I have a 2000 Cavalier with the 2.2l 2200 engine. On Friday (4/21) I began having a problem where the engine would die out under load. It mainly seems to happen going uphill, especially reaching near the top of the hill (slight incline over flat). I brought it to the GM dealer on Monday and they told me they didn't find anything wrong, but recommended changing the fuel filter (they changed it for me).

Not an hour after getting the car back, I went to return to my office and the engine stalled again! This time I could not get it to restart so I had to get it towed.

I had it brought to a reputable mechanic who the owner of the company I work for has been going to for something like 20 years. He started looking at it yesterday but hasn't found the problem either! Has anyone else had this problem and what is most likely to fix it?

I looked around this forum and found a large list of possible causes from users with similar problems:

throttle body gasket
throttle position sensor
MAP sensor
idle air control valve
upper plenum gasket
brake booster vacuum line
fuel pump
fuel injector
camshaft position sensor
crankshaft position sensor

bad sensor wiring (esp. map / throttle body)
definitely not fuel filter (just changed yesterday)

The problem with my car seems to be specifically when it's under load on an incline. When it previously died, and I was on a flat surface, the engine started again easily. But when it died Monday I was on a slight incline and it would not start (it would crank, and start for a fraction of a second, then stall immediately).

I'm not trying to be a smartass, but there IS enough gas in it, right? You can't always trust the gauge. What makes me think this is how it wouldn't start on an incline, and if I remember right (correct me if I'm wrong) J's draw gas from the front of the tank. I remember that because if my low fuel light was on, it would go off when I hit the brakes, because what little gas was in the tank would go to the front and move the float, making it temporarily read inaccurate.

Rob





Sold 2/2/05

There is at least 1/2 tank -- it was at about 3/4 when I first started having the problem. Just had it filled a couple days before and usually don't drive more than 25 miles/day. On Friday I had to pick up someone so I probably drove about 40 miles that day. GM and the new mechanic I brought it to have each driven the car 10+ miles to try to reproduce the problem, so I think if the gas was really that low it would have run out by now.

I know when I had my 2000 cavalier 2.2L 5 spd, I had 1/2 to 1/25 tank of gas reading on the gauge, Then found out the car just ran out of gas, Then GM had a recall that the sending unit was faulty, In which was giving me a faulty reading. How long has it been since the plugs / wires / been changed? Could do a fuel pressure test?


Keep Us updated

Good Luck.

I put in Bosh platinum +4 plugs and matching wires about 18 months ago. (probably about 20K miles). New fuel filter on Monday. It could probably use a new air filter too but I very strongly doubt it's been in there long enough to cause a serious problem (maybe 25k miles?)

I'm starting to think it's either a vacuum/sensor issue, or something with the fuel pump. I tried sending an e-mail to someone who had the exact same problem, same car on another web site, hopefully I will hear back soon.

My fuel pump just died on my '96 2.2L. My mechanic used ether to start the car & it kept running as long as he was spraying it. That's how he figured it was the fuel pump. Hope that helps.

Well you should also be able to hear the fuel pump when you turn the key to the 'ON' position (before cranking). You will hear a faint buzz noise coming from the back of the car for about 2 seconds.

Rob





Sold 2/2/05

The problem is that everything seems to be working! The head mechanic at the shop agrees based on my description that there is a problem, and that it will probably only get worse if it isn't fixed, but he's driven the car around for a while and has not had the same stalling issues. On Monday I'm going to drive the car around with one of the techs and an OBD diagnostic tool and hopefully will be able to replicate the problem. I'll definitely post back here once I find out what it is since it's so strange and 2 different shops (including the dealer) have not discovered what is wrong yet.

Ok so after more than a week of blood, sweat, and tears (mostly tears from not having my car) it is looking very very likely that it is the fuel pump. The mechanic got his OBD machine back, cleared the codes, and let it monitor the car idling for 20 minutes. No signs of a problem. Took it back out on the road, and in 26 miles of driving it stalled 4 times (first time after about 15 miles, let the car rest and it worked again for a bit, then stalled 3 times in less than 1 mile).

It would not start again immediately after stalling, however letting it sit for 5 minutes would usually get it up and running again. The last 3 stalls it got progressively worse.

Mechanic said the most likely cause of such behavior without throwing a code is the fuel pump. I guess we'll find out when the new pump goes in.

Another interesting thing I forgot to mention. when he first hooked up the OBD machine it showed a code that was not documented, I think 621? I know adding a 1 to the code (1621?) was possible PCM failure. However after 4 stalls it did not repeat this code.

Just wanted to provide an update for those who may be interested. I got my car back today with a new fuel pump installed. So far so good! No stalling issues yet, everything seems to be running fine (took it for a few nice test drives). So if your engine stalls out under load with no codes, this is probably it.