trouble free. Transmission rebuilt over 1 year ago. Dealer installed heater core last summer.There was never a check engine light. Problems: Engine would shut off while driving and come back on. Eventually shut off and wo... Trouble codes: P1391	View
	2002 Kia Sedona EX 3.5L ac system VIN: KNDUP13132 no cooling complaint.power to ac comp in op .cust opted for new comp verses repairing old one.installed new comp and reciever drier evac recharge.ran 15 minutes comp got noisey ang froze up replced with second comp.readings too low high 125 low5-10psi .let run...	View
	2004 Kia Amanti 3.5L Ignition VIN: KNALD12484 Hello fellow techs, thanks in advance. We are working on a crank no start on a 2004 Kia Amanti With a 3.5L engine, auto trans. It has no spark at all 3 ignition coils. It has injector pulse and fuel pressure. No codes. Lab scoped crank sensor, it has a signal,...	View
	2005 Kia Rio 1.6L Poor Idle Quality, Hesitation, Surge, Cuts out, Stall, Misfire, MIL Lamp on VIN: KNADC12505 i have this car, when you revers it gose about 100 yards then stall,but going forward you can go more then a foot and it stalls, when it first came in i had all all four injector cicuit low codes and all four cylinder misfires, cleard codes, now i only have th... Trouble codes: P0300, P0301, P0302, P0303, P0304	View
	2007 Land Rover Range Rover HSE 4.4L running board VIN: SALMF15497 Hi everyone, I am working on a 2007 Land Rover Range Rover HSE 4.4L and the step boards (or otherwise know as "running boards") do not activate if i open any door. anyone here come across this issue before? i tried plugging and the running board module, and ev...	View
	2000 Lexus ES300 3.0L Excessive Emissions VIN: JT8BF28G5Y Failing Calif ASM smog, HC/CO just over cut points. MAF sensor tested bad for its heat range, we replaced it. Not much change. STF B1 @ .89 STF B2 @ .89-1.45 LTF B1 @ 4.5 LTF B2 @ 10.15 I have no way to check B2 AF sensor. all the quick fix data says MAF, or ...	View
	1991 Lotus Elan 1.6L Misfire VIN: SCCGA36BXM This Lotus has strong spark but when you pull the number 2 wire off the plug there is no rpm drop at all. all other cylinders except for 4 will stall the vehicle. there is a tapping noise coming from the valve cover. Any suggestions or direction would be very ...	View
	1997 Mazda B2300 SE 2.3L Poor Idle Quality, Hesitation, Cuts out, Stall, Misfire, MIL Lamp on VIN: 4F4CR16A3V Hello IATN! We have a problem child of a Mazda/Ford pickup here. This B2300 came in with a lack of power complaint. MIL on, P0304 stored. Idles ok, but when revved above 3000 RPM repeatedly will start to drop a cylinder. Upon releasing the throttle it will idl... Trouble codes: P0304 (Cyl 4 Misfire)	View
	1984 Mercedes-Benz 500SEL 5.0L No Start VIN: WDBCA37A6E Hello group. This car has a problem with the ignition coil melting and spewing itself in the engine compartment and fender. It came from another shop and they replaced the ignition module but the coil still melted. Secondary scope pattern looks normal. Accordi...	View
	1995 Mercury Sable GS 3.0L No Start VIN: 1MELM50U7S This vehicle came in on the hook as a no-start. We had no spark, no fuel & no injector pulse. We concluded ecm was bad replaced with reman unit, now we have spark but no fuel or injector pulse. Replaced ccrm as a guess still the same. We have found that there ...	View
	2000 Oldsmobile Alero GL 3.4L cooling fan VIN: 1G3NL52E4Y I let car warm up to 225 degrees looking at modis snapon scanner,at this degree water started pushing out of overflow tank, fans would not come on. If I try to work fans with modis scanner under functional test the low speed fans will come on when I command th...	View
	1999 Saab 9-3 SE 2.0L Over boost VIN: YS3DF58N5X Vehicle came in with check engine light on and a complaint of poor performance. Went through guided procedures for P0108 and P1549. Did not find any issue with map sensor or sensor circuit. Did find a failed boost control valve. Replaced boost control valve an... Trouble codes: P0108 (Map sensor circuit open or short), P1549 (Boost pressure control malfunction)	View
	2007 Saturn Vue 2.2L trans VIN: 5GZCZ33D47 my wife thought the truck behind her hit her(i wish) just kidding at stoplight it felt like she was rearended but wasnt im a chrysler tech by trade haha know the symptom bump stop in 604(slips oh 4)well is this something any gm techs have seen in trans maybe ?...	View
	1998 Toyota RAV4 2.0L No Start VIN: JT3HP10V0W Vehicle came in as no start. Checked for spark none found. I then checked for MIL operation and found light out all the time. Checked the fuse and found 20A EFI fuse blown. I thought this would be easy to find, print diagram and track down a dead short. I star...	View
	2004 Toyota Sienna CE 3.3L Hesitation, Misfire VIN: 5TDZA29C44 Vehicle is giving me a little grief. It has a code for the B2S2, and the vehicle missing on bank 1 all cylinders. Checked fuel pressure and timing as well I replaced the bank 1, plugs seeing the customer was after replacing the converter and it now has a missf... Trouble codes: P0057, P0300, P0301, P0303, P0305	View
	2002 Volkswagen Jetta GLS 1.8L 1-2 2-3 shifts hard VIN: 3VWSE69M72 ok here is one for you vw guys i have this car hear and it has a boat load of codes on the engine side and 1 in the trans side the trans code is 01166 engine torque signal,signal outside tolerence and for the engine side too many to list but all have in common...	View
	2000 Volvo S40 1.9L Lighting VIN: YV1VS255XY Car came in the head lights stays on all the time, its killing the battery, I looked on alldata there's not that much information, is anyone ran in to this issue?I'm thinking got to be the head light module but I would like sencond opinion, thanks	View

Fixes & Summaries for All Makes and Models

	Fix/Summary	Answers
	1999 Buick Regal GS 3.8L Poor Idle Quality, Hesitation, Cuts out, Stall, MIL Lamp on VIN: 2G4WF521XX Thanks for all the rapid responses. It was as most of you suggested, the ignition switch. The most valuable responses were the ones referring to the scanner data for ignition 1 voltage dropping down from 12 to less than 12 when everything glitched out, inclu...	37
	2003 Buick Park Avenue Ultra 3.8L Vtd VIN: 1G4CU54143 Hi Guy's Phillip hit the nail on the head. I did'nt searched enough in all data my mistake sorry. Like a said the customer put in a new battery. And yes he used the valet key to start the car!! I performed the relearn procedure got nothing! Did it a second ti...	9
	2005 Cadillac SRX 4.6L No Problems VIN: 1GYEE63A35 Thanks to all who offered assistance. All the ideas helped keep the problem in focus. By testing each of the 3 alternator wires, we were able to identify a partially frayed wire at the 2-wire connector (GM#[...]). All was fine after repair.	7
	2005 Chevrolet Uplander LT 3.5L battery VIN: 1GNDV33L45 fix was the power doors, had to repeatedly test for draw. and finaly showed itself two times, and yes that was a amp reading and not volts,	1
	2005 Chrysler Town & Country Touring 3.8L Engine VIN: 2C8GP54L25 somewhat helpful,changed pcv valve and used heaver oil	9
	2007 Chrysler 300 Limited 3.5L Sunroof VIN: 2C3LA53G37 thanks for the help guys. I ended up putting the glass in the closed position with the scanner and dropping the motor out of the assembly and calibrating it that way. Works fine now.	4
	1996 Dodge Dakota 5.2L Cuts out, Stall VIN: 1B7GG23Y9T Many of you were right, the aftermarket crank sensors were the problem. I installed an oem crank sensor havent had a problem yet works great. Thanks for the help.	16
	2001 Dodge Dakota 3.9L clutch VIN: 1B7FL26X31 Jacked up front of truck so that master was level and reversed bled that sucker and that fixed her. Thanks to everyone who replied you guys are awesome!!!	19
	2003 Dodge Ram 3500 5.9L No Start VIN: 3D3MU48C43 Thanks for all the replies. I replaced the CP3 high press pump the the truck is now fixed.	10
	2004 Dodge Ram 2500 ST 5.9L Cruise Control VIN: 3D7KU28C74 We finally fixed this one. We did find a small pinhole in the vacuum line near the fuel filter housing, but that wasn't the final repair. Once we repaired that leak, 4 days later I received the call from the customer saying its acting up again. when he retu...	9
	2000 Ford Excursion XLT 6.8L Suspension VIN: 1FMNU41S6Y we checked the body to frame bolts and bushings but no result came of anything we did. it almost seems like the body itself was knocking but the circumstances to make it happen prohibits a good way to isolate the noise. customer is not willing to spend any mor...	11
	2003 Ford F-350 Super Duty XLT 6.0L Steering VIN: 1FTSW31P13 Thank you for the help. We installed a pump and all is well. Just as I suspected the tin orifice was crushed in the old pump. The new pump had one tightly swedged in place.	9
	2004 Ford F-150 STX 4.6L Cuts out, Stall, sec lite flashes VIN: 1FTRF12WX4 Thank you for the replies to my request for help. I did get to check the charging system for AC voltage- that was ok. I posted this a a fix, (though I did not find the fix), because the problem was so non-patterned the customer took it to the dealer & they d...	6
	1998 GMC Jimmy Envoy 4.3L engine VIN: 1GKDT13W1W thanks for all the awesome suggestions. The noise from this engine turned out to be a connecting rod bearing. don't understand why it was only noisey at idle but that is for sure what it was. We are assuming some material whet though that rod after the intake ...	20
	2007 Honda Civic LX 1.8L compressor VIN: 2HGFA16587 Vehicle is repaired- I was unable to check EVAP sensor and thought that it could be a problem. It ended up being fine. What fixed this one was disconnecting battery. I never thought of it. We had reset the PCM but had not disconnected battery. Thanks to Ti...	12
	2005 Hyundai Elantra GLS 2.0L Drivetrain VIN: KMHDN56D85 Most everyone pointed in me in the direction my gut was leaning toward anyways, that is the inner cv joints. especially since i forgot to mention the RH inner was throwing a small circle of grease even tho there was no boot split. once I finally got my hands o...	11
	2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 3.7L engine coolant VIN: 1J4GR48K75 Well,car is fixed because there was no need for fixing it :).As all of you folks said that's the way those engines work.I looked on web for some information on radiator caps and jeep engines and i found some helpfull information for future problems.As i mentio...	16
	2002 Lincoln LS 3.0L No Start VIN: 1LNHM86S02 go back to basics all in all after repairing the pats system i finnaly figured out that sometime during all the crap that the power relay went bad thanks for the help guys always go back to basics never over anaylize Trouble codes: B1681, P1260.	8
	1998 Mazda 626 DX 2.0L Power Steering VIN: 1YVGF22C7W After trying response fixes, we replaced the pump assy and that fixed the problem	9
	2008 Mazda CX-7 Grand Touring 2.3L unknown VIN: JM3ER29LX8 Well we has 2 problems here. First thing i did was remove drive shaft and vibration went away, like some of you said it was the last u joint that was barely binding. enough to make a difference. So i put the driveshaft in and there was still a vibration, just ...	19
	1998 Mercedes-Benz CLK320 3.2L windows,locks,seats VIN: WDBLJ65G1W ok connor was the closest. It was the bus, bus connector, but here in the US its on the right hand side. That connector had become saturated with water and corroded badly. Thats why when i disconnected the bus from the sam it would come back online. I can ...	5
	2001 Mercedes-Benz S55 AMG 5.5L mirror VIN: WDBNG73J21 Thank you everyone for your quick responses on this especially to dave, called mike at (e tech)he came out and repaired the cluster for me, he said that it had the wrong ckt board and some other pieces that were not good,took approx 1 hour and it was ready. th...	5
	2007 Nissan Maxima SL 3.5L Cuts out, MIL Lamp on VIN: 1N4BA41E57 As i exspected a new throttle body got the vehicle running pretty well.With the throttle body i was able to perform the relearn.im sure the cat code will return but had no bearing on drivabilty concern. Thank to those who replied,james Trouble codes: P0430, P0455.	4
	2003 Other European Daily 3.0L park and dash lights VIN: ZCFC50A000 Old switch/electronic control combination burned fuse #9. after replacing the above parts and fuse #9 problem solved. Thanks for the help.	1
	2007 Pontiac G6 2.4L Column? VIN: 1G2ZG58B27 Hi guys, thank you for the help. it was the strut plates. Replaced them and the clunk stopped. thanks again.	6
	1996 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 3.6L all power windows VIN: WP0AA2996T i want to thank all who took time out of there busy schedules to offer help and information at this time the customer cannot leave the vehicle over nite for us to check out and will bring back at a later date to have issue repaired car seems to only act up fo...	5
	2000 Saturn LS2 3.0L Bcm VIN: 1G8JW52R9Y Guys I took this into our Chevy dealer and had them flash it. They kind of screwed me I think and they seemed to enjoy every minute of it. They said they HAD to charge me 1.5 hours as the tech took that long with it as they had a long process to program the th...	9
	2001 Volkswagen Jetta GLS 2.0L Hesitation VIN: 3VWSK69M51 loose muffler bearings was the problem...kidding,cam sensor was the problem,purrs like a kitten now,thanks all for the help. Trouble codes: P0343 (cam position sensor A circuit high input B1), P0351 (ign coil A primary/secondary circuit), P0354 (malfuction), P0420 (cat efficiency bank 1).	6
	2004 Volkswagen Touareg TDI 4.9L Tach and Speedo VIN: WVGHH77L44 After doing all the testing and search we found the instrument at fault, no Instrument repair available only new 7L6 920 981BX OE at $1000.00. Customer declined. thanks for your support. Ronny	5
	2007 Volkswagen Beetle 2.5 2.5L convertible top VIN: 3VWRF31Y57 Thanks Jeff. I didn't find any water in the trunk at the control module but I did find corrosion in the fuse box at the left end of the dash. cleaned the fuse box and fuses and all is ok(unless the fuse box has to be replaced). But it's working now. Thanks aga...	1

(Also Available: All, Asian, Chrysler, European, Ford, GM.)