Check Enging / ABS / Low Trac HELP!!

Oh lord, where to start... Ok, had a check engine light pop up about 3 weeks ago, took it to a mechanic downtown. Ran a scan on it, said the Mass Airflow Sensor was bad along with some mount bolts. So they R&R'd the sensor and the mount bolts and all was fine (except for my 680.00 bill...).... 2 weeks later (this afternoon) the check engine light is back. The car feels the same as before, not driving any different, and to be quite honest, didnt really feel all that different after driving it out of the shop, but whatever. We now also have the ABS and Trac Low lights turn on intermittantly... UGH!!

Anyways, i complained to the same mechanic who got the part (got it from the dealer because we've had some cruddy parts come out of autozone/o'rileys before) and he wants to take a look at it tomorrow morning.

Question is, what should i require of him? I mean, is it too much to ask for him to run a free scan on the car (normally 60.00) since the only problem it came up with last scan was the sensor? Or should i just prepare to pay out the rear again, or start looking for another mechanic...

Anyone have an educated guess on something that might be wrong??

HELP! (Can i play the part of the helpless female here? lol)

~*~Kate~*~

Those lights can mean one of 2 things Kate - A) you have bad wheel bearing(s) - B) you have bad wheel sensor(s) that think something's wrong, or even C) - your mechanic is a douche nozzle. And no, you can't play the part of the helpless female. You're a big girl. You can beat the shit out of the mechanic if he pulls any more 680 $ scanning fee shit! LoL. But honestly, it's one or more of your hub assemblies. You could honestly have a bad wheel bearing, or the sensor could just be faulty. If it is either, you will need a new hub assembly (150 to 250 $). Unless the sensor is just dirty - then it can be cleaned and that should solve it.

Welcome to the forum - and lemme know how that mechanic-beatdown goes.

Yeah well, I called up there and ripped his butt quite good, he then offered to do another scan and blah blah blah, I finally just went off, told him what i thought of his maintenance skills and billing practices. We've only been here a month now, so i asked doug (hubby) to ask around at work and see if someone could reccomend someone, we're taking it in tomorrow... personally, im thinking the PCA is spastic... but then again the only lights we get are our Low Trac, ABS and check engine (all of which went off as soon as i freakin typed that post LOL) So i think you might be right in the wheel bearing theory. Bleck.

I personally think the car needs a priest.... or a swat on the butt... tempramental is an understatement lol.

Thanks for the advice and I'll keep everyone posted.

~*~Kate~*~

Ok, figured i'd update...

Took it in this morning to the GOOD mechanic LOL. He hooked it up to the scanner and we got an O2 sensor fault and an emissions fault (from the O2 sensor more than likely). He added some Freon and got the AC compressor to kick back on... we have a leak somewhere, but we're gonna wait and see just how long it takes for the freon to leak out enough to kill the switch to turn off the compressor again... if it lasts this summer i probably wont worry about it until the begining of spring next year since we definately wont need it here in florida, if it only lasts a month or so, then we'll probably get it fixed and spend countless hours and $ having the system troubleshot.

Ok, back to my point LOL. I think we have some other issue seperate from the engine light, the ABS light and Trac Off light are still coming on even after he cleared the codes (Which the check engine light will still come on later until we change that O2 sensor). So... We are going to find a mechanic who has the testing equiptment to check the ABS system... but im curious... We need a wheel alignment BADLY (talking a good 1/4 turn on the wheel is straight)... could that cause something in the ABS system to read malfunction? Or is it simply an electrical thing..

Anyways, figured i'd update.

~*~Kate~*~

I too have a Trac Off/ABS light on. I have a 2001 GP SE 3.1. I had a CV Joint replaced and after I got it back, I stopped at the stop sign and they came on and stayed on after that. It could be the sensor or the wiring to the sensor. You stated that the lights came on intermittenly which could mean a loose wire some where. A good shop could tell you this. As far as a O2 sensor going out, its been my experience that when a O2 sensor goes out the SES light turns on for a while and goes off for a while. Also, your car shouldn't run worse, in most cases you don't notice any adverse driving from the car. Its good to call the BBB to find a good mechanic. After that, expect a few days before you can take your car there, usually, a good shop is very busy. good luck

Gil

So far your trouble points to a speed sensor or bearing/hub issue. I'm going through this right now and will be replacing the hub in the next couple of days. Funny thing is my Blazer's bearing is going too - same wheel as my GA! Do you have any growling comming from the wheels? It'll sound like "road noise". Also you can seach the previous post this issue has been discussed to death. Good luck!

Kate, does your car idle funny or when you put it into gear does the car jerk and make a horrible thud sound? I think my '01 GrandAM GT had the same problem. My mechanic told me that there was a wire somewhere that was getting pulled. Just like what happen to you, he told me the sensor was bad and the same thing happen not too long afterwards. If it's the same thing my car did I can tell you exactly what to do to fix the problem.