Strange Drivability Issue

Discuss your 2000-2005 Bonneville SE, SLE, SSEi, Buick Le Sabre 00-05 and Buick Park Avenue 97-05. Please use General Chat for non-mechanical issues, and Performance and Brainstorming for improvements.
Post Reply
J7319M
SE Member
SE Member
Posts: 14
Joined: Mon Apr 17, 2017 2:32 am
Year and Trim: 2000 Buick LeSabre

Strange Drivability Issue

Post by J7319M »

2000-2005 Buick LeSabre

I'll be driving along and all of a sudden out of the blue, the engine will shut down for a split second and then resume operations like nothing happened. It feels like the engine locks up solid and the car hits a brick wall. This happens about once a week. No codes stored at all. The closest thing I can think of that feels similar is when I've hit the 108 mph speed limiter; but that gives me a series of jolts instead of one big jolt like this issue does. It's very startling to say the least.
User avatar
RJolly87
Certified Bonneville Nut
Certified Bonneville Nut
Posts: 5403
Joined: Tue May 27, 2008 8:53 am
Year and Trim: 1993 Buick Park Avenue
1994 Buick Regal Custom
Location: Las Cruces, NM

Re: Strange Drivability Issue

Post by RJolly87 »

I'm thinking a misfire of sorts. If it happens when the torque converter is locked up, it can be quite alarming, especially if the engine/transmission mounts are getting old and allow some play. At that point, there is essentially a solid connection from the engine through the drive train to the ground, and any misfire can seem amplified under those conditions.
~Randall~
ImageImage

1993 Buick Park Avenue - 197k - Some odds and ends done - Simply won't die
1994 Buick Regal - 78k - Bone stock - Always ready for a good kicking
1990 Oldsmobile 88 - Gone to a better place
User avatar
harofreak00
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 26022
Joined: Mon May 19, 2008 6:04 pm
Year and Trim: 2004 GXP - plus a handful of other Bonnevilles
Location: Browerville, MN
Contact:

Re: Strange Drivability Issue

Post by harofreak00 »

A bad MAF can make a car fall on its face. I'd lean towards that.
Andrew - owner/operator of Bonnevilles Unlimited
Image
2004 Bonneville GXP | 60k | White Gold Tricoat | custom built supercharged 3800 hot rod | garage queen
1997 Corvette | 57k | Silver Metallic | Z06 wheels | Date-night Hauler/Parts runner
2014 Town & Country Limited | Cashmere Pearl | 115k | Family Hauler
2002 Ram 1500 Quad Cab Sport | Black| 280k | Official Bonneville Hauler
Louiej99
SLE Member
SLE Member
Posts: 63
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2018 5:15 pm
Year and Trim: 2002 Bonneville SSEi

Re: Strange Drivability Issue

Post by Louiej99 »

Surprised it hasn't thrown a code.
Girlfriend has an '02 LeSabre that had a similar issue. Would stall at idle and buck at partial throttle. Turned out to be the MAF sensor. Easy test is to unplug the sensor and see if the problem goes away.
Scored a new Hitachi MAF on Amazon for a little more than $100.
Post Reply