99 SL1 Check Engine - MAP sensor

[RochesterRed]

hi all, not a Saturn owner myself, just checking something out for a friend ... she owns a 99 SL1. now, I _just_ got brought into this after 4 days of her getting raped by Monroe ... not sure what exact code(s) she's getting.

she got a Check Engine Light (CEL) the other day ... brings it into Monroe, they suggest a tune-up ... it's a 4 year old car, not a bad idea, heck, maybe it's a plug, that was my first thought. $45. no idea if they looked at wires at all.

light comes back next day. she brings it back. I don't know all the details, but I think day #2 was a cockamamie $80 carbon build-up cleaner charge ... needless to say, the CEL came back.

third day, they try to tell her ignition coil and ignition module. $250 + $81. only I find a module online for $181.82 ... WITH coil included ... yeah, rape ... but she had already scheduled teh appt. with them.

yesterday she gets there ... and they don't have her parts in. finally gets in touch with me. spends the day worrying. her parts come in, she goes in, and guess what, it wasn't an ignition issue.

I'm thinking possible bad wire, possible MAP harness/wire/sensor issue ... but I'm not a GM owner, haven't really worked on GM cars, maybe you all could provide some insight?

Thanks in advance!
--Drew

[saturngrrl]

I have a '96 SL1 and I it was idling at around 1800 RPMs at random times with the check engine light coming on every so often. I took it to Auto Zone and they initially got codes for the MAP sensor. I replaced that, and nothing really happened, same symptoms. I waited it out just hoping that it would go away. I finally took it back and now they got codes for the TPS (Throttle Position Sensor) and the EGR valve. I replaced the TPS and still, nothing changed. I got frustrated and finally took it to Saturn and assumed that they would have to replace the EGR valve, but instead, they flushed the fuel injector and changed the spark plug wires (I had recently changed the plugs.) The car was idling high when I went to pick it up!!! I have been so frustrated that I took it to Firestone and they explained that maybe the EGR valve is getting stuck open while idling because of carbon buildup and that I should clean it out and drive it for awhile and see if the light comes back on or if symptoms persist. I have to get some cleaner, I just went to the shop yesterday so I haven't gotten around to it yet so I don't know if it'll work or not. Its worth a shot though, and if your friend has symptoms such as this, try cleaning the EGR out before piddling your money away on sensors that may not be needed or pricey parts such as the EGR valve.

[Mork]

This is one of the real sore spots with me. You bring your car to so called "professional" repair shops and all they do is screw you over by replacing and replacing parts untill they finally get to the problem. I mean fuck, we could do this ourselves. This is not limited to the typical repair center as most of the dealers themselves do the exact same thing. I can see a thousand dollar repair bill to replace a $20 sensor. Pisses me off :-(