2001 Pontiac Grand Am, Keeps Dying

by Chloe
(Chicago, IL USA)

I have a 2001 Pontiac Grand Am SE and up until last Winter it has ran ok. As of last Winter it started running at 600 rpm's and would try to choke itself off. The gauge would drop and fight to come back up above 500, or it would die when I was at a parking lot, stoplight, or anywhere I was not pressing the gas. We had it towed a couple of times, and no one could figure out what was wrong with it. Finally a few weeks ago we took it into the Pontiac dealership to fix the window that keep rolling itself down and the air. The mechanic said once we fixed the window it would stop sucking power from the rpm's and would stop dying. For about a week it ran ok, it was still running at 600 rpm's but it wasnt trying to choke itself off or anything until today. It is back to dropping and fighting to pull itself back up over 500. I read about the Avenger and the low rpm's possibly being a fuel pressure/sensor problem and was wondering if that might be a problem with my car or something else.

Steve Says,

There are several things that could be causing your problem. The first is the idle air control valve or IAC. This is the part that the computer controls to let the right amount of air in when your foot is not on the gas pedal.

You could have a problem with the fuel pressure but you would probably notice other problems if it was that.

If your alternator is not charging correctly at low RPM's it could cause this problem. This is probably why the mechanic at the dealership thought that the window rolling down might cause it.

You AC system and computer work together to turn the idle up when the AC system is on. If this system is faulty then it could be causing your problem. This is not the most likely cause but it is possible.

If it worked for a while after you took it to the dealer you might want to take it back and tell them that it is doing the same thing and you already paid to have it fixed. If they do not treat you well or if they cannot fix it then you might want to try another shop.

I hope this helps. Please post the fix when you know what it is. If you want to learn more about your car and see how to fix some of the things I suggested you can try using an online repair manual. This is what I use in my shop: