Chevrolet Kalos (2005 - 2008) - 2008 1.2 engine problems

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Sun 1 Mar 2009 23:04
2008 1.2 engine problems - gnomemum
I have a Kalos, bought with del mileage in Jluy '08 on a 57 plate. Serviced in December. Yellow engine light kept coming on. Went into garage no fault found, but advised to put fuel additive in, got garage to do it. Fine for 10 days has now started stalling, engine just stops...no jumping or juddering, has happenend twice while driving (scary as you lose power steering) and once while sitting at traffic lights. Went into garage on Friday, again no fault found, however stalled again friday night, and is now quite a rough ride, sometimes purrs along then gets a bit like a kangeroo. Is going into garage again tomorrow for a few days for them to drive it have had to push for this. Am afraid they will find nothing again, anyone have any ideas? Is there anything i should be asking the garage about? Is still under warranty but am afraid they will blind me with science. Any help would be great.
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Mon 2 Mar 2009 09:35
2008 1.2 engine problems - piston power
Yes leave it with them take a courtsey car and get them to fix it, or take one of them out with you and show them the problem.

You have to give them a good chance to try to fix it before you take it any further like trading standards etc.
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Mon 2 Mar 2009 09:45
2008 1.2 engine problems - Armitage Shanks {p}
With respect science doesn't come into it! You have bought a car, with a warranty, and it isn't working properly. You don't care why it isn't ( or do you?). You just want it fixed and runing properly so let them get on with it!
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Wed 22 Apr 2009 21:20
2008 1.2 engine problems - jellybabyblue
Hi there, snip this is exactly what my car is doing and they cant find a problem either. Has your garage managed to find out what is wrong??.......its becoming difficult to drive, if they have can u tell me i will tell my garage where to look..lol, and can i have an idea of the cost of replairing, thanks x

Edited by Pugugly on 22/04/2009 at 21:42

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Fri 14 Sep 2012 09:21
2008 1.2 engine problems - polar

Hi jellybabyblue

Someone I know has just bought a Kalos 2008 with very poor idling, usually stalling, some surging/acceleration without pressing on the throttle and so either he's driving forward while trying to brake (which uses up tyres) or stalling while attempting to cross traffic (can be very frightening). Passengers prefer he take it to a dealer and he just freezes, choosing the smaller roads. I don't know if it's an air leak; we've dismounted his EGR, replaced his MAP, checked all tubes and connectors for leaks (every use of air including toward the brakes) and no leak found. It runs better if the MAP is disconnected because the computer runs on throttle position without complicating the tuning itself. However "It wasn't meant to be like this!" so I'm wondering

what happened to help jellybabyblue or gnomemum?

regards, Polar

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Mon 21 Oct 2013 21:18
2008 1.2 engine problems - polar
to keep this response up to date, in case it helps you

the engine stalling and surging problem for the Kalos petrol/LPG model I know of was due to incorrect tappet settings. They're manual adjustment for the 1.2, while automatic on the 1.4 and many other cars. The owner needed to do the minimum service including tappets and all was well again.

For those technically interested, when the tappets were hard up against the pushrods without a gap there were leaks of compression which increased pressure in the rocker case. The MAP sensor adds a bias to the calculation (normally based on throttle cable position) to conclude higher pressure means wide open throttle - therefore inject more fuel. In that case the driver can release the throttle to slow down and instead the car accelerates. Quite scary and a problem discussed about other models, notably Toyota. While some continue to believe carpets getting stuck over the pedals or sticking cables it seems that sticking valves or incorrect tappet operation is a much more likely scenario. Disconnecting the MAP is a quick and effective way to see if a marginal situation like that becomes more stable (the engine calculation defaults to throttle position only to decide the fuel injection).

Hope that helps.

Polar
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