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03 Chevy Malibu sputtering when idle please help

F

Followyourdream

Junior Member
Hello i have a 2003 Chevy Malibu and whenever i stop at light or anything it starts sputtering like its going to die, and continues to sputter when i start going but smooths out when i hit about 20mph. Starts up fine and everything no problem. Also if i put it in neutral or park when idling it seems to smooth out also. Last but not least the engine light is on and starts flashing after i start actually driving it. Ive got it parked and am scared to drive cause i dont know whats wrong. I purchased plugs and wire set to change but dont know if it will help any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
 
2.2 ecotec?

if so your engine is going to blow up.

what i mean is your timing chain has too much slack and it's going to break.
 
Followyourdream said:
Hello i have a 2003 Chevy Malibu and whenever i stop at light or anything it starts sputtering like its going to die, and continues to sputter when i start going but smooths out when i hit about 20mph. Starts up fine and everything no problem. Also if i put it in neutral or park when idling it seems to smooth out also. Last but not least the engine light is on and starts flashing after i start actually driving it. Ive got it parked and am scared to drive cause i dont know whats wrong. I purchased plugs and wire set to change but dont know if it will help any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
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Flashing check engine indicates a severe misfire. The car should not be driven with a flashing check engine light.

Might need a coil or coil pack, whichever that engine uses.
 
You may need one of these. You can get a can of Mass Air Flow Sensor cleaner from a local auto parts store or pay double for a new part there. This may not be your issue, but it's common to cause idle problems because it may be giving the computer bogus data on how to govern the engine when you don't have your foot on the pedal. Unfortunately, I don't know if the computer codes will tell you the sensor is faulty...it might be a $50 gamble...but it's a very quick fix if you have the right wrenches to replace the sensor.

FYI: I have a 2003 Buick and my MAF lasted until 2013. They get dirty over time.

http://www.carparts.com/details/Che...a&gclid=CL7C3fjY_MoCFdgSgQodUZsKhA&redirect=1
 
Followyourdream said:
I went to autozone it says it is misfiring on cylinder 2 i replace plug wires and plugs today and no change
Click to expand...

Coil or coil pack is the next suspect.

A shade tree way of verifying that it's a coil pack is to switch coil packs around and see if the misfire moves to a different cylinder.
 
That doesn't make sense. That means 2 plugs per coil so if #2 has a problem so would #5....unless he has a 4 cylinder?

EDIT: OP never stated what he has.
 
NutBucket said:
That doesn't make sense. That means 2 plugs per coil so if #2 has a problem so would #5....unless he has a 4 cylinder?

EDIT: OP never stated what he has.
Click to expand...

I think 03 Malibu was 3.1 V6 only?

Not sure exactly how those coil packs are laid out internally, maybe one side could go bad?

It could be something like a bad injector, but then other codes would show up, I'd think?
 
Even if the coil pack fires 2 plugs, one coil could still be the cause of the problem. It can also be the Ignition Control Module or a bad Fuel Injector. Worst case is maybe coolant getting into that cylinder or bad valves. If the engine is high mileage, maybe the timing belt or chain has gotten too loose.
 
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