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Weird engine behavior

1K views 8 replies 6 participants last post by  hostmadsen 
#1 ·
My car suddenly behaved very strange. I was idling at red light, when the whole car started shaking, the RPM went up and down light crazy, the check engine light came on, and the display said: "service traction control" (which didn't make sense, since I was stopped). The same thing happened whenever I was idling again until getting home. It is true that before that I had been driving slightly aggressively, but not at the level of the traction control kicking in.

I got the car home, and switched it off. When I drove next time, everything was normal again.

What could be wrong? Should I be worried? Do I need to take the car to the dealer -- it is now behaving normal again?
 
#3 ·
Sounds to me like a bad Idle Air Control Valve. If the engine is like any others, should just be a simple valve component on top of the engine. Most of the time the little valve gets sticky and can be cleaned or replaced. Both options usually are super easy/inexpensive. Good luck.
 
#7 ·
Something similar happened with my DI Chevy equinox. The problem was intermittent and just as you described it. It turns out the oil was low, which was causing problems with the variable valve timing. The traction control light came on as a result of the engine running so bad. Definitely a simple thing to check.
 
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