Engine Hicups when idling...

2000 OLDSMOBILE ALERO GL Body Style: SEDAN 4 DR Engine Type: 2.4L L4 PFI DOHC 16V 54,000km's.

Good Evening everyone. I just recently purchased the above mentioned vehicle, and noticed a problem when idling. After every minute or so the exhaust would sort of hicup. I went back to the dealer, and he said that it was the fuel filters that were clogged and he changed them and I went on my way. The problem appeared to have went away for about a week. However, now when I idle it hicups almost every 30 seconds while idling. And my dashboard is lighting up like a Christmas tree. When I start the car and idle it, there are no warning lights except for the ((ABS)) light which stays on all the time. However, when I put it in drive and drive for about 30 seconds or so, the entire dashboard lights up and a loud warning sound rings about 4 or 5 times. The car appears to drive normally, shifts alright. The dealer did say that the brakes would probably need to be redone eventually, but nothing more.

I went back to the dealer about all the lights lighting up, including the "Check Engine", "ABS", "LOW TRAC". These are all I can remember off hand, but I'll have to get back to you guys on all the warning lights after I write them down. The dealer just shrugged it off saying it's normal for this kind of car to have all kinds of warning lights on it. I know a friend who had a check engine light since he bought his car and has had it for about 2 years now and never had it checked, so I just assumed it was a loose sensor.

I'm thinking now that it might be the spark plugs or the coil packs, since I was reading a few of the comments that others have made regarding a similar situation on the same model.

Anyways, if anybody has any ideas what they might think this is. I could take it in and hook it up to a computer to check the error codes, but that's about $100. If I can pay $20 and getsome new plugs, maybe that'll do the trick for me.

Thanks in advance.

First, thanks for including all the info about what engine, how many miles etc. So many people don't do that and it is impossible to help them without that info.
Second, RUN RUN RUN from that dealer! It is NOT normal for all the warning lights to come on! They are there to alert you to a problem, not to make your dash look pretty.
The ABS light can be caused by a variety of problems, but I would check the brake fluid level first. Second, the wheel speed sensors are known to go bad in these (and other GM) cars. There have also been problems with the wiring harnesses going to the wheel speed sensors. You will normally get ABS, Trac Off, Low Trac and maybe Brake lights with a bad harness.
If the hiccup is caused by a misfire, plugs, plug wires or coil packs are the most likely culprits. I would start with the plugs and wires first, since they are cheaper than coil packs and easy to do yourself. A misfire would also cause the Check engine light to come on.

First, thanks for including all the info about what engine, how many miles etc. So many people don't do that and it is impossible to help them without that info.
Second, RUN RUN RUN from that dealer! It is NOT normal for all the warning lights to come on! They are there to alert you to a problem, not to make your dash look pretty.
The ABS light can be caused by a variety of problems, but I would check the brake fluid level first. Second, the wheel speed sensors are known to go bad in these (and other GM) cars. There have also been problems with the wiring harnesses going to the wheel speed sensors. You will normally get ABS, Trac Off, Low Trac and maybe Brake lights with a bad harness.
If the hiccup is caused by a misfire, plugs, plug wires or coil packs are the most likely culprits. I would start with the plugs and wires first, since they are cheaper than coil packs and easy to do yourself. A misfire would also cause the Check engine light to come on.

I took it back in so that the mechanic at the dealer I purchased the car at could take a look at it. (Warranty and stuff). He was able to determine what some of the problems were. The Check Engine Light no longer comes on. He fixed this problem by doing something as silly as changing the gas cap. Now that's something I've never heard of before.

The hicups still occur, but I'm told that it's caused by dirty injectors. I've been using an injector cleaner since I bought the car after reading some suggestions on the forum the day I got it. The check engine light doesn't come on anymore, which is a good sign, but the car still hicups. If it's the injectors, does the injector cleaner stuff you put in the gas tank really work? I've put it in twice so far, each time I filled the tank.

I'm really happy that the Check Engine light is gone now, that was worrying me the most. The next problem I have to address is ABS, Trac Off, Low Trac lights that are lit up. I haven't seen the Brake lights light up though. The switch on the console has no effect on or off either. If the problem is what you said with the "wheel speed sensors" or a "bad harness"; Are those expensive things to fix, and are they reasonably easy to diagnose? The mechanic didn't seem too overly concerned about that and said to bring it in next week and he'll take a look at that too.

Thank you so far for your help. If it wasn't for this forum, I wouldn't even have a clue what to ask when going to the mechanic.

The gas cap affects the emissions control system. If the cap doesn't seal airtight, the computer senses an emissions problem, causing the check engine light.

Once the BCM (body control module, the computer for all the body stuff like brakes, headlights etc.) decides the wheel speed sensor is giving bad information, it shuts off the ABS and Traction control by itself, and ignores the button.
If the mechanic has a Tech II (a scanner that reads GM codes) he can tell you if a wheel sensor is bad, and which one. They should only take about an hour to replace, and should be less than $300.
The harness is a little harder to diagnose, but it should be quicker to change and also less than about $200.
I'm not certain about the prices where you are, but if it's under warranty, it doesn't matter anyway:) .

If it isn't warranty, get a non-dealer mechanic to do it. He can get the parts cheaper, and the work isn't hard.

Ok, just got back from the dealer mechanic. So far this is the work that has been done. The machanic has replaced the gas cap. And now they replaced the spark plugs. The hicups have almost completely ceased, and the engine light no longer comes on. This was all done as part of the 30 day Engine / Tranny warranty that the dealer provided.

The next issue I have to look into is the ABS / Low Trac lights that are on. I'm going to hold off on it for now, since this is going to cost a bit of money, unlike the previous issues that the mechanic fixed as part of the warranty. And the other issue is the rear door child locks or the automatic unlocking mechanism that is acting up or something, and prevents me from entering in the one rear door or both at times. (Gotta love electronics :shakehead ).

Well, one thing at a time. I'll have to bring it in for someone to look at regarding the possibility of a bad wheel sensor, and then the rear door locks. (And whatever else goes wrong :2cents::( ).

The child locks on the rear doors are not connected to the electric locks. They are only activated by the switch that you can access by opening the rear door. Also, they will only prevent the inside handle from opening the door, they do not affect the outside handle.

The child locks on the rear doors are not connected to the electric locks. They are only activated by the switch that you can access by opening the rear door. Also, they will only prevent the inside handle from opening the door, they do not affect the outside handle.

Ok then, so it's probably not the child locks. It's a strange problem, the doors lock and unlock when they feel like it in the back. Sometimes even if I manually unlock the door, it won't open.

Like I said, it's nothing major, as long as the front works, I hardly will use the back, but I probably should have it looked at as well.

Sometimes my rear doors feel like they won't open from the outside as well. It seems like the handle is not releasing the latch inside the door, but if I pull a little harder, it always opens. It may be a simple adjustment, but I don't really use the rear doors much either, so I'll live with it for now. Right now, I've got a window regulator to replace. $138 just for the part, and about an hour of labor. The front passenger window made a noise, and wouldn't roll all the way up. Then I heard a crack, and parts falling inside the door. :uhoh:
Oh well, it'll be fixed tomorrow.:)