Case Studies

Author Title Year Make Model Published Description
Flatrater TAC 2011 2011 GMC Sierra 4/1/2013 Reduced engine power message
Flatrater Injection 2003 Buick Century 1/1/2010 Engine is hard to start.
Flatrater Yukon P0449 2004 GMC Yukon 11/1/2009 MIL is on. Hard P0449 stored.
Flatrater Another Misfire 2004 GMC Sierra 5/1/2014 Engine misfire. P0301.
Flatrater Cobalt Nightmare 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt 11/1/2008 MIL and Reduced Power lamps on.
Flatrater Bucking Sierra 2006 GMC Sierra 12/2/2008 Doesn't shift correctly after SRTA
Flatrater Duramax Misfire 2008 GM LMM Duramax 9/14/2011 MIL is on. Runs rough.
Flatrater A New Diagnostic 2008 GMC Sierra 10/2/2009 MIL is on. Engine runs fine.
Flatrater Le Surge... 2004 Chevrolet Malibu 9/1/2009 Engine idles very high when first started and when turning the A/C off
Flatrater Trim 2003 GMC Envoy 2/1/2009 MIL is on. Engine runs fine.
Flatrater Communications Breakdown 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix 11/2/2009 MIL is on. Reduced Power Lamp ON
Carlos M. Rough Chrysler 300 2006 Chrysler 300 5/12/2020 Rough Chrysler 300
Flatrater Hard Start 2003 GMC Yukon 7/1/2008 Hard to start. MIL is on
Jon West Turn Signal Light 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe 2/5/2016 Left Turn Signal Stays ON
Carlos M. Another sick Cruze 2013 Chevrolet Cruze 7/1/2019 Fluctuating idle speed and poor driveability
Flatrater Evap Testing 2003 Chevrolet S10 1/1/2014 Using Tech 2 for Evap testing.
Bill Mays Bucking Dodge Truck 2003 Ram 2500 1/18/2017 Erratic TCC operation
Flatrater Intermittent No-Start 2002 Chevrolet Malibu 8/1/2013 Engine cranks and won't start.
Lincoln Doctor Chevrolet Cruz Low Power 2013 Chevrolet Cruz 5/21/2017 2013 Cruze with SES light on and low power concern
Little Brian Long crank, hard start 2001 GMC 2500 8/25/2019 Hard start. Cycle key and it starts.
Flatrater Compression Waveform Practice 2008 GMC Sierra 3/1/2011 Engine runs rough. Misfiring at all speeds.
Carlos M. Fuel trim and O2 Sensors 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee 2/9/2019 Puzzling O2 sensor codes
Flatrater Remote Diagnostics 1998 Oldsmobile 3400 6/1/2012 Cuts Out and Dies at Times.
Flatrater Blast From the Past 1997 12/1/2012 DIS Ignition. MAF.
Lincoln Doctor 2001 Chevrolet Tahoe 2001 Chevrolet Tahoe 8/12/2016 The customer is complaining that he cannot get his truck smogged because the air injection monitor will not run
Flatrater Old Truck, Low Power 1997 Chevrolet Tahoe 6/15/2010 Lack of power while pulling a long grade
Flatrater Misfiring SRX 2010 Cadillac SRX 12/31/2015 Engine intermittently misfires severely
Lincoln Doctor 2005 Pontiac Grand AM 2005 Pontiac Grand AM 6/26/2016 MIL is on. Engine feels sluggish at times.
Flatrater Crank-No-Start Silverado 2008 Chevrolet Silverado 6/1/2011 Cranks but will not start
Carlos M. Sensors? 2005 GMC Canyon 9/8/2017 Sensor Deception?
Flatrater No Start G Van 2002 Chevrolet G Van 3/1/2008 Engine cranks but won't start
Lincoln Doctor Test Drive 2001 Buick Regal 10/7/2017 Drive it!
Flatrater GTO MAF Test 2005 Pontiac GTO 8/4/2009 Discussion regarding MAF
Jon West 2000 Buick LeSabre Bad Dash 2000 Buick LeSabre 3/11/2016 Instrument panel goes dead at times when starting the vehicle up
Carlos M. I need a quick diag 2000 Chevrolet Astro 2/1/2017 Lean codes
Flatrater Regulated Voltage Control 2017 GM N/A 8/16/2017
Flatrater Take 5: Trim fix... 2007 Pontiac G5 4/1/2011 MIL is on. Transmission shifts hard.
Carlos M. Severe loss of power 2009 Buick Enclave 9/11/2020 Seems to run OK until hard accel
Lincoln Doctor Lack of Power Diagnosis 2007 GMC Sierra 6/17/2018 A look at the diagnostic process
Flatrater HHR Problems... 2009 Chevrolet HHR 7/1/2012 Loss of Power at Times.
Carlos M. Bucking S10 2003 Chevrolet S10 8/7/2017 S10 that bucks and surges
Flatrater Hard Start... 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt 1/1/2011 Multiple cranking events to start engine
Lincoln Doctor Lucerne Fuel Pump Relay Tip 2016 Buick Lucerne 5/4/2016 Lucerne Fuel Pump Relay Tip
Flatrater No Power 2003 GMC Sierra 4/1/2008 Misfires
Flatrater Dang Saturns... 2004 Saturn Vue 11/1/2013 MIL and misfire at idle
Flatrater P0401 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix 11/2/2008 MIL is on. Engine lacks power at times.
Flatrater Duramax... again 2011 Chevrolet Silvarado 2/1/2013 MIL on
Jon West Tracker P0335 2001 Chevrolet Tracker 2/18/2020 Runs great with a bad crank sensor?
Lincoln Doctor Rolling idle and misfire 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix 3/28/2019 Logical diagnostic process
Flatrater Take 5 2007 GMC Yukon 2/2/2010 Discussion on post catalyst voltages
Flatrater Service Charging System 2007 GMC Yukon 1/2/2009 MIL is on. "Service Charging System" message on IPC
Lincoln Doctor Sick Cruze 2011 Chevrolet Cruze 12/22/2016 Poorly running Cruz
Flatrater P0171 2012 Chevrolet Cruze 3/1/2015 2012 Chevrolet Cruze - P0171
Flatrater Quick Diagnosis 2002 N/A Express 9/1/2011 MIL is on. Engine is misfiring
Carlos M. Take 5 Lexus 1994 Lexus V8 car 1/9/2019 No power
Flatrater Terrain GDI 2011 GMC Terrain 3/15/2011 2011 GMC Terrain 2.4L SIDI
Flatrater Quality... 2012 Chevrolet Impala 10/15/2011 MIL is on. Excessive crank time to start.
Flatrater Crank No Start S10 1999 Chevrolet S10 3/1/2009 Dead battery. Cranks but won't start
Flatrater Recheck... 2003 GMC Yukon 11/1/2011 P0430
Lincoln Doctor Interesting Codes 2011 Chevrolet Sierra 4/24/2017 Odd trim behavior and codes
Lincoln Doctor Inoperative rear HVAC 2006 GMC Envoy XL 8/14/2018 Rear HVAC does not blow any air at all
Flatrater Intermittent Misfire 2004 GMC Safari Van 7/2/2008 Engine randomly starts to misfire and shake. P0300
Jon West Mystery 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 7/21/2016 Sometimes it stalls out, sometimes it just runs poorly...
Flatrater G6 Misfire 2005 Pontiac G6 7/15/2011 Engine runs "terrible". 2 misfiring cylinders
Flatrater DEF Warning 2011 Chevrolet Silvarado 1/1/2013 DEF Warning on IPC
Flatrater Stall and lack of power 1995 GMC Sierra 3/1/2013 Stalls after warming up
Flatrater SAI Revisited 2004 Chevrolet Corvette 1/1/2015 MIL is on. The vehicle runs fine. Checking for codes, the technician found just one: P0410
Flatrater Crank Endplay and P0017 2006 GMC Canyon 3/3/2010 Why would excessive crankshaft endplay cause a P0017
Lincoln Doctor Misfiring Spark 2014 Chevrolet Spark 1/21/2016 MIL is on and engine runs rough at idle
Flatrater No Start 3800 2008 Pontiac Grand Prix 9/1/2008 Cranks but will not start
Flatrater Take 5 Article - Cobalt 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt 6/2/2008 Vehicle loses power on grades
Flatrater Trim and P0171 2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer 4/1/2014 MIL on. P0171.
Flatrater Vibe... 2003 Pontiac Vibe 7/3/2008 MIL is on. Bogs at lower RPMs
Flatrater Evap Testing #2 2003 Chevrolet S10 2/1/2014 Using Tech 2 for Evap testing (continued)
Lincoln Doctor Very Intermittent Misfire 2006 GMC Envoy 3/10/2017 Runs great most of the time
Flatrater Overlooked PIDs 2012 Cadillac CTS 12/1/2014 MIL is on. P0171
Flatrater Enclave Cold Start Misfire - Part 2 2009 Buick Enclave 9/1/2012 Misfire upon cold startup.
Flatrater Tired Cavalier 1999 Chevrolet Cavalier 8/1/2008 Intermittently hard to start
Flatrater Tough Trim Diagnosis Part 1 2007 GMC Yukon 9/2/2009 Runs poorly and MIL comes on at times. P0300
Flatrater Angle vs Time 2017 N/A N/A 9/17/2017
Flatrater No Crank Envoy 2006 GMC Envoy 9/2/2008 Engine intermittently will not crank over
Flatrater GDI Injector Leak... 2011 Buick Lacrosse 5/1/2011 Engine is hard to start. Smokes like a chimney
Flatrater P0446: Another Approach 2005 GMC Sierra 11/1/2010 MIL is on. Engine runs fine.
Flatrater Duramax Trouble 2012 Chevrolet Silverado 6/1/2015 Engine trouble between 1200-1500 RPM
Carlos M. O2 Heater Command 2007 Pontiac Torrent 11/19/2017 Odd O2 heater command
Flatrater The Knock? 1999 Pontiac Grand AM 2/3/2010 MIL is on. Severe momentary misfire at times.
Doctor S. Lean running? 2008 Chevrolet Suburban 9/15/2019 Fuel trim high at times. P0171 and P0300
Carlos M. Loss Of Power 2001 Buick Regal 10/27/2016 Vehicle didn't seem to have the power it used to have
Flatrater Fuel Balance... 2008 GMC Sierra 12/1/2010 MIL is on and fuel mileage is going down
Flatrater Quick Scan 2008 GMC Sierra 10/1/2011 MIL is on.
Flatrater Duramax CA EGR 2004 GMC Sierra 6/15/2011 MIL is on. P0404
Flatrater Gravy Envoy: Declined... 2006 GMC Envoy 10/15/2010 Engine feels like it is going to stall
Flatrater Global A Lacrosse 2011 Buick Lacrosse 1/15/2011 MIL is on. Engine runs rough
Flatrater Component Test 2007 GMC Yukon 8/1/2010 Constant misfire. P0300 & P0205
Flatrater What's your trim? #2 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe 7/2/2009 MIL is on. Hard to start.
Flatrater Reduced Power... 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe 4/15/2010 "Reduced Power" message is on
Flatrater Electric Power Steering 2005 Pontiac G6 10/1/2010 Clunking sound when reversing steering wheel direction
Flatrater GDI Misifire 2012 Chevrolet Malibu 12/1/2013 Misfire and MIL
Flatrater Tough Trim Diagnosis Part 2 2007 GMC Yukon 9/3/2009 Runs poorly and MIL comes on at times. P0300
Flatrater No Charge! 1995 Pontiac Firebird 9/15/2010 Charging system fault
Flatrater 2011 LaCrosse P2099 2011 Buick LaCrosse 10/1/2015 2011 LaCrosse P2099
Flatrater Gray Area... 2007 GMC Yukon 2/1/2010 Transmission seems to be slipping
Carlos M. Interesting O2 codes 2012 Chevrolet Impala 11/11/2019 MIL is on and it runs fine
Flatrater Nightmare GTO 2005 Pontiac GTO 8/2/2009 Engine studders and stalls when power windows are held up or down
Carlos M. Misfiring Tacoma 1999 Toyota Tacoma 6/1/2019 Old vehicle, but same diagnostic procedure
Lincoln Doctor Smog Failure 2005 GMC Yukon 4/25/2016 Vehicle fails smog because MIL is on
Flatrater Rich 3400 1995 Chevrolet Camaro 11/2/2015 Engine is running too rich.
Flatrater Variable Valve Timing 2006 GMC Envoy 4/1/2015 2006 GMC Envory - Variable Valve Timing
Flatrater A New Sensor? 2014 Buick Lacrosse 10/1/2013 MIL is on
Flatrater Quick Diag... 2000 GMC Safari Van 5/1/2010 Engine runs poorly. MIL is on.
Lincoln Doctor Difficult Diagnosis 2011 GMC 2500 4/21/2019 Puzzling O2 codes
Carlos M. Stretched Chain? 2006 Chevrolet Colorado 12/3/2018 VVT correlation code
Lincoln Doctor Find the source 1997 GMC C Truck 11/19/2018 Extra fuel source
Lincoln Doctor Dead On Strike 2012 Chevrolet Malibu 11/6/2016 An unexpected problem!
Flatrater Hybrid Misfire 2007 Saturn Vue Hybrid 11/1/2012 Rough Idle at Times.
Carlos M. Misfire Explained 2000 Chevrolet Astro 12/10/2017 Misfire diagnostic technique
Flatrater More FLS... 2004 GMC Envoy 12/1/2008 Discussion on FLS
Flatrater Another FLSi Look 2005 GMC Envoy 12/1/2009 MIL and slightly rough idle.
Flatrater Safari P0306 2000 GMC Safari Van 10/1/2009 Engine runs rough. MIL is on
Flatrater Poor Running Acadia 2007 GMC Acadia 8/3/2009 "Barely runs"
Flatrater High Idle... 2003 Buick Regal 8/15/2011 Engine idles after it warms up
Flatrater Lean Codes and Monitors 2006 GMC Envoy 9/1/2013 MIL on. P0171
Flatrater G5 Wipers 2009 Pontiac G5 4/1/2011 Windshield wipers do not work.
Flatrater SIDI Solstace 2007 Pontiac Solstace 3/2/2009 Lack of power.
Lincoln Doctor A SIDI Truck Tip 0 Chevrolet and GMC Trucks with SIDI 3/31/2018 Bending fuel rails and injectors
Flatrater Communications Breakdown 2004 Cadillac CTS 5/1/2015 The customer concern is that the temperature gauge, fuel gauge, and shift indicator light do not work.
Flatrater Bummer Stall... 2005 GMC Envoy 7/1/2010 Intermittent stall
Lincoln Doctor I Hate Saturns! 2008 Saturn Astra 6/12/2020 Lean codes and poor scan data
Flatrater Enclave Cold Start Misfire - Part 1 2009 Buick Enclave 9/1/2012 Misfire upon cold startup.
Flatrater Unusual Misfire 2005 Chevrolet Astro Van 8/1/2011 Engine has a constant misfire
Flatrater SIDI No Start 2007 Pontiac Solstace 5/15/2010 Dead batter... or maybe more
Flatrater Enclave SIDI Fuel Leak 2009 Buick Enclave 2/2/2009 Replacing an SIDI fuel injector
Carlos M. P2138 what do I do? 2007 Chevrolet Impala 11/6/2019 P2138 making vehicle undriveable
Flatrater 3800 Stalls 2000 Buick Vin K 3800 7/1/2013 Engine starts and stalls
Flatrater P2097 2008 Pontiac G8 7/1/2014 P2097
Carlos M. Not stupid, just had a bad day 2007 GMC Yukon 8/29/2018 Battery light and a brake switch code
Flatrater Yukon Trim 2007 GMC Yukon 4/1/2009 MIL is on and occasionally hard to start.
Flatrater Fuel Control 2014 Chevrolet Corvette 9/1/2015 2014 Corvette - Fuel Control
Flatrater The Stall... 2004 GMC Yukon 1/1/2008 Engine runs fine. Occasionally surges and wants to die
Lincoln Doctor Rich Acadia 2010 GMC Acadia 1/1/2020 Lot's of $$ spent, still has a P2190
Flatrater Envoy: No Power 2005 GMC Envoy 10/2/2008 Engine lacks power. MIL is on.
Flatrater 3500 VVT 2006 Pontiac G6 8/1/2012 DIS Ignition. OHV VVT.
Carlos M. Intermittent 2007 GMC Yukon 4/1/2018 Intermittent stall
Flatrater Misfiring Sonoma 1998 GMC Sonoma 4/1/2010 Intermittently runs poorly. No MIL.
Flatrater Misfire on #6 2005 Chevrolet Astro Van 5/1/2008 Random misfire
Flatrater Acadia P0346 2008 GMC Acadia 9/1/2010 MIL is on. Engine runs fine.
Flatrater Fuel Module 2017 N/A N/A 10/28/2017 Fuel Pump Flow Control Module
Lincoln Doctor Interesting Stall 2012 Chevrolet Equinox 2/20/2018 Cold start stall. Runs fine otherwise.
Flatrater No Comm Sierra 2006 GMC Sierra 4/15/2009 Reduced power. Won't go over 20mph when towing
Flatrater Another look at EVAP systems 2006 Pontiac G6 2/1/2008 Diagnostic approaches
Lincoln Doctor Plastic 2014 GMC Silverado 7/20/2017 Plastic Intake Damage
Flatrater VVT 2011 Chevrolet Equinox 9/1/2014 VVT systems do not deactivate.
Flatrater Severe Lack of Power 2000 GMC Yukoon 4/23/2020 Old Flatrater Training
Carlos M. 480,000 Miles and a Lack of Power 2006 Chevrolet Silverado 3/15/2020 Lack of power and misfire
Flatrater Sensors 2000 GMC Sierra 5/1/2013 P0135
Lincoln Doctor Nightmare ignition system 1994 Pontiac Trans Sport 7/29/2020 3800's difficult ignition system
Carlos M. Miss-fire Practice 1996 Chevrolet Camaro 5/22/2016 Miss-fire
Flatrater 1999 GMC Sierra - P0157 1999 GMC Sierra 11/1/2014 MIL is on. P0157
Flatrater Rattle... 2010 GMC Sierra 2/1/2012 MIL is on. Rattle noise from engine.
Lincoln Doctor Charging problem 1998 Buick Regal 7/16/2018 many parts and no fix
Flatrater Take 5: Terminal Fretting 2007 GMC Sierra 3/4/2010 Vehicle will not accelerate at times. MIL is on. Reduced Power. P2123
Flatrater Dead Battery 2006 GMC Sierra 5/1/2009 Battery keeps going dead
Flatrater Aveo, Late Shift 2009 Chevrolet Aveo 10/1/2012 Transmission won't shift or shifts incorrectly.
Flatrater Fuel Modules Revisited 2009 GMC Yukon 8/15/2010 MIL on after excessive cranking time
Flatrater Another FPCM 2008 GMC Sierra 2/14/2011 FPCM system failure
Flatrater DPF Trouble 2008 Chevrolet Silverado 7/1/2011 "Reduced Power" message is on
Flatrater Misfiring CTS 2014 Cadillac CTS 8/1/2015 2014 Cadillac CTS - Misfiring
Flatrater Grand Prix Reduced Power 2008 Pontiac Grand Prix 6/1/2010 MIL and severe loss of power
Flatrater Network Trouble? 2011 Cadillac Escalade 10/1/2014 Engine intermittently stumbles and occasionally stalls out.
Flatrater Glitch 2002 Chevrolet Suburban 10/1/2008 Engine will not run or start at times.
Flatrater P0446 Gravy 2004 GMC Yukon 1/15/2010 MIL is on. P0446
Flatrater ABS Nightmare 2007 GMC Yukon 7/15/2010 In the shop four times for a C0161
Flatrater Acadia P1516 2007 GMC Acadia 1/1/2009 Intermittent and unduplicatable P1516
Flatrater Trimm again... 1999 Pontiac Grand AM 12/2/2009 MIL is on. Drives fine. P0440 and P0172
Flatrater What's your trim? 1996 Buick LeSabre 7/1/2009 MIL is on. Vehicle lacks power. P0131
Flatrater 2000 Astro Van 2000 Chevrolet Astro Van 2/3/2009 Hard misfire on cylinder #1
Jon West I need help 2005 Chevrolet Silverado 10/1/2018 Cranks but won't start
Flatrater Deville 2000 Cadillac Deville 6/1/2008 Engine is misfiring. MIL is on.
Flatrater Intermittent Blower 2006 Chevrolet Suburban 4/1/2011 HVAC system will not blow air intermittently.
Flatrater Take 5 -- MAF Sensors 9999 N/A N/A 8/1/2009 Clarification on MAF Sensors
Lincoln Doctor Duramax crank-no-start LLY 2006 Chevrolet Duramax 5/5/2018
Flatrater Strange 2007 Buick Lacross 3/1/2014 Engine stalls and won't start until 10-30 seconds later
Flatrater HHR VVT... 2010 Chevrolet HHR 11/14/2011 MIL is on. Runs fine though.
Flatrater Another Old Cavalier 1998 Chevrolet Cavalier 8/2/2008 Crank no start
Flatrater Pressure Transducer Practice 2007 Chevrolet Acadia 12/15/2010 Engine runs rough. MIL is on
Flatrater The Rental Car... 2012 Chevrolet Impala 12/1/2011 Engine will crank but not start
Flatrater More RVC... 2007 GMC Sierra 5/2/2009 Battery keeps going dead
Flatrater The Dreaded P0017 2006 GMC Canyon 3/2/2010 MIL is on. Engine seems to idle rough
Flatrater Another GDI... 2007 Pontiac Solstace 5/15/2011 MIL is on. Lacks Power
Flatrater Rough... 2011 Buick Regal 2/1/2015 This vehicle has had a hard life....
Flatrater Stall out... 2008 GMC Yukon 2/1/2011 Engine stalls out intermittently when turning hard
Jon West Sensor Issues 2014 Chevrolet Cruze 1/20/2018 Cam Crank Correlation Codes
Flatrater Erratic Transmission Shift 2010 Chevrolet Impala 1/1/2012 Customer complains that the transmission shifts erratically.
Flatrater Revisiting P0332 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 8/1/2014 Revisiting P0332
Carlos M. Smog failed because of P0410 2001 Saturn SL 9/13/2016 Smog failed because of P0410
Flatrater Pressure Waveform 2008 GMC Sierra 11/15/2010 Constant hard misfire on cylinder 7 at all speeds
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