I'm hoping you all might help me figure how what's going on here......I definitely have one, maybe two? problems here.

Back in 2014 I had the GM Ignition Switch Recall repaired at a dealership. All they did (to my knowledge) was put an insert on the head of my ignition keys. For the record, my ignition key is on a ring with my office key and a small keychain. Nothing heavy ever.

Last week I noticed my 2001 SS (that I affectionately call Ms Monte) was idling oddly at stoplights - a drop in RPMs and then a surge. Didn't do it consistently though. Didn't drive it at all that weekend.

On Tuesday, I mentioned the issue to my husband who suspected a mass airflow intake sensor going bad. Wednesday morning while driving to work, it surged once or twice while idling. Then I drove over a set of railroad track, not fast, it's in the city. The battery light on the dash came on, went off, and I realized Ms Monte was no longer running. I managed to crank the wheel and coasted into the parking lot....of a Ford dealership. Ugh. Nothing like being in a dead Chevy at a Ford dealership! Car would not start again. No cranking, no clicking, just the Check Engine light coming on.

Car is towed across town to my mechanic's shop...who later tells my husband that it started right up. WTF? But he does determine that the mass airflow intake sensor is indeed going bad. I later talk to the guy who actually does the work for my mechanic. He thinks that the ignition switch is bad and that's why it stopped running and wouldn't restart. Going over RR tracks could have jostled the key/ignition causing that switch to trip.

A several weeks prior to this, my car would not start after work. No cranking, no clicking. My husband came to rescue me, and thinking the starter went bad, he started to jack up Ms Monte. We had to roll her back slightly to get the floor jack under the front. Hubby tried the key again and there you go....she starts up as if nothing was wrong.

When I was stranded at the Ford dealership, I didn't think about that and didn't think to put it in and out of gear, remove/insert the key. Maybe that would have saved me a tow.

I called GM today and asked about that recall and explained that my car had quit running while driving it. The man I spoke to says that the key insert was a repair on that recall. Hmmm. My mechanic's guy thought it was something more. I was offered a $100 voucher towards repair work a Chevy dealership.

The husband thinks my car quit running because of the mass airflow sensor issue but doesn't understand why the starter wouldn't even crank. I think it quit running because of that ignition switch...just is coincidental that the mass airflow sensor is going out at the same time.

So I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced a problem with the ignition switch before or after the recall repair and what you did to fix it.

My girl has about 105,000 miles on her. I'm the second owner, bought in 2012 with 55,000 miles.

thank you for your responses and suggestions!

 

I would say the switch is bad. It can cause all sorts of mysterious issues. My 2001 switch went bad in 2008 at 70k but didn't cause stalling - the AC blower fan stopped working intermittently and would restart if I turned it off and then on to 5 and down to 1 or 2 but everything else worked fine. I replaced the AC control panel and blower resistor and a few weeks later it started doing it again. Dealer kept the car for 3 days before replacing the switch and that one worked fine for many years until I replaced it chasing another still unresolved but semi-controllable problem. The next year, the MAF failed at 77k and the car stalled twice cruising on a smooth street but restarted right away after stopping and displayed the CEL with multiple codes. So you are well past both of my fails. The "recall" was a quick fix for the part of the switch that provides power after start getting worn and jostled by the key moving up and down (going over the tracks). The switch replacement isn't too difficult; I would recommend replacing the hazard switch (mine failed at 136k) at the same time while he is there because it controls the turn signals. Good luck.

 

Thank you for your response Glen. This may seem like a stupid question, but is the ignition switch the same as the ignition? I guess I just need to know what part to search for to buy a replacement.

Ordering the new mass airflow sensor tonight. Our mechanic is also a good friend and allows us to buy our own parts and gives us a labor discount.

Thank you very much for replying.

 

Beth,

Technically, they are different as the "ignition" is a system comprised of a coil connected to the battery by the ignition switch, which supplies voltage through the spark plug wire to the spark plug, whose spark ignites the compressed fuel. Our cars have a number of sensors and computers which determine when to cause the spark. Failures in most of the systems after the switch will usually cause poor operation or none at all and will usually activate the Check Engine Light. A bad ignition switch usually causes intermittent issues in the systems it activates as well as shutting off those systems. There are also situations when a poor ground connection will cause some issues - those can be expensive and maddening to chase but the usual first question is 'have you replaced the switch?'.

Replacing the switch will most of the time resolve many electrical issues. Your mechanic should be able to do some electrical tests and check the OBD-II system to eliminate some suspects. It's always difficult to diagnose an issue without seeing the system in operation (or not).

Good luck. I'm jealous - the only mechanic I've found that gives discounts is me, and me sometimes doesn't want to do the work!

Glen

 

Glen, thank you again. Since GM gave me a $100 voucher to use only at a dealership, only on my car (VIN specific), I'm thinking that just maybe, just maybe, they know that $100 should cover the replacement of the ignition switch at a Chevy dealership. Hoping anyway, lol. *fingers crossed* I ordered the MAF sensor last night so I have to get that fixed first, but I'll stop at the dealership some day after work and question the service department about it.

 

Well it took a couple of weeks to get things fixed (my fault, not my mechanic's) but I've had my Ms Monte back for 5 days now and everything is great! New mass airflow sensor, new ignition switch, and a recharge on the AC.

The $100 voucher GM gave me is pretty useless at the moment. They quoted me about $433 to replace the ignition switch, about $270 of that was the part. Yeah, I'm not doing that. I bought the same thing, brand-new AC Delco on eBay for $50.

 

Glad those worked for you. The dealer quote was about right for what they do; great deal on ebay. Hope you have many enjoyable miles of cold air cruising.