She threw a code at me today. The famous p0171. Should I be surprised by this code? With no modifications to anything except for removing the engine cover I would think this code is bogus. Should I put the engine cover back on? =)

Running to lean? Come on.

 

lol idk what to tell you.. maybe that engine cover is part of ur fuel delivery system lol

 

I think I should look a little more closely but at the same time theres no mods to the car so what gives. I wonder if there are any other 2.2s throwing this code? I know it is being thrown on the 2.0 alot.

 

Very common. It honestly could be a change in the weather. If it was really cold hot yesterday and cold today, the ECM might have to trim enough to cause the code. Just check to make sure your airbox is still on tight, nothing obviously loose, then get it cleared.

And you're not lean. The code means the ECM is having to add more fuel then usual to prevent it from being lean.

 

Took a look under the hood last night and everything seemed fine. So we took the car for a drive and the check engine light came back on. The code was again p0171. So I continued driving and about 10 minutes later I noticed the car was shifting at strange RPMs (strange jerky thrusts). Ripped over to the side of the road and put the reader back on. This time p0171 was present as well as p0101. Mass or volume circuit range performance problem.

So I whipped the car into the dealer today and they were no help and found no problems with the car. They cleared the code and sent me on my way. Driving back up to our place after work p0171 came back. What the heck.

Weather conditions have changed here from Sunny and warm to Foggy and cold. The only bit of work done under the hood was cleaning around the block and plastic with a damp rag. Is it possible I got some soap on something directly under the hood? There are no sensors exposed like to my knowledge.

Any help guys? The dealer are a bunch of monkeys. Is the MAF sensor dirty? Where is it at?

 

Document ID# 1842831 for 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt. Take that to your dealer tell them to punch that into SI and read it and reprogram the PCM, common problem on 2006's. If you have an 2007 I couldnt tell ya.

 

sorry to hear man. have the dealer drive it after they clear the code for a bit so they can see it come on again if they hassle u about it at all

 

Okay, you have something wrong. While the P0171 is common, is should not be coming on repeatedly like that and with other codes as well. Something is broke.

 

If I'm not mistaken, there is a reflash that could get rid of the problem, isn't there?

 

Well the dealer are really trying to jerk me around with this one. They won't even do the reflash because they think something else is wrong with the car. So far they said:
1. The fuel pump might be gone.
2. The filter in the airbox might be dirty.
3. The O2 sensor might be gone.
4. The engine might be gone!

For a ******* fuel trim code, give me a break. I called the dealer in another city and explained to a tech the situation and he knew what I was talking about right away. They said "Yea, we can hook it up the satelite feed and update the computer. It should take about 30 minutes. We've already flashed a few Cobalts here with the exact same problem. They were even throwing other codes as well which were fixed by the updates."