2003 Chevy Malibu hesitates on hills

Tiny
KJMCQUEE
  • MEMBER
  • 2003 CHEVROLET MALIBU
  • 6 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 170,000 MILES
I lose power going up hills and accelerating, but I am getting 29mpg out of the 3.1 malibu. After a 30min drive it smells really hot mostly around the fuse box area in general. Turn signals stop working sometimes. Checked the egr with a 9v and was working properly, Cat and O2 sensors are new, Coil packs new, plug wires and plugs have about 15,000 miles on them, intake gaskets replaced, throttle body cleaned, MAF cleaned with MAF cleaner, throttle position sensor new, thermostat about 15,000miles, was overheating before replacing cat. Oh and I replaced the trans filter, no flush from dealer. I am banging my head when I hit a hill. I need to forget about it, but I don't have anymore money to put towards this. Any testing I could do to check MAF or any other sensor.
Monday, February 22nd, 2010 AT 11:52 AM

5 Replies

Tiny
SCOTTY DEE
  • MECHANIC
  • 592 POSTS
Hi kjmcquee! Are there any codes stored in memory?
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Monday, February 22nd, 2010 AT 5:52 PM
Tiny
KJMCQUEE
  • MEMBER
  • 7 POSTS
1 code for egr because I unplugged it to check, not sure how to clear codes. Will unplugging battery do it?
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Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010 AT 6:11 AM
Tiny
SCOTTY DEE
  • MECHANIC
  • 592 POSTS
The codes have to be reset with a code reader/scan tool. Plug the EGR back in and drive it. Have ALL codes retrieved and write the code numbers down. Let me know what you come up with.
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Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010 AT 8:11 AM
Tiny
KJMCQUEE
  • MEMBER
  • 7 POSTS
No codes, starting to feel the car shake a little at high speeds, not the tires just was aligned and balanced and shaking isn't in the steering wheel. Also after I floor it turnsignals don't want to work until I hit the flasher button to maybe reset it. I don't know, but I feel it is electrical or vacuum related. I changed the fuel filter last year and my wife puts about 25000miles on the car a year. Can the fuel filter go bad that quick
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Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 AT 11:41 AM
Tiny
SCOTTY DEE
  • MECHANIC
  • 592 POSTS
Fuel filters are good for 15K-25K. Not sure about the WOT and the turn signals not working. You may be on the right path with electrical issues. I think there may be a couple of things going on at the same time.

Without any codes we can assume that fuel pressure may be a reason. I would want to attach a fuel pressure gauge to the windsheild and drive it to verify.
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Thursday, February 25th, 2010 AT 6:08 PM

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