Engine malfunction indicator turned on!!!

[Serp86]

Car is a three month old chevrolet/daewoo lacetti (in the US its sold as a suzuki reno i think).

Last time I drove it (about two days back), everything was fine, and engine was as smooth as ever. Today, I turned it on and engine malfunction indicator turned on after about a minute driving. Before it turned on i noticed that it was shaking a little too. After that I pulled over (had moved about a 100m from home) and turned it off. Then when i tried to start it again, it took longer to start, and during the drive home, it was always threatining me that it was going to stall. WTF is happening here? You don't expectthis from a 3 month old car

 

[sswingle]

Sounds like a lemon.

Or typical for an American car.


I keed, I keed!

 

[squirrel dog]

I dont know if that car has vacuum hoses ,but that sounds like a vacuum leak . Could also be a plug wire loose.

 

[Serp86]

Could it be due to bad petrol?

Last fill up (week ago - haven't used car much since) wasn't from the usual pump - i'm starting to think that this might be the problem. I mean, from usage, the petrol in the pipes should be used up now, and i'm now on (bad?) petrol

 

[Ornery]

Plug it into an OBD-II scanner at AutoZone for free, or buy one for $40.00 or so. That will point you in the right direction. It does sound like a wire came loose though.

 

[Serp86]

I live in europe

God this is torture. Can't wait till monday morning - i'm gonna go to the dealer and kill somebody lol

 

[imported_Phil]

Originally posted by: Serp86
Could it be due to bad petrol?

Last fill up (week ago - haven't used car much since) wasn't from the usual pump - i'm starting to think that this might be the problem. I mean, from usage, the petrol in the pipes should be used up now, and i'm now on (bad?) petrol

Doubtful. The petrol will mix with the remains of the tank when the car's filled up.

 

[DaiShan]

Spark plugs maybe?

 

[dud]

Go to the dealer.



"Plug it into an OBD-II scanner at AutoZone for free, or buy one for $40.00 or so. That will point you in the right direction. It does sound like a wire came loose though."

Ornery, if this was a US car I would agree. I don't think foreign cars use the OBD-II standard (but I could be wrong). I think they use CAN.

Serp, a valve or sensor may have gone bad (since the car still runs). The error code is stored in you on-board computer's memory. The dealer will know how to extract it.

 

[compudog]

Check the petrol cap. A missing cap can cause the problems you are having.