Service Traction control and ESC light on the dash
 

Car runs like a sewing machine all of a sudden. Stuttering/missing and messages saying service traction control and I think an ESC is on also. EZ fix? or not so much.? I didnt pull the codes yet, Going to do that tonight when I get home.

If you can get the codes without cranking the engine, that would be best. You may have a timing chain issue. Driving it could destroy the engine.

Hopefully it's just something easy like VVT solenoid valves.

It's raining sideways here, but I did manage to pull the codes. 2 of them 0303 cylinder misfire and 0353 ignition coil something..... i tried to write them down but my piece of paper was wet, Its pouring so I did the best I could under these conditions. But thanks for the quick reply. So maybe just a coil?

P0353 is spark plug, ignition coil, or vacuum leak. It's most likely causing the P0303.

That's good, should be a simple fix!

So I would swap spark plugs #2 and #3, and swap coil packs #3 and #4. See if the code moves to one of those other cylinders.

I would think a vacuum leak is less likely, maybe a crack in the #3 intake manifold runner.

The #3 coil has a problem; probably a wire is compromised maybe the coil is bad. It is causing the P0303.

How many miles? Ever changed the plugs before? If you start pulling plugs, might as well replace if it’s time (80-100k) OR if it has the wrong ones. AC Delco, 41-103 (iridium), no substitutes.

But you said it was raining, so maybe some bad wiring to the coil pack got wet. Before you dive in, maybe see if it’s better when it dries out.

Plugs have less than 500 miles on them. Car sat over night and I started it and it idled for about 10-15 minutes before I jumped in it and right away I noticed a stumble. Only drove it 200 feet and shut it off. I'll pick up a coil and 1 new plug because its probably fouled if the coil is bad. 207k on the OD. The engine wasnt wet at all. It had just started raining so under the hood was dry. Very high humidity though. I have too much going on today, so tomorrow I'll report back with good news, Fingers crossed. I had a similar situation on my son's Colbalt a few years ago. It ran horrible and threw codes that didnt make any sense. He had just purchased it. I found 3 different brands of spark plugs in it (2.2 engine) 2 of which were very loose and had no identifying numbers or brand name on them, just white porcelain .Replaced all 4 with AC Delco's, reset the codes and 5 years later she's still running great. So I'm somewhat confident that the misfire threw a goofy code for me as well.

Makes sense.

Might try unplugging that coil, taking a close look at the wires and connectors, plugging it back in, and seeing what happens. It’s a pretty old car and wires and connectors can get a little fragile.

Closely inspect the coil from #3 take the plug cover off check the spring and pin for corrosion


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