I have a 2009 Pontiac Vibe, It seems to run fine on the highway but is struggling with stop and go traffic. When at stop lights, or trying to accelerate from a stop the engine jolts and cuts off. The engine has also shut off while idling, when engine was hot. Check engine light comes on P0351-P0354, ignition coils A-D, “Primary Control circuit/open”.
I took it two 2 shops without them finding a problem, they checked the coils and wiring.
I replaced the battery, spark plugs and throttle body (throttle was getting stuck earlier in the year preventing car from starting properly, improved after cleaning), no improvement, engine still cuts out intermittently. Ignition coils are relatively new, only a few years old.
Any direction would be appreciated.
A bad crankshaft position sensor can cause the problem you describe.
Tester
Since the coils are new… and all 4 cylinder’s codes appear…
My first thought is a damaged wiring harness… Not sure if there is a common feed or a common ground but either way when you brake the engine rocks forward and a short to ground likely occurs.
Since your Vibe uses the same Toyota 1.8L (2.4L) drivetrain as the Matrix/Corolla, one thing I’d strongly consider is the quality/source of the ignition parts… If the spark plugs or ignition coils are aftermarket (especially Amazon/eBay “OEM” parts), they can absolutely cause intermittent ignition issues even if they’re relatively new…
These Toyota engines are VERY picky about ignition parts, I’d only use genuine Denso/Toyota coils/plugs from a trusted source like a dealership or your local big chain parts store (Advance Auto etc), stay away from AutoZone…
There’s been a lot of discussion about counterfeit “OEM” Toyota/Denso parts sold on Amazon/eBay that work for a while, then start misfiring after several thousand miles…
P0351–P0354 all together is pretty rare for all 4 coils to fail at the same time… That can point to something shared between them…
Look for things like:
Low quality or counterfeit coils…
Incorrect spark plugs or plug gap…
Intermittent coil power supply issue…
Bad engine/chassis ground…
Wiring harness issue… (broken engine/trans mounts causing the engine to pull/rub the harness)…
Lastly, if the vehicle is not actively acting up while it’s at the shop, intermittent issues like this can be VERY difficult to diagnose… A quick inspection may not reveal anything if the fault only appears when the engine is hot or under certain driving conditions…
Unless you can leave the vehicle with a shop long enough for them to duplicate the problem during repeated hot soak/idle testing, you may need to monitor the vehicle yourself with a higher-end scan tool capable of viewing Live Data and pending codes…
When the issue occurs, you will need to watch for anything dropping out of spec…
Such as – Crank/RPM signal…