Chugging issue

WALTER90

MEMBER
1999 SATURN SC2
145,000 MILES

Hi,
We have a 1999 Saturn SC2-2door. Yesterday as we were going to the store the car began chugging as if it was trying to shift back and forth between 2nd and 3rd gears. We were going about 30-35 mph.

We went to the store and when we left it didn't do it for the rest of the day. I took it out on the highway where it also ran fine. It was cool outside, around 45 degrees.

Today it did it again. It My GF's words "the car did that thing again when I first left the house. Then when I got on the highway I noticed the temperature went to the midway point when normally it only goes to the 1/4th point and stays there. After that it went back down and was fine for the rest of the trip."

Any ideas? The outside temp was fairly low, about the same.

Thanks in a advance for any help!

5 Replies

SATURNTECH9

MECHANIC
30,870 POSTS

If your temp gauge only reads around 1/4 all the time you have a bad thermostat or bad coolant temp sensor. But with the symptoms I would start with changing the sensor and inspect the inside of the coolant temp sensor if the terminals are blue or green instead of silver you need to replace the connector also. Any codes in the computer?

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Monday, April 22nd, 2013 AT 5:51 PM

WALTER90

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3 POSTS

First off, thanks for your reply! I'll have to go to Autozone or someplace to get the codes. I have little to no tools.

The temp was just one issue that only happened once. The chugging is a separate issue or are they related?

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Tuesday, April 23rd, 2013 AT 6:03 AM

SATURNTECH9

MECHANIC
30,870 POSTS

The temp should read about half way normal operating temp. So is the transmission slipping in and out of gear?Is the engine cutting out?

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Tuesday, April 23rd, 2013 AT 7:05 PM

WALTER90

MEMBER
3 POSTS

The trans isn't slipping. It seems like it's actually just shifting back and forth between 2nd & 3rd rapidly. The engine is not cutting out. I must add that at the point it happened while I was in the car we were in an area were we always drive that something possibly related happens. In this particular area the trans normally shifts down to 2nd and has to shift back up to 3rd almost immediately. The terrain, traffic lights and layout of the road causes this and it invariably happens because the traffic lights are spaced together close and not sinc-ed up very well.

I don't know the terrain she was in when it happened to her and it hasn't happened since.

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Wednesday, April 24th, 2013 AT 6:29 AM

SATURNTECH9