Hey guys, new here thought I'd introduce myself with a nice question.
My parents bought a 2002 Chevy Cavalier, Automatic, 4-door w/ 60,000kms in Jan. 2011
Now its at 95,000kms a year and a bit later, and now all the problems are rolling in, the most important one is the gas mileage. the car has a very rough idle, runs like crap so I changed the Plugs and it got a little bit better rose up to 475kms to a tank (22.3MPG or 10.5L/100kms) but the engine still feels like its misfiring so I took it a step further and did the Ignition Wires and the Coil Packs which somehow brought my economy down to just over 400kms to a tank (18.8MPG OR 12.5L/100kms). Total piss-off. I can understand on a 6-cyl or an 8-cyl but a crappy 4-banger?!
I personally think this is TERRIBLE for a car with such a small engine, I'm going to re-do the wires and coil packs to see which one it was that brought it down but still how can I improve this? I've gone through the forum thoroughly and I've found a majority of people getting close to or over 30 MPG which is much more reasonable, but how?! I'm starting to suspect that the O2 sensor is old but still not sure.
Since the big 100,000 is coming up what maintenance stuff should i do to improve my fuel, cause its killing me here, ANY help is appreciated!
P.S. Plugs, wires, and coil packs were done between 90,000-92,000
Most guys would wanna know what engine to better determine how they may help
My guess is 2.2 non eco. Beings he mentioned coil packs and being an auto 4 dr..
Is the air filter clean? Is the cat clogged?
Hey sorry forgot something quite important lol
The engine is a 2.2L non-ecotec
Air filter was checked when the plugs were done and it seemed to be in relatively good condition, but I still cleaned it out a little
How would I check if the cat is clogged? any easy ways lol or am I resorting to bringing it into the shop?
Wouldn't u get a code though if the cat is clogged or not.working properly could it be something within the evaporation system not functioning properly....
Thats a good point, also something I should mention, NEVER had a service light come up since I've been in possession of the car, Is it possible that theres a code even without the light coming up?
I'm still on the hunch that somethings just not clicking properly cause my engine is misfiring, its no where near smooth when operating, but I haven't felt any power lose while driving if i need to accelerate and whatnot
I would make sure no ground is off cause that can also cause a misfire but won't throw a code also maybe one of the wires are switched or not connecting properly.....
So you're saying to recheck the wires make sure they are all lined up in proper firing order?
