Saturn - SW2 :: 1999 Knocking From The Back And Then Sputters To A Stop
Aug 18, 2013
I am driving an `99 Saturn wagon with manual transmission. The car has held up pretty well, but lately it has developed a bit of a problem with starting and stopping the engine. When I start the car it struggles to not stall for a minute or two, an if I do not apply a bit of gas it stalls out pretty quickly (the is unable to restart for several minutes). If I keep the accelerator down a little for a minute or so I can ease off and it will no longer stall. It will then run just fine till it is time to shut off the engine, at which point it it behaves as if it was stalling, I get a knocking from the back and then it sputters to a stop.
The behavior is very consistent. I have learned to live with it, but it is annoying and I worry it is a sign of a more serious problem. I should also note that before the last time I brought it into the shop the behavior was around but not frequent, now it is 'all the time', which is part of why I want a better understanding rather then just taking their word for everything.
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My '99 Saturn SL2 has from time to time in the past year or so had brief bouts where the engine will suddenly rev up to about 2000rpms while at a stop and/or drop down to about 650rpms combined with surging and stalling while moving. The Service Engine light would typically come on in conjunction with these spells, but then a few days later, things would be back to normal and the light would go off. The episodes seem to correspond with weather that has high humidity, but not necessarily extreme heat. Once or twice when the heat was above 90, the car quit completely and wouldn't restart for several minutes, but that was last summer.
About a month ago the car, which is normally parked in a garage, spent the whole weekend outside when we had some extreme rains (in air temps only about 60s or so). Since that weekend, the car is running frequently with the issues previously described, especially the surging and stalling while driving. It will feel like the timing of the fuel is all out of whack, will shudder and run hard, and then it will suddenly correct itself and run normally. A friend has a code reader and the codes that came up are 404 and 1404, which indicate the EGR valve. We replaced that with a new one and put in 4 new spark plugs, but the problem still persists. I believe the fuel pump is in the gas tank, so from other things I've read, a vapor lock may not be the problem since the fuel is being pushed.
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I have a 1999 Saturn SL1 with a transmission issue. After driving in stop an go traffic and the trans warms up, it doesn't want to change gears from second to third. I can remedy this if i put the car in neutral, turn it off and back on will continue to run for a bit longer. The longer I'm in stop and go traffic, the more frequent I have to do this. On the highway this is a different story and I can stay in the last gear and drive forever! Also after being in traffic for so long, if I put the car into reverse, I have to lightly feather the gas until it slowly goes into gear.
The last issue which I think might be related is that the idle will sometimes stay extremely high if I put my car into neutral at red lights, which I do often to avoid have to turn the car off and on again to reset the transmission.
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I have a 2012 L100 Saturn with just over 189K miles (yes, it's been an awesome car). In October 2012 I both sets of breaks replaced plus rotors. About 2 months after the service, I started hearing a knocking and grinding sound coming from the bottom of the car, about 80% of the time when I apply the breaks. The car does not make the sound if idle or while accelerating. The knocking seems to be loud at times and less present other times. The grinding sounds like a large wire cable is being pulled right underneath the car.
I took it back to the break place and they replaced the Master Cylinder under the warranty. The sound went away for about a month and then came back with about the same frequency. Took it back to the same place and this time they replaced the Wheel cylinder. Sound again went away, but this time came back 2 days later. I'm puzzled because for some reason the sound seems to go away and come back when the car is serviced. It;s also not consistent, but it's there. Not sure what it could be related to if not the break job. I'm bracing myself for some really bad news as this car has been a life saver since I bought it.
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I have a 2000 ford taurus V6. It sputters going up hills and at stop lights. I've serviced the motor and fixed two cracked vacuum hoses. No engine lights are on. Not sure what to do next....
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I have a problem with my 2008 Saturn Astra hatchback with about 75,000 miles. So far this has stumped every mechanic I've taken it to. They all want to have the car for a few hours to drive it around and diagnose the problem.... which I don't want to do just yet.
Sometimes when I'm slowing down, I hear a quiet tapping/knocking coming from somewhere. The back right maybe? It's very quick, almost like a card stuck in the spokes of a bike wheel.
The strange part, though, is that the frequency doesn't change as I slow down. Whether I'm going 10 mph or 20, the frequency is exactly the same. Even stranger, sometimes it's not even there.
Some other things that might be useful: I have a manual. Pushing in the clutch doesn't change the sound when it's there. Neither does hitting the brakes. I did have a blowout on the highway about six months ago (the back right tire....which is why I first thought that's where the sound was coming from), but the sound has only appeared in the last few weeks.
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We have a 2000 Saturn SL2 (120,000 miles). Last night we drove to L.A. and back (from San Diego) , so about 250 miles round trip. For the last 45 miles or so we had the radio on quite loud. At some point in that 30-45 miles the engine developed a very loud knocking noise - like rocks being spun in a tumbler - which we noticed when we got off the free-way and turned down the radio.
This noise did not effect the way the car handled as I did not notice anything when the radio was up. We have been listening to a lot of sounds and I am concerned it could be a Rod Knock - it sounds a lot like this [URL] ... from inside the car, outside it was more of a constant pinging/thunking noise - less gravel sound.
So my quandary is this, our mechanic is not open Sundays so I cannot ask him, but when we take it to him tomorrow, do we drive it or tow it? If the rod is starting to go I do not want to inadvertently do more damage by driving it. The mechanic is 8-10 miles away. We can get their either on the freeway or through surface streets.
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Info: 2003 Ion-1 165k+ miles
I'm hearing a clunking/knocking noise in my Ion that sounds like the front driver side. It's most audible starting about 30 mph. It grows louder as I drive faster and the rate of clunking/knocking is relative to the speed I am driving. It doesn't change when I push in the clutch or when I'm in a different gear. It does not happen when I rev my engine in neutral. I even shut off my car while moving in a parking lot and no change. The sound changes when I turn (sounds like a more muffled/dull sound but still loud if that makes sense), and in my mind it seems to sound worse when I'm turning right than left.
I noticed the noise on Thursday of last week. It was at the point where I had to have my radio off to notice the noise. Since then it has grown louder and as of yesterday is now overpowering my radio when at reasonable volume.
I just replaced both the driver and passenger wheel bearing in the last 18 months, and I just got new Tier-3 Cooper tires 3 months ago. (I wouldn't think the bearing would knock, but just as history fyi.) I was convinced by the troubleshooting guide in my Haynes manual that it was either the inner or outer CV joint so I replaced the whole Driver side CV Axle and topped off the Tranny Fluid with Dexron-III. No dice. I thought there's a chance it could be my new tires, so I Rotated the tires on the left side F->B/B->F as well and the noise did not seem to change. Spinning the tires by hand while up on my jack stands does not seem to tell me anything (I'm guessing I'd have to have them spinning at about 20/30mph to hear anything).
My next idea at this point is to put the front end up on jack stands and have someone put my car in gear and give it a little gas while I stand nearby and try to pinpoint where the sound is coming from. I'm a little leery about this one, and I'm not even sure if it's going to make the noise when not under load anyway.
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I have a 2004; 4cyl Sonata, that jerks when I accelerate from a stop light or when I step on the gas, it jerks and sputters while passing another vehicle, then it gains speed?
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have a 2001 saturn l200. When I have the car running for awhile, the temp gets half way and the fan comes on, but then shuts right back off and will not come on again. Recently I have replaced the radiator fan, the fan module, and the sensor. How does the car fan work? We have had to add a switch to the fan to turn it on when we have to.
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I need to solve tranny problem, it started out a while back, would not shift back into drive after stopping at stop sign (after driving fine for about 20 miles) thought maybe dirty filter so did fluid and filter change seemed to work for a while then started again noticed it was mostly after using cruise control, but u joints were very bad, so replaced 2 of the 3 and worked fine for about a thousand highway miles, then got really bad. Now when I check the tranny fluid cold and /or hot it is way up on the dipstick. Took to ford dealer in ladoga, lied and said no speed sensor codes, but list on the paper he gave me had all kinds of abs and a p500 code.
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I have a 2001 saturn l200 2.2 about 150000 miles. Last night I came to a stop at stop light, then my car tried to die. So then I came to stop again, then it tried to die again. It drives fine, but it shifts hard sometimes, and sometimes it doesn't shift hard...
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I have a 2001 saturn l200. When I have the car running for awhile, the temp gets half way and the fan comes on, but then shuts right back off and will not come on again. Recently I have replaced the radiator fan, the fan module, and the sensor. How does the car fan work? We have had to add a switch to the fan to turn it on when we have to.
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1998 saturn SL2 idle speed changes low, high, back to low. Some times the car dies, can happen any time a few times in traffic. Once the engines dies the idle stays low for 5 minutes, then the problem goes away for a while (a week). You never know when it will happen.
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My sis was driving her 96 saturn SL and she was at a red light, then the car just stopped on her and it wouldn't start back up. I had came to push the car to the side of the road to see what the problem was. When I tried to start it, I could hear 1 click. All the lights came on, on the dash but it wouldn't start. I tried to give it a jump but that didnt work. I checked the oil and the oil was really low. There was no oil showing up on the dipstick. So I put in about 4 quarts of oil.
The car still wouldn't start. So I had it towed. The mechanic said that my sis would need another engine for her car. Would really low oil cause someone to need another engine for a car. My sis had just got a oil change about 2 weeks before this happened. I use to drive her car about 5 years ago and it use to burn a quart between oil changes but what would cause the engine to loose so much oil in about 2 weeks. I don't know if there was a oil leak and the oil light did come on the night before her car broke down. I had a starter put in about 4 years ago.
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So two or so months ago, I had the battery replaced in my 1999 Saturn SL2. About two weeks ago, something strange began happening, but only in the morning when I went to leave the house for work. I get in the car, turn the key in the ignition, and the car won't start--the clock and dash lights will come on for a split second, then go off. I'll try again, and this time the clock won't come on, the dome light won't come on--it's as if the battery is completely dead.
Here's the strange part: when I open and shut my car door, THEN the clock and dome light come back on. Same thing with my keyless entry: after I try to start the car and it won't start, keyless entry doesn't work. Then, I open and close the door and the keyless entry suddenly works again. So generally I have to go through this process of turning the key in the ignition and opening and closing the door for about 5 minutes. Then, the car will start as if nothing happened and it will be fine for the rest of the day.
No matter how many places I travel, how many times I stop somewhere and turn the car off, it always starts when I come back. It's only in the morning that it does this. Occasionally, I've been able to go 2 or 3 days without a problem (i.e., it WILL start in the morning). Today, though, it took a good 10 minutes to start, and I'm worried some day soon here it's just not going to start at all.
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This morning when I pulled into the garage after taking my daughter to school and shut the car off, I noticed a very loud hissing noise coming from the back end of my car, underneath somewhere. When I came back out an hour later to leave for work, it was still hissing. I drove to work and all was fine, but when I went out to the lot after work my car was completely dead.
I tried jumping it, but it wouldn't even take a charge. I had to find a ride home and will get it towed tomorrow. I'm sure the hissing noise is the cause, but what's going on. My car has never given me any problems--it's run perfectly for almost 150,000 miles (5 speed manual transmission). Maybe this is the end?
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since the fuel tank is under the back seat (4door) Is there access through interior or is dropping exhaust the only way to get to top of fuel tank?
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1998 Saturn SL2 no crank, I just turned the ignition key it cranked for 3 seconds, then stopped. then no more cranking.
Open the hood saw a little smoke at the center back of the engine. I did not determine where it was coming from. Smoke always worries me, hope the engine isn't seized up.
I also had a trouble moving the transmission selector handle back & forth between park & Neutral trying to crank the engine. My guess is starter, but would like to check easy solutions first.
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Power steering on '03 Ion cuts out from time to time and then comes back on a short time later.
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My 97 Saturn SC1 dies as I slow to stop. It will restart but the RPM goes very high for a little while before it drops back down to normal. What do I need to do to fix it?
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