I'm a cool 38 woman who knows NOTHING about cars lol. However I'm learning to love my car shaking and turning off at stop signs thats my fav lol. It has about 186,000 miles. I'm trying to figure out why my car will start right up when it dies..sometimes I have to pray it starts lol but it does. If anyone can help me I'd greatly appreciate it. On top of my heater going out lol. Wont blow was told wires were burnt bc I use to kick it nd it would start or stick feet inside lil opening lol now it dont once in awhile itll turn on but it's been a while lol. I live in minnesotta so yeah helllllp haha

 

Okay define Cool? how do you know this? LOL

The new Cars come with the feature of shutting off at the stop signs and lights, I had a new Malibu and a Cruze for rental cars and I was trying to 2 pedal the thing at a light but if you hit the gas it just goes fine?

The Car may be suffering from a lack of maintenance ( my theory there is..... kicking the heater? )
However the car may need the following TLC?

1. This ride may need new plug wires and spark plugs just a good tune up? if it has not been done previously. About 100K is a max on the plugs and wires.

2. New Air filter? Should be changed every 5K depending on how dusty the roads you drive are.

3. New fuel filter? should be done every 20-25K after that you might want to use an injection a fuel system cleaner every third tank full. Lucas oil makes a good one. there are several you can get at Wal-Mart that are good.

4. The big one is a Catalectic converter, they will get plugged as they wear out and restrict the Exhaust flow and the car can't get out of its own way.
The heater you may need to have the connections for the heater rewired. Sometimes they will get broken or fall off cause a short and then no worky?

Whoa is Minnesota you need Heat in the winter and Deep Woods off in the Summer time.

 

I would imagine that kicking the heater area either caused the blower resistor to break or the wires to fall off, maybe you got lucky.
(Drivernumber3) Whoa is Minnesota you need Heat in the winter and Deep Woods off in the Summer time. Sounds like you miss our great weather and are welcome to come visit anytime.

 

The year was probably 1973 I had recently returned from the US Army and I had joined a Guard unit in Iowa. We flew in Chinook Helicopters to a Camp Ripley near Little Falls, MN it was late March and we were out to Live fire a big gun called a 106RR. The skeeters were flying around, the temp just above freezing? They told me it was the State Bird?

 

The things that come to my mind:
- When was the last time the spark plugs are wires were serviced? The factory plugs and plug wires should have been changed at 100K miles, they were made to stretch out to 150K miles (with issues to MPG), but after that you are really pushing it. With the stalling issue, my gut says those were not done and if you do, the car may zip to life again. DO NOT use Bosch spark plugs, wires yes, plugs NO. I favor NGK or AC Delco platinum plugs (I can get NGK plugs from RockAuto.com very cheap and they ship fast).
- The fact you mentioned you were kicking the blower motor area tells me the motor was failing. Sometimes when they do, they lock up when activated and the right tap/smack/kick gets them running again. Had a few experiences like that myself, worst was my 94 Grand Am, I had to open the hood and give the motor a smack with some pliers until I had a chance to replace it.
- Also with the blower motors, it is common for the blower motor resistor to fail. Usually when it does, the motor only activates at certain speeds instead of all speeds.

All of those should be pretty cheap and fairly easy repairs for any service guy, if that is what is wrong. As for "burnt" wires, I question that and if they are burnt, they should be addressed before you are at risk of a car fire.

 

So I had a tune up w wire n plugs changed along w the intake gaskets. I know things are small repairs but I keep getting over charged for something I look up on coats. I know that I keep up w all oil changes too. However it starts shaking nd it didn't do it before. I'm so confused rn bc honestly i get so many diff things being told. Had it put on machine said it's pretty much running on 5 vs 6 cylinders nd I know the muffler needs to be fixed but these issues of ****ting off have been occurring even when car ran great. I drive this car everywhere like 9 states its taken me too. It drives normal when I'm on highway. It's idling to low too but can't move car bc I'm scared ill end up stranded nd I know nobody here. I pretty much have to do my own work. I used YouTube for my help lol nd to the guy who first responded I'm so cool I don't need to explain how so blahhhh

 

Just wondering on the Cool because a few years ago, this Chic in a Red Car blew by me on the interstate and her Vanity Plate read (2kool4U) Actually that should have been my plate. LOL

Now sometimes these Garages/shop when they see a lady bring in a car they just don't do a very good job (thinking they can get away with it) I went with a lady I know one time to her mechanic and she said after we left he treated her totally different from when she went by herself.

So with that in mind maybe the gaps are off on the plugs or you could have a wire that is cracked, I have seen new ones that are junk. Sometimes while the car is running and you check the plug wires you could get a shock,(this indicates a crack in the wire) Another thing that can happen is the plug will get broken and then it will run bad too.

Is there a parts store nearby that will let you use a reader that you can check for issues on the car?

the fuel filter and Air filter are still something to consider.
The thing that is really important is the exhaust Cat.Converter could be something to check into?
Anyway I hope you can find the solution soon.
This youtube the guy mentions the Vacuum line leaks, and I forgot about that too. the Vacuum will make them have all kinds of issues if there is a leak. In some cases if the line is off it won't start as well. Might be something to check into. Some of the hoses get a little oily or spongy and that is not a good thing. just a thought on this.

You Tube

 

When you had the plugs changed, what brand? If they are BOSCH plugs, with my past history with BOSCH and GM v6 cars, I'd swap them out on principal.

Perhaps we are missing the obvious question, is the car throwing any trouble codes? If so, that might lead to the answer.

If you are being told it's running on 5 out of 6 cylinders, how was that determined? I ask because modern cars have ways to detect if they have a mis-fire and when it occurs, it throws a code. So let's say it came back with a code for mis-fire on cylinder 3, that narrows down what a mechanic should look at. If it were me, I would start with:
- Pull and inspect the plug, see what condition it is in.
- Check the plug wire for damage.
- Inspect the coil pack.
- Consider swapping items with another cylinder not having problems and see if the car still mis-fires on the same cylinder.
- If the problem follows swapping the part, you may have found the culprit.
- If the problem remains the same cylinder, next would be checking for a bad fuel injector.
Problems beyond plug, wire, coil, injector for a misfire on a specific cylinder then get into other possible situations (like a vacuum problem in that cylinder).

These cars are typically not real tough to for an experienced mechanic to at least diagnose. If you are working with a mechanic who is unable to isolate the issue, you may want to find a more reputable and experienced mechanic.