my 2004 aveo gallops when idling. when i put it in gear (automatic) it takes off by itsself. i dont have to touch the gas. going down the road it will climb to 50-60 miles an hour without touching the gas. i DO NOT have cruise control. what is wrong here? can anyone help me?
There are a few things it could be.
Probably the cheapest to fix would be some sort of vacuum leak. I say cheapest because if there is a vacuum leak there could be very few parts to purchase but actually locating the vacuum leak could involve significant time and if you have to take this in to the shop there could be a high labor cost.
Is the Check Engine Light illuminated on the dash?
You need to take your little Aveo to a good independent mechanic. It sounds like your throttle is stuck open. You need to get this corrected because you will wear out your brakes if you continue to keep overriding your engine in order to stop. It’s not a safe vehicle at this point.
+1 to missileman’s post. The vehicle is currently unsafe to drive. Take it to a good shop.
And fear not; this is one of those problems that’ll likely be fixable without mortgaging the house. It’ll probably be a suck throttle or a bad sensor of some kind.
@dugamus, do you know a good shop? If not, ask everyone you know who they like. After a while, a few shops will be mentioned most often. Consider those for your troubleshooting visit.