My 2010 Chevy Malibu dashboard is showing 3 alerts - Service Air Bags, Service Traction, Service ESC. The last couple weeks it’s had a weak start, and I took it for an oil change and got the premium synthetic just a couple days ago. During my oil change, I had them write down the engine codes: P0010, P0013 (twice), P0014 (twice).
Looking for someone who has an opinion on what’s going on here. I have a video and pictures of the current issue if this forum allows those attachments.
I bought this vehicle in 2013 with 40K miles on it. I lived very close to work (5 miles away) and had minimal mileage over 3 years.
In 2017, I moved and tacked on 20 miles each day. Not too long after, I was stopped at a red light on my way to work and my engine overheated and stalled. It never recovered and I had a replacement put in. Very surprised how much of a lemon this car has been for me. The engine light has been a permanent fixture on my dashboard for years, the dealership and auto repair shops that inspected have never been successful in erasing the engine light with their “repairs”. The most that any repair shop did in response to the engine light, was change out my camshaft and O2 sensor and the engine light never went away.
All these codes are for the device that adjusts the camshafts for better performance. Since the engine was replaced - you don’t say exactly why - I’d suspect the wiring harness to the sensor may have been damaged during installation. You don’t say if the engine installed was new or used so I have to assume the crankshaft position sensor is original and may have failed. There would not be a code for that. The car would just stop running.
This makes no sense to me since your check engine light has been on and you posted the codes. None of this is terminal for the car. In fact, it isn’t really super difficult given what you’ve shared. Clearly you need to find better mechanics.
Your opinion is refreshing, and yes I think I do need to find a better mechanic! I edited my post to clarify a few more details. My engine in 2017 was replaced with a used engine that had 40K miles on it. My car overall had 80K miles, originally purchased around 40K.
I should clarify that when the dealership and auto repair shop inspected the engine light it was prior to 2017 (prior to engine replacement). And they replaced the camshaft sensor but the engine light never went off.
Diagnostic code P0010 states that the circuit for the intake cam sensor is OPEN. The engine computer can’t connect to that sensor. Code P0013 is for the exhaust cam sensor and it has the same identical issue. The sensors are most likely just disconnected because a connector was overlooked. There could also be damage to wire harness wiring that is causing the trouble. If that is the case it should be repairable without too much effort, depending on where the damage is at and that is the case. The P0014 code will most likely clear up after the wiring is repaired.
When you say “the engine won’t start” do you mean it cranks ok, that rrr rrr rrr sound, but doesn’t catch and run? If so, have your mechanic check for spark at a spark plug during cranking. If spark is ok, ask them to spray starter fluid into the air intake. If it starts and runs briefly, some sort of fuel problem. If it won’t start with starter spray and you have spark, a compression check is next. Given the codes, it’s possible the intake & exhaust cams may not be opening and closing like they should be. If so, until that is fixed the engine won’t ever start or run.
IMO part of an engine replacement job is to address all issues involving the check engine light prior to returning the vehicle to the customer. If the replacement engine remains under warranty, take the car back to whoever replaced the engine and ask them to figure it out. Even if it doesn’t remain under warranty, the task still remains.