Vibe Issues - Stalling, Engine Noise

[kjb3212]

hi,i have a 2003 vibe. about 63,000 miles.after driving on the highway for about 2 hours, when i came off the highway, the dash lights began to flicker, the oil light came on and began to flicker on and off, and the engine sounded like it was about to stall out. I have maintained the car well. the oil was just changed less than 1,000 miles ago, new air filter as well. All liqids in the car are at the right measurements. At firestone, when the oil was changed, they tested the battery and said the output was normal.problem#2:when i check the oil, it doesn't appear on the dipstick. i had put another quart into the car thinking it was empty! however, when i went to get an oil change, they told me it was overfilled. there does not appear to be any leaks. does anyone else have a problem when checking oil levels? i've never had an issue like that with other vehicles before.thanksanyone know what this is about?

[RIT]

When you check your oil, do you want a couple of minutes for the oil to drain back into the sump, and also make sure that you check it on alevel pavement?Otherwise, it sounds like you were very low on oil - despite what Firestone told you. I would trust your measurement over theirs.

[kjb3212]

yea, it had sat for a few hours after use before i checked. they said there is no leaking, but i can't imagine the vibe "eats" oil like that. i thought that could be the engine noise / stalling issue, but now with oil, it's still having some problems.thanksp.s. automotaic transmission.

[RIT]

How about the PCV valve? If that were not working correctly, it much be pulling oil into the intake manifold, and making it run rough. (I'm trying to paint a scenario relating the rough running to your oil consumption). They may be unrelated, but I'm guessing they aren't.

[kjb3212]

i haven't checked the pvc valve, i probably should.how about the electrical issues and the stalling, and suggestions for that?thanks

[keithvibe]

for the stalling, are you throwing any codes aka. CEL?good place to start for stalling issues, pvc valve, IAC, MAF. replace the pvc, clean the IAC and the MAF and go from there.

[sdavis]

ya, like he said. I find checking the oil on the vibe very difficult - just smears all over the dipstick when you pull it out. Especially if its new oil as you say it is, then it would be very clear and thinly coated which may lead you to believe that there is no oil when reading. This would make sense if you added oil and the mechanic told you that you overfilled last time... so you may not be losing oil at all...Check PCV by cleaning or buying a new one, clean MAF, clean IAC only if you are confident (there is a particular way to take out and clean this part, do a search on forums). You can also check for vacuum leaks by spraying carburetor cleanor around vacuum hoses and air intake at manifold while running... you can use the remainder of the cleaner to clean the air intake and butterfly valve was well.But getting any codes if you check engine light is on would help a lot to diagnose any further.rough idle can be either air, fuel, or spark... so trying to find the cause without a code read could be difficult.