2008 Chev Malibu 2.4 stumbling/stalling

Status
Not open for further replies.

irv

Joined
Oct 8, 2006
Messages
2,219
Location
Oshawa, Ont. Canada
My son's 2008 2.4 Chevy Malibu stumbles and outright stalls on him sometimes, especially after/during a rain or washing his car. I have replaced the plugs and shortly afterwards, it stalled on me less than 100 yrds away.

I have looked at electrical connections, the battery, fuses, etc, under the hood but all seems good?

Something, imo, is definitely getting wet/damp which is causing this.
He washed the car Saturday, took it for a quick drive after, then yesterday, after driving home from work, (it was fine on his way to work) it stumbled on him again. He video'd it this time and it sounds like it is running on 2-3 cylinders. I took it for a drive immediately after and it ran great???

The car doesn't throw any codes either.

Has anyone else came across this before, and if so, what did you discover?

It's getting frustrating to say the least, and of course, my son is nervous to drive it.

Thanks in advance.
cheers3.gif
 
Originally Posted by skyactiv
I'd use a live data code reader. I assume he's putting regular E10 petro in it, not E85 I hope.
I'm not even sure where to get that around here, I live right beside OP (Toronto).

Spray the wires with water at night while running? You would think it would throw a code if it was the coil or wires, though.
 
Originally Posted by skyactiv
I'd use a live data code reader. I assume he's putting regular E10 petro in it, not E85 I hope.



Originally Posted by maxdustington
Originally Posted by skyactiv
I'd use a live data code reader. I assume he's putting regular E10 petro in it, not E85 I hope.
I'm not even sure where to get that around here, I live right beside OP (Toronto).

Spray the wires with water at night while running? You would think it would throw a code if it was the coil or wires, though.


Originally Posted by Triple_Se7en
Change the wires first. If not corrected, change the coil.


Regular fuel, likely 10% or less ethanol.

The car doesn't have plug wires only ignition coil type wires. When I did the plugs all looked good but I am not writing off the fact there might have been a hairline crack in one of the coils?
My bud said the car would not stall if one were bad, the other 3 would allow it to run??

I am going to look under the dash today and check the carpeting. Something might be blocked in the vent area that allows the water to drain and might be getting something damp?

I have read about the Body Control Module (BCM) so I am also going to check that out a little more thoroughly today, hopefully, (raining out) and see if it is damp or has signs of corrosion?
I hate these types of problems!!!


Malibu coils.jpg
 
Last edited:
Fill a spray bottle with plain water and use it to dampen various parts, hopefully that can trigger the problem without waiting for rain or paying for car washes.
 
Originally Posted by mk378
Fill a spray bottle with plain water and use it to dampen various parts, hopefully that can trigger the problem without waiting for rain or paying for car washes.


I did that last Thursday. I sprayed every connection I could get at under the hood, other than the coils, and never got it to stumble.

I, of course, was hoping something would happen but no luck!
mad.gif


Meant to add, the battery connections and fuses beside it all looked good with zero signs of any water infiltration or corrosion.

I do, however, have to check the little fuse box in the trunk on the left side. I have read there are fuel relays or fuses in there but he also has zero moisture issues in the trunk that I have noticed.
 
Last edited:
Why didn't you spray the coils? Also, as you have already suggested, pull the coils and inspect them closely for cracks or burned spots.

The crank sensor is a single point of failure that can make an engine suddenly run badly or not at all.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by mk378
Why didn't you spray the coils? Also, as you have already suggested, pull the coils and inspect them closely for cracks or burned spots.


I didn't feel like removing the plastic cover (time restraints) as I was hoping it was something else. Under that plastic cover, when I did the plugs, things stay pretty dry under there, imo.

Personally, I believe something else is getting damp but I will check those just the same.
 
Originally Posted by mk378
Why didn't you spray the coils? Also, as you have already suggested, pull the coils and inspect them closely for cracks or burned spots.

The crank sensor is a single point of failure that can make an engine suddenly run badly or not at all.


Any idea where the crank sensor is on this car? If it were bad, however, would it at least not give me a code?
 
I just took the car out for a quick drive. I drove around the neighborhood making lefts and rights and never really got above 50 km/h. All was fine for about 5 minutes then it started acting up, slowing down like it was in limp mode. (no codes at this point)
Continued driving a bit then made it home. In the driveway I lifted the hood. Engine wasn't shaking like in the vid, it was running smooth. Shut car off and pondered. Took it for another drive and it immediately did the same thing. After driving for only a couple minutes, as I was pulling back in the drive, I got 2 codes/notices. "Service ESC" Service Traction"

Let sit for about 5 minutes then took for another drive. Drove perfectly this 3rd time with no codes, stumbles or stalls.
Judging by this vid and the comments below, it could be a dozen things!! Fuse box, sensors, etc, etc, etc.

The thing with my son's car is it only does this, like I mentioned, if it is damp/rainy out/after a wash, etc, never when it is warm/nice out??
 
Last edited:
It sure looks like it's missing. Anytime you have an engine fault, these disable the traction and stability control so disregard those messages.

What scan tool are you using?
 
Originally Posted by dishdude
It sure looks like it's missing. Anytime you have an engine fault, these disable the traction and stability control so disregard those messages.

What scan tool are you using?


I didn't know that but that is good to know.

I am unsure the scan tool. My son is doing co-op at a Midas dealership here in Oshawa so I would assume it is a good/decent one? When they scanned it a short while ago, there were zero codes.

I just noticed on the firewall, drivers side, near the shock/strut tower, a plug/clip that didn't look like it was all the way in. I used a screw driver and sure enough, the retaining clip wasn't seated. Likely not the issue but just thought I'd mention it. I sprayed the plug with Krown rust spray after and took it for another similar drive. It seemed a bit hesitant a couple times but quickly cleared up and ran fine with no further/same codes. The service engine light is not on.
 
Has it ever happened when it wasn't raining/damp?

If so, timing chain for $ 400, Alex.

Also scan the codes, that'll tell you what the problem is... You can buy a code scanner for $ 40 or just have an auto parts store do it for free.

if it's only when it's damp it's probably ignition related. Again, reading stored codes will tell the story.
 
Look at live data, misfire count and fuel trim, also O2 sensor voltage.

I was in Toronto last week, could have lent you my scanner
wink.gif


I has similar symptoms in the past with two different cars, and each time it was the O2 sensor, but in your case I wouldn't be so quick to accuse it.

Maybe you can put marks/numbers on coils and move them around ? Coil 1 to cylinder 2, etc, to rule out an ignition problem.

Also crank sensor can go bad suddenly (especially when hot) and partially/somewhat recover enough, engine management is usually pretty good at "recovering" missing data till it can't anymore.
 
The crankshaft position sensor is just under the oil filter housing and about 2 inches towards the passenger side. Suggest, with battery disconnected, remove and re install the multi pin plugs to the ECM. Do this a few times, when installing the plugs latch them all the way, un-latch, remove, re-install all the way, remove, re-install.
Make sure they are sealed well when done.
 
Originally Posted by oilpsi2high
Has it ever happened when it wasn't raining/damp?

If so, timing chain for $ 400, Alex.

Also scan the codes, that'll tell you what the problem is... You can buy a code scanner for $ 40 or just have an auto parts store do it for free.

if it's only when it's damp it's probably ignition related. Again, reading stored codes will tell the story.


My wife was able to get a print out of all the warranty work that was done to this car. I am glad to see the Timing chain and tensioner were replaced back in 2014 with 71,000 kms on the car so I don't think that is my problem? (the car currently has 160,000 kms on it)


Originally Posted by Popsy
Look at live data, misfire count and fuel trim, also O2 sensor voltage.

I was in Toronto last week, could have lent you my scanner
wink.gif


I has similar symptoms in the past with two different cars, and each time it was the O2 sensor, but in your case I wouldn't be so quick to accuse it.

Maybe you can put marks/numbers on coils and move them around ? Coil 1 to cylinder 2, etc, to rule out an ignition problem.

Also crank sensor can go bad suddenly (especially when hot) and partially/somewhat recover enough, engine management is usually pretty good at "recovering" missing data till it can't anymore.


I am leaning towards the crank sensor as well and hope to get a look at it tomorrow.

Originally Posted by WobblyElvis
The crankshaft position sensor is just under the oil filter housing and about 2 inches towards the passenger side. Suggest, with battery disconnected, remove and re install the multi pin plugs to the ECM. Do this a few times, when installing the plugs latch them all the way, un-latch, remove, re-install all the way, remove, re-install.
Make sure they are sealed well when done.



Was thinking about doing that as well as some others then applying some dielectric grease to them as a final step. I have read up on fretting corrosion as being an issue on these cars and read to do this to the BCM as well.

In the list my wife obtained, it reads the BCM and BPPS harness and connector was repaired at 105,000 kms back in 2014 as well.
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2014/RCRIT-14V252-3751P.pdf
 
Well, I took my son's car in to my bud's shop and had no luck with scanning. The most he got was some intermittent stalling reading but it didn't narrow it down any after he looked it up.
We checked a bunch of things but nothing stood out.

Like I mentioned, the car received the BCM and BPPS harness and connector repair, which was a recall/update back in 2014. It was due to corrosion fretting which is talked about here. https://www.chevymalibuforum.com/fo...sion-service-traction-control-ecs-2.html
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2014/RCRIT-14V252-3751P.pdf

I decided, once home, to remove and clean all the grounds I could see under the hood. After a wire brush/sand, I applied dielectric grease, including the ground cable on the battery. All connections looked fairly cleaned.
After that, I opened a few plug connectors plus the camshaft sensor and cleaned all those areas as well.

When I was taking the car in this morning it started and ran great until I was underway approx 2 kms then it acted up and stalled on me. When I was cranking to start it, I swore I heard the car door locks moving slightly like going up and down but only a mm or 2?? The car eventually started and ran fine the rest of the way or approximately 15-20 kms.

Like my buddy said, who has seen this before, it is just one of those things that can't be narrowed down until a code is present unless you want to start throwing money at it in hopes you get it.

I'll see how it goes after the next rain or wash and hopefully a code will eventually pop?

Thanks for all your help, I appreciate that very much.

cheers3.gif
 
Last edited:
Ignition Switches are a known failure point on these cars.

*With the car idling in park.....Put pressure on the key Up & Down (Vertically) & see if the engine stalls, Do not rotate the key in the cylinder. This doesn't alway cull a bad ignition switch, But worth a try.

*The second way is too remove the Knee Bolster & remove the Ignition Switch & Key Cylinder assembly from the Dash Carrier.....Let it hang down & wiggle the electrical connector with the engine running.

*In a perfect world......I would recommend a "Graphing Multimeter with logging capability" so you can record/log any power drop-outs on the ignition switch output circuits.
You could simply use a Test Light or Multimeter......But the drop-out could be for fractions of a second & it can be dangerous trying to pay attention to test equipment while driving.

You could always just throw a new switch at it, I hate doing that myself.
 
Originally Posted by clinebarger
Ignition Switches are a known failure point on these cars.

*With the car idling in park.....Put pressure on the key Up & Down (Vertically) & see if the engine stalls, Do not rotate the key in the cylinder. This doesn't alway cull a bad ignition switch, But worth a try.

*The second way is too remove the Knee Bolster & remove the Ignition Switch & Key Cylinder assembly from the Dash Carrier.....Let it hang down & wiggle the electrical connector with the engine running.

*In a perfect world......I would recommend a "Graphing Multimeter with logging capability" so you can record/log any power drop-outs on the ignition switch output circuits.
You could simply use a Test Light or Multimeter......But the drop-out could be for fractions of a second & it can be dangerous trying to pay attention to test equipment while driving.

You could always just throw a new switch at it, I hate doing that myself.


My wife was able to do some digging at work yesterday (works in GM office) and was informed the 08 Malibu's were not part of the ignition switch recall/update. I will try what you suggest just the same to eliminate that possibility but I also don't think that is the problem?

Of course my son's car ran perfect this morning with no signs of a stumble or a stall. The real test will be after another rain or wash. Fingers crossed here that what I did yesterday helped/stopped the condition but I am not holding my breath.

Thanks for the info.
cheers3.gif
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top