I'll try to make a long story short. A week and a half ago, my wife's Regal had no power. We could barely get it over 30 mph. Car has 65k miles on it. Had it towed to the dealer (due to warranty) where they determined the baffles in the catalytic convertor collapsed. Made sense to me. They also told me they need to change the fuel filter and flush the trans? We normally use a use a small independant repair shop with an outstanding reputation for regular maintenance. Just had the trans flushed at 60k (also at 30k) at our regular shop, so I declined the trans flush. The dealer changed the fuel filter and changed us $75 for the deductable for the warranty work and filter.
My wifes calls me Thursday to tell me the Service Engine Soon light is on and that the transmission is shifting very hard in every gear. I also noticed that I smell what I think is unburned fuel in the exhaust after my wife pulls the car out of the garage. I put my computer on the car (Alex Peper Scan Tool) to pull the codes and I get a PO 0440 Evaporative Emission Control. Check the gas cap and it seems to be on tight. When my wife calls the dealer to give them the symptoms and code they start grilling her on how the code was pulled, who did it, was anything done to the car etc. Given their response and rudeness to her and the fact that all the sudden the trans is on the fritz after I refused service, I'm feeling a little uncomfortable with the dealer.
So my questions are, to fix the code, does anyone have any recommendations on what to look at first? I'd like to try to figure this out on my own if I can.
Any thoughts on the hard shifting? It's at any speed, accelerating or decelerating, upshifting or downshifting. No codes were thrown on the scan tool but I know someof the vehicle specific codes don't always show on the scan tools.
My regular mechanic is on vacation until mid week, and then I'll probably wind up taking the car in, but I want to avoid the dealer if I can.
Thanks
03-15-2004, 10:31 AM
