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04 Grand Prix Check Engine/Running to cool

J

johnb62

New member
Hello all. First time poster here. Two days ago I bought my son an 04 GP. It is a GT2 with the 3800 engine. I test drove it twice with no engine lights. Then, my son come home Friday night and says the engine light is on. I took it to Autozone and they checked the code. It was related to "engine not operating at correct tempature" "low coolant" or "bad sensor".

I did notice the temp gauge only goes to about 1/4 up. The coolant overflow is about 1/2 full. Also, when the engine is warm it dies immediatly after it starts. Cold starts are fine.

I really stretched to get this car for my son and am really bummed. Any advice before I take it to the dealer?

It has 69K on it.

Thank you in advance.
 


Sounds to me like the engine coolant temperature sensor (ect) is bad, based on the fact that it dies when started warm only.
 
Well, let me first start by saying I wouldn't do anything, just bring it back to the dealership tomorrow. That being said, I believe you have two issues. Given the cold weather lately, if your car is driven and then turned off before it warms up, it could pop that code you described even if nothing is wrong. In fact, when it was -20F here my car did the same thing. The code will clear it self after a couple normal heat up cycles.

The other issue of it dying when it is warm could be any of several items. Considering the car has low miles I’m leaning towards a weak ignition coil. If the dealership comes up empty ask them to check the coils when they are warm.

Good luck.
 
the thermostats on the 04 models are strange. they are like a wax deal and when they go bad they allow the car to run too cold. they are fairly cheap. i would imagine there are two differnt issues. dunno about the stalling part, maybe the intake air temp sensor is bad. anyone with a scanner should be able to tell if the numbers jive. my 2000 grand prix is stalling at first start up but it doesnt matter if its cold or warm..i see no sensors at fault with my scanner so im lost right now....crank sensor????
 
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