Sputtering and Stuttering at Idle

[slow-90lx]

Attn: Buick Customer Service (Tricia)

This is a 4 page long thread and growing, this is a real problem. So YES please look into this for all GS owners, not just 1 or 2 of us with a VIN#. It would be nice to pass this along to GM and have this investigated and then fixed while our cars are still under warranty.

Ya Bro, all GS owners. Oh wait what about those with Turbo owners with the same problem 🙄

Guess we are not as cool enough. Maybe next time.

 

[Ct'sBuickGuy]

Has everybody in this thread reported to this the dealer and had an R.O created. If not you need to. THe more they see this, the more TAC gets calls from GM techs on this ther will have to do something.

 

[StiltsRU]

Has everybody in this thread reported to this the dealer and had an R.O created. If not you need to. THe more they see this, the more TAC gets calls from GM techs on this ther will have to do something.

I'm doing this today.

 

[r0under1982]

Update-so a swing and a miss on the bad fuel theory, stalled 3 times since then. I am really waiting for a check engine light because its so hard to diagnose without know what is causing the problem. I really believe this is a cam phaser problem, or an actuator problem. Sometimes when the phaser gets dirty (dirty oil it will cause this, we see it alot on equinox's due to going to long between oil changes). If its an actuator problem its most likley due to the oil thinning out too much and not making the right oil pressure controlling the actuator properly, Then on shutdown it doesnt "park" where its supposed to.

 

[cozbyrt]

Has everybody in this thread reported to this the dealer and had an R.O created. If not you need to. THe more they see this, the more TAC gets calls from GM techs on this ther will have to do something.

What is an R.O. and does the dealer automatically create it if you bring the car in for a problem? 😕

 

[chadder]

Update-so a swing and a miss on the bad fuel theory, stalled 3 times since then. I am really waiting for a check engine light because its so hard to diagnose without know what is causing the problem. I really believe this is a cam phaser problem, or an actuator problem. Sometimes when the phaser gets dirty (dirty oil it will cause this, we see it alot on equinox's due to going to long between oil changes). If its an actuator problem its most likley due to the oil thinning out too much and not making the right oil pressure controlling the actuator properly, Then on shutdown it doesnt "park" where its supposed to.

I have a hard time believing it is dirty anything. I noticed the problem the first week that I owned the car. I bought the car with 8 miles on it.

Since it's so random and only lasts a second or two I've never tried to get it checked out. The odds of the dealer actually experiencing it on a test drive is a shot in the dark so I figured it would be a waste of my time.

 

[alexregal]

I have experience this issue with my car too. I told the dealer and they did nothing.
What I have seen in my car:
1- I have notice that is more likely to happen when i'm driving in automatic (I usually drive in manual). It may be that the engine has more load when is in automatic an is more likely to happen (I assume that it happens to cars with manual trans).
2- It happened a lot more when the car had less than 2000 miles.
3- I change my oil every time the meter is around 60% and I always use synthetic oil (I think the issue its related to dirty oil and a sensor).
4- I always leave the car running for a few minutes in the morning to allow the car to heat up (I live in Florida and I do this event in summer time, I think it helps).

 

[slow-90lx]

I notice much more frequently in cold weather. 2011 Turbo 6a, 42k miles.

I find going to the dealer much more annoying than the occasion rough idle.

 

[Ct'sBuickGuy]

An R.O is a repair order, yes the dealer should automatically make one.

For those who went to the dealer you have to insist they call TAC (technical assistance) we need to have all case reported to GM.

What I have done is notice that it happens at the same light every morning, I found out exactly how far that light is. I am going to leave the car over night soon and hop in in the morning with a tech drive exactly 1.2 miles and come to a stop, it should be re-created then.

 

[jeffcam1211]

An R.O is a repair order, yes the dealer should automatically make one.

For those who went to the dealer you have to insist they call TAC (technical assistance) we need to have all case reported to GM.

What I have done is notice that it happens at the same light every morning, I found out exactly how far that light is. I am going to leave the car over night soon and hop in in the morning with a tech drive exactly 1.2 miles and come to a stop, it should be re-created then.

Yup mine does it the exact same light every time also. It's a stoplight approx 1 mile from my work the car does it after it's been sitting out in the cold in the parking lot all day.

 

[MikeC725]

I've reported mine to the dealer, but they could not duplicate the problem.

If you are having this problem, is it just the automatics, or are you guys with the manuals experiencing it to?

Also, I've noticed that when it happens to me, the tach sits steady at about 800rpm. A couple times it has done it to me I shifted into Neutral, the shaking went away immediately. The last time I shifted into Neutral and right back into Drive, it went away. I shifted it into Neutral thinking the tach would be all over the place, not the case. Could this be our Automatic trans? just my

 

[Buick Customer Service]

MikeC725,
As I mentioned earlier, I would be happy to look into this for those of your experiencing this concern. Feel free to contact me privately for more assistance. Thank you.

Tricia, Buick Customer Service.

 

[stive403]

it's not the auto trans. happens on my manual GS as well.

 

[CavalierSSR]

Mines an M6 and it stalled this morning at a stop light. First time its ever stalled.

 

[laloggia]

Mines an M6 and it stalled this morning at a stop light. First time its ever stalled.

Welcome to the club

Mines a manual...seems to be a problem with both transmissions.

For those of you experiencing this....try letting the car warm up for at lease 2 minutes then report back. Mine does not do this anymore if I let it warm up.

Getting in, turning key (no push start here), and driving right away seems to be my problem with it shuttering/stalling.

 

[Ct'sBuickGuy]

After taking about it with all the techs at my shop we think it could be an issue of the car switching between open/closed loop.

I have noticed if I let the car run for a few minutes before driving it doesn't happen

 

[MountainGoat]

After taking about it with all the techs at my shop we think it could be an issue of the car switching between open/closed loop.

This is my belief as well. I'm not a mechanic and I certainly don't have the insight into how the electronics work, but the last time this happened to me it was one of the first things that popped into my mind.

Of course, if that is the case, you should be able to just started the car cold and let it idle until the outlet temps get high enough to go into closed loop. In theory, if this is a problem with the transition from open to closed loop, you should experience a stumble every time.

 

[r0under1982]

Ok, that may be when its happening, but i would bet its actually caused by a timing issue. Which would be consistant with cold whether beings timing is controlled by oil psi. Cold weather=thicker oil on cold start up. My GS is doing the same thing, Stalls at same 2 lights everyday. 1 about 1 mile from my house, and other about 1 mile from my work. Also most vehicle go into closed loop within 30 seconds to 1 min after start up. Toyota was one of the first to start getting their vehicles into closed loop asap. Thats part of getting a pzev or ulev rating for emissions. I can tell you that the equinox runs a similiar high psi fuel pump, and has basically the same setup with actuators and solenoids and at this point there is no permanant "fix" for the 2010 and 2011 equinox's. I see them everyday (couple a day) with p0014 code. Everytime its an actuator or a solenoid. We have actually seen them run like that for a while and eventually stretch the timing chain and have to have that replaced as well.

 

[MikeC725]

I don't let mine warm up in the morning because it's in the garage (usually dosn't get below 40*F during the winter). I drive 2 miles to the first light (has never done it there), then 11 miles of freeway until I exit. The first light I stop at it will do it more than half the time. By that time the car is at operating temp. The bad thing is I don't get stopped at that light every day. The strange thing is, it didn't do this during the summer, only when the temps started getting colder. I do start it via remote when I leave work, it runs for about 1 minute before I leave. I haven't noticed it doing this for my 25 mile (city driving) ride home (I go home a different route).

 

[Stingray]

My issue doesn't seem weather dependent. It actually seems more dependent on fuel brand. I usually fuel up at Union 76 or Exxon with minimal stuttering. Recently gassed up at Maverick, and now the car is stuttering almost daily. Worse I've seen it.

Next time I'll make sure to gas up at 76.