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Same code keeps popping up...again

27K views 15 replies 5 participants last post by  jsdepasquale 
#1 ·
Since I bought my car I have had a random p1174 DTC for fuel trim cylinder balance. Before winter I tested the injectors with the GM fuel injector tester and the injectors came back within spec. I have checked the oxygen sensors and all are good, and the spark plug gap is still within spec. Also, no vacuum leaks or exhaust leaks found.

At that point I ran some injector cleaner and cleaned out the throttle body. After that the car was fine through winter. Now, starting last week, the code has come on when I go to work and drive home (I clear it so I can see if there are any consistencies, and none found yet). There are no other codes present along with this one, and there are not any driveability issues that happen when the code is set.

I have asked the guys at work and have scoured through GM's service information and I have no ideas of what to do from here. This code is driving me insane only because I cannot figure it out:(. If anyone else has had this code on their car and it was fixed please let me know what fixed it, or if anyone has any ideas, anything would be of help.
 
#2 · (Edited)
You would know better than me if you have identical engines or not, as I haven't a clue as to how similar or different they are but post #4 seems interesting:

http://www.cobaltss.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11574

I'll poke around more and see what else I may come across.

I found this too, again I'm just searching the code, your engines may be different.

http://www.solsticeforum.com/forum/f12/code-dtc-p1174-38001/

That sounded exactly like what you described, but their may have been PMs involved as I didn't notice a definitive answer, however it has ideas you may or may not have tried.

One more, I found a TSB that may be related:

http://www.355nation.net/forum/serv...em-driveability-issues-mil-multiple-dtcs.html

I can find alot of info on this, you must not be the only one that this issue plagued.
 
#3 ·
Chevyguy8893,

I just want to make sure that I am understanding your situation correctly. As I read through your post it seems as though you are wanting to try to fix this yourself, is this correct? Have you contacted your local dealership to ask for their opinion about your situation? Please, don’t take me as I am telling you that you should got to the dealership. I am not saying that at all, I just wanted to gather additional information.

Michelle P., Chevrolet Customer Service
 
#9 ·
So, I finally got around to checking out my car earlier today. It took me till I was going on a vacation and the car was running rough at idle, so I procrastinated till the last minute. Anyways, I ended up running the same injector test again to see what was going on. Since the problem was intermittent it makes it harder to diagnose. I got lucky this time and my number one injector fail the power balance test horribly.

Specifications for my car are supposed to be between -8<-->+8 and number one was at -12.5. I replaced the injector and drove it a while, no more rough idle or check engine light:D. I am just happy I figured it out finally and just in time for vacation.
 
#10 ·
Very happy to hear that you got to the bottom of the issue. Surprised to see how much you went through and could not get it fixed, luckily you had all the resources needed at your discretion.
 
#11 ·
I am definitely thankful I had the tools I needed to figure this out. It was an intermittent internal electrical issue with the injector which makes things a lot harder to diagnose. It was driving me insane, but I am happy now.

On another note, when I had the injectors out I could see the back of the valves and they were very clean. Seems everything I have done to keep the engine clean has worked well.
 
#14 ·
Dear chevyguy8893,

I am glad to read that you were able to come to a conclusion about what was going on with your Malibu. Just out of curiosity, what is going to be your next step? Is this something that you are going to attempt to fix yourself or have the dealership take care of it?

Oh, by the way, I hope that you have a great time on vacation.

Michelle, Chevrolet Customer Service
 
#15 ·
Thanks, it was taken care of Saturday at work. It was covered under the powertrain warranty. Either way I was going to fix it even if I paid out of pocket since it was causing driveability issues as it got a lot worse. All is good now and I have been driving all over the place without the light popping on constantly.

I hope to have a nice vacation, there is a lot planned as long as the rain holds off.
 
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