Rain, rain, go away!

Maintenance/Repairs
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The other day, my wife told me there was something wrong with her car (2012 Chevy Malibu). The “Check Engine” light was on, the odometer area was reading"engine power reduced", “service ESC” , and “service traction control.” The only error code was P2138, a throttle-by-wire error.

There was water on the headliner and floor, and the storage bin on the dash next to the driver’s door was completely full of water.

Fearing the worst, I made an appointment with my mechanic. But I also did some searching on the Interwebs. Sure enough, there lay the solution:

The drainage tube for the sunroof had become disconnected up at the sunroof, channeling water down the inside of the A pillar trim, directly onto a large electrical connector on the far left of the dash. Reconnecting the tube (and securing it with Gorilla Tape), drying everything out, and clearing the error code and, wonder of wonders, everything is back to normal!

I love a happy (and essentially free) ending, but I am posting this for another reason also. Apparently, this problem affects a multitude of GM vehicles, and the error code and fix are the same for all of them.

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Just out of curiosity, how do you get at the drain tube for the sun roof? Do you have to pull the head liner?

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  1. Open sun shade and peel back molding.
  2. Pry A pillar cover off.
  3. Remove sun visor and sun visor clip.
  4. Pull down headliner.
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Excellent post, NYBo.
I’ll add the suggestion to purchase some nylon body panel tools to do the prying off of the pieces and garnishes. They can be bought for less that $10/set and they prevent unwanted scratches when removing pieces. They look like little, wide, variously shaped plastic pry bars.

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Good point, @the_same_mountainbik. I was able to remove the molding and A pillar cover using just my fingers, but interior pieces can be both fragile and stubborn to remove. The proper tools will minimize the collateral damage.

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OK folks, knock it off with the flags. You can’t link to a Youtube from a training site??? But you can link several times to an Amsoil dealer or two spewing a load of horse manure??

I don’t know who you are because that is hidden, but be a he/she/it/them an’ 'splain yourself.