Chevrolet Prizm check engine light comes on

Filed Mar 11, 2015 · Electrical, Fuel system · 140,000 miles · MA

Tl* the contact owns a 1999 chevrolet prizm. The contact stated that the service engine warning light illuminated and flashed intermittently. In addition, the contact stated that the fuel tank needed to be refueled on a half tank in order for the fuel tank not to leak fuel. On one occasion, another driver informed the contact that there were sparks coming from the rear of the vehicle. The contact also stated that there was an abnormal noise coming from underneath the vehicle and was vibrating. The vehicle was not included in the federal safety agency campaign number: 10e002000 (suspension). The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 140,000.

Filed Jun 15, 2012 · Engine · 86,000 miles · MI

Got the car in 2004. In 2009 the check engine light came on, went to three mechanics to try and find the problem. None of them had a clear idea of what was wrong but they tried various things. It still never went off for more than 5 miles directly after servicing. For a while it was driving fine even though the light was on (over a year) but then it started deteriorating. It was very sluggish, did not drive well (shaking) when going over 35 MPH, and the check engine light started blinking for 5-15 seconds when I accelerated. Mpg tanked, went from 35+ to 23-25. Needless to say, I took it to another mechanic. They replaced the spark plugs and fuel injectors and the catalytic converter ($1300 fix on my then 10 year old car). Car started running better, mpg slowly got higher, but after about three days out of the shop the check engine light came on again. Mechanic was stumped, had no idea what was wrong, but he ok'd it for me to continue driving, so I have been doing so. It's still driving well, more or less, but the check engine light is still always on. Around the same time as the 2009 engine light, I noticed the engine was drinking more and more motor oil. Now (2012) I have to put in a quart every full tank of gas, just about.

Filed Jul 7, 2011 · Acceleration · 12,000 miles · FL

Tl* the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet prizm. The contact stated that when depressing the accelerator, the vehicle would hesitate before moving at a normal pace with the illumination of the check engine warning light. The dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure but provided no assistance to the contact. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 12,000 and the current mileage was 80,000.

Filed Sep 11, 2010 · Acceleration, Engine · 43,000 miles · WV

2001 chevy prism; check engine light continues to be on. I have put two oxygen sensors on at a cost of over $200.00, and light still comes on. Mechanics tell me the code says "lean mixture" but don't know what is causing it. Car hesitates when cold, almost throwing you into the windshield, unless you repeatedly pump the accelerator. Mechanics told me that maybe fuel pump is going bad, but it's been three years now, and this hasn't happened. The head liner in vehicle has totally torn and disintegrated, even tho it has been garage kept. Gm will not even consider investigating this problem. No more chevy's for me!! The hesitation in traffic could create a real safety issue.

Filed Jun 13, 2010 · Engine, Fuel system · 200,000 miles · WI

I own a 2001 chevy prism lsi. It has always experienced a number of annoying issues that I've had mechanics inspect/diagnose that never seems to get correctly diagnosed. It uses about a quart of oil a month (but never smokes out of the exhaust pipe), has always had a hesitation problem, and has a weird problem with noisy 'exhaust' sounds that sound like they are coming from the front of the car and are worse (very loud) in wet conditions. Upon cold start, the engine hesitates pretty badly when pressing the accelerator pedal. The hesitation gets much better once the engine has warmed up, but still has minor hesitation upon initially pressing the accelerator pedal. Mechanics have said they think the fuel pump may be starting to go out (I was told that 5 years ago and it has never gone out) and they said there was a 'lean mixture code' when my check engine light was on at one point but were unable to determine what the official cause of that code was and implied it was probably the fuel pump slowly going bad. They ran a carbon clean which shut off the service engine light but the hesitation and oil consumption has always remained. Numerous times, the hesitation has been an issue in traffic when I press the accelerator pedal and the engine does nothing until I pump the pedal a few times to get it going...leading to a possibly safety hazard in certain traffic conditions. Nobody has been able to figure out why it hesitates and fix the hesitation problem and I've read this is a very common problem along with the oil consumption problem for chevy prisms/toyota corollas (especially the 2001 model). Mechanics have also inspected my exhaust system to try to find the issue with the noisy exhaust but have found no leaks. I'm hoping a recall can be issued to help fix some of these issues since mechanics can't seem to figure out these common problems. It seems that toyota and gm are both aware of most of these issues and have done nothing to resolve them.

Filed Feb 10, 2009 · Electrical · 50,000 miles · MI

Check engine light has come on permanently. This can be temporarily turned off by mechanics but always comes back on again. Since there is no problem with the engine, this warning light is useless if I have a real problem.

Filed Nov 7, 2008 · Engine · 45,000 miles · VA

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet prizm. The contact stated that the check engine indicator would not stop illuminating on the instrument panel. Whenever the vehicle would approach a stop, it would stall. The dealer and several local repair shops performed a diagnostic, but were unable to find a defect. The vehicle has been experiencing the same failure for the past three years. Recently, the contact drove to a local repair shop and the mechanic stated that the spark plugs and oxygen sensor were defective; however, only the spark plugs were replaced. Immediately following the repairs, the failure recurred. The current mileage was 75,000 and failure mileage was 45,000.

Filed Sep 14, 2007 · Engine · 72,000 miles · NY

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 chevrolet prizm. Two years ago, the emissions control box failed at 41,000 miles and caused the check engine light to illuminate. At 72,000 miles, the engine has a piston knock. Two different mechanics stated that the engine needed to be replaced. The engine knocking has worsened. The repair has not been made. The contact stated that he was a licensed mechanic and had regular maintenance performed on the vehicle every 3,000 miles. The purchase date and speed were unknown. The current and failure mileages were 72,000.

Filed Sep 13, 2007 · Engine · NJ

At 80,000 miles, the check engine light came on indicating po 441: evap purge flow. This is getting way to common among these cars, please admit it is a design flaw and fix it. (toyota has admitted the problem on 1998 models, and has cut a deal with the government to retrofit old trucks and buses not even made by toyota to make up for the pollution they've caused, but that still leaves me paying to have this design flaw fixed).

Filed May 19, 2005 · Engine, Transmission · 72,086 miles · NY

Spring 2004, oil change mechanic noticed excessive sludge (appx 65000 miles on car). Cleaned engine out, changed oil (car has had regular oil changes every 3-4k miles). After that car was noted to be using too much oil (topping off at each 1500 miles they had to add 2 and a half quarts). Took to dealer at about 67000 noting oil problem and check engine light. Light turned out to be a catalytic converter problem. Replaced. Nothing done on oil problem. At 70000 miles engine was hesitating and continuing to burn oil. Took back to dealer. Charged me for new spark plugs first then found other problems (believe it was air flow sensor.) at 72,000, took back to dealer for excessive oil use. Changed oil and told me to come back when it had burned a quart. On the way home from dealer, engine blew up. Under gm extended warranty, lower half of engine replaced. Three weeks after it was repaired (which took a month) transmission died. Replaced tranny under warranty. Apparently I'm lucky it was under the chevy name and not toyota, but same problem is noted on a number of those.