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Another car problem. Her car this time.

Discussion in 'The BS Topic' started by ol' grouch, Feb 11, 2020.

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  1. Feb 11, 2020 #1
    ol' grouch

    ol' grouch Veteran Member

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    The GF just called and her car is acting up. A couple of weeks ago, I cleaned the throttle body and most of the problem cleared up. At least I thought so. Her car is a 2015 Chevrolet Equinox with the 2.0 four banger. 125K on the clock.

    At first, it would stall at any time, just going down the road, starting from a light, you name it. Cleaning the throttle body cured MOST of that. It still stalls but only after she fills the tank. The check engine light was on but she's made sure to get the cap on tight and it hasn't come back. Once she burns 1/4 tank or so, it doesn't seem to stall again until she fills it.

    I'm suspecting a problem with the charcoal canister, or whatever this thing has, or some other device that allows pressure in when the tank is full. A tank of fuel lasts her about three days. She is a physical therapist at three different nursing homes so she piles the miles on.

    I'm going to try filling it and reproduce the problem. If loosening the fuel cap lets it run but sets the light, I'll at least have the problem tracked down. Anybody have an idea what the issue is?
     
  2. Feb 11, 2020 #2
    1972_Z-28

    1972_Z-28 Veteran Member Lifetime Gold Member

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    No help from me but bad news. I thought they were a good deal. I wanted a low cost purchase price vehicle a few yrs old to dd here in the Houston area. I have become good friends that own an auto repair shop but also does a lot of repair work for local used car places(not dealerships) and I asked about about the 2012-2017 equinox and the owner of the shop said stay away from them. They run a ton of them thru the shop due to the next to nothing they pay for them but he says the used lots lose money in the end unless they sell as is and they still catch hell on them. Of course these lots are not in the nice area of town.
    I think they look decent for a dd beater but I need one the actually runs.
    Anyhow good luck.
     
    La.Z8 likes this.
  3. Feb 11, 2020 #3
    camarolife78

    camarolife78 Veteran Member

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    Purge valve for evap. Its mounted on engine. Takes 20 or 30 min to change. What's happening is it is not closing when off. So when you fill the tank, raw fuel vapors fill the motor flooding it. Also, it pulls a vacuum on the fuel tank even when the computer does not command it. Get an ac delco part, the aftermarket ones are noisy and dont last too long.
     
  4. Feb 12, 2020 #4
    1980RS

    1980RS Veteran Member

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    Reset the PCM, take off both battery cables jump them together for 30 min. the put the cables back on and take it out and drive it for a while to see what happens. Sometimes bleeding everything out of the PCM helps with those kinds of problems.
     
  5. Feb 12, 2020 #5
    ol' grouch

    ol' grouch Veteran Member

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    That sounds like that might be it. Thanks. I'll swing by the stealer on the way home from work and see what they think and maybe pick one up.
     
  6. Feb 12, 2020 #6
    mech393

    mech393 Veteran Member

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    the only way to check if the vapor canister is leaking is to use a smoke machine to fill the tank with smoke and find where the leak is at. it could be hoses or the vapor canister. also possible that the gas cap is bleeding off.
     
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  7. Feb 12, 2020 #7
    ol' grouch

    ol' grouch Veteran Member

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    I stopped by the dealer today and asked what they thought was wrong with the car. They kept saying it was an intake solenoid. My gut is the purge valve is the culprit. The technician kept talking about different symptoms than what I was saying. This weekend, I'll fill the car full and leave the cap loose. If it doesn't stall, I'm pretty sure it's the purge valve. She's leaving on a trip next Tuesday and I'll keep her car here so I can track down and fix the issue.

    The parts guy gave me the part #s for the solenoids and vapor canister. He was out of the purge canister so I ordered one online. $30 compared to the dealer price of $178. The parts guy also said they were all very popular parts. Both AC Delco parts. I may replace the valve solenoids too as they seem to be a failure point, but I want to make sure her car is reliable.
     
  8. Feb 12, 2020 #8
    danbrennan

    danbrennan Veteran Member Lifetime Gold Member

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    ^ I just got a new purge valve for my wife's Trailblazer today, so I haven't put it on yet. But my wife's Trailblazer also doesn't start the first time after she puts a lot of fuel in the tank. I talked about this with a couple of the fuel guys at work, and they too thought it was likely the purge valve wasn't closing. And they said purge valve solenoids do fail.

    I read the codes out last weekend, there were three set. Two of them were large evap leak and high purge flow. I forget what the third was.
     
  9. Feb 16, 2020 #9
    ol' grouch

    ol' grouch Veteran Member

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    Well, finally got a code from the GF's car. P0010. Intake valve actuator. I looked around. The dealer is actually cheaper than Autozone. One was $36 and the other is $45 at the dealer. Both are $49 at Autozone. As easy as they are to replace, I figure I'll do both. She's going on a trip Tuesday and I'll do some much needed work on the car. She also has a rear wheel bearing going bad and is accumulating many dents. I'll pop as many of those out as I can while I have it. Plus, she never cleans the car so it'll get a detailing while it's here.
     
  10. Feb 16, 2020 #10
    tom3

    tom3 Veteran Member

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    Keep a close watch on the oil, check often and smell for gas in it. Major problem with those machine and many lawsuits. Should be a 2.5L if a four cylinder.
     
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