Idk what the hell is going on with my car but it must be that time of the month. Even after I treat her to a wash and wax yesterday, shes still pulling some **** on me.

I noticed about a month ago that once the car was warmed, i'd hear a knocking noise in the engine bay, and i could feel the knock through the engine cover on top of the motor. Chalked it up to my exhaust being loose and ignored it.

Yesterday it was making the noise something fierce so I took it down to autozone to have it scanned. Scanned out nothing so the autozone guy came out and we looked over the engine bay and he heard the knocking. He thought it sounded like plastic hitting something. So i undid the engine cover and after taking off the 4 outside screws, I did the middle. The second it was free, it started to hiss and blow air out and the idle and everything dipped and jumped and the car nearly died before I screwed it back in quick.

Turned the car off, removed it, then tried to start it again without the screw, same thing. Screw in, start the car, everythings fine (even though I think the car idles too low) Dinked with the engine cover and eventually I got the rattle noise to go away (and haven't heard it since yesterday either) but that screw concerned me. So i called my dealer (back in Minneapolis, 3.5 hours away) and he got back to me this morning, said that that did not seem to be normal as they drive around without engine covers all the time while testing things that have been fixed and that it was purely decorational. His idea that something was over drill or something when the other dealer did work on my car last summer. Make cracked the upper plenum or intake manifold?? I have 0 idea. The entire top of the motor is plastic unlike my 05 which had a completely cast motor, no plastic.

Tonight, we were running to Autozone to see my roommate (Songle6MT) and as I was pulling out of my alley, it was kind of icy and the car slipped and slipped then killed on me from the revs not being high enough (curse you tricky clutch!). So i restarted and the Slip and VDC Off lights were on. I was like, oh ****. So i restarted it and the lights were still on. Said **** and drove it the 3 blocks to Autozone. The car would not go above like 2k and would getVERY herky jerky and the revs would bounce. I think it was in limp mode. Got it down there, lights still on, and scanned the car. No codes found. Let it sit for about 5 minutes, then restarted. No lights. Take it for a drive, and all is well. Wtf??? Did i just trip it while I was on the ice or what??

I wont be home until March 9th for spring break and was planning on just dropping the car off on the way to the airport. I'll be in Cali so i'll have cell coverage to talk to my service manager, but i am getting slightly concerned here and am looking to you guys for some peace of mind since its a solid 3.5 weeks until I'll be back in Minneapolis. Just wondering if ANYONE has ever seen anything like either of these issues? The car is pretty much stock and its under full power train warranty until 2014 so im not terribly concerned. I was thinking the revs dipped might be a dirty TB since it has 45k and hasn't been cleaned.

ANY insight would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

That's limp mode

Any loose hoses or cracks causing leaks? Gaskets?
Maf sensor?

 

No codes or nothing leading to that. I dont hear any hissing coming from anything except that middle screw when I undo it to take the cover off and the engine is on.

 

i don't think its TB, i mean unless your drove through the arabian desert. Mine has 75,000 on it and I have yet to have the need to clean my TB. The hissing sound from the screw removed is not good at all, if air is escaping or being sucked in, it will mess with your idle and the computer will compensate by either dropping or raising the idle. Idk man im worried about that hissing sound

 

Thats what im mainly concerned about but it is weird that it is coming out of a screw hole to hold down the ENGINE COVER, i mean, wtf? Did the hold go all the way down and through the upper plenum?

 

obviously your plenum is cracked. I agree with that service rep. maybe the last guy working on your car put a longer screw in the center, and then ran it down with an impact.


replacing the plenum is cake on these cars. just remove the six screws in the center. or you can just lay down some epoxy if your tight on cash

 

^whs, there is no reason for the car to respond differently with the cover off, i have it driven it without a cover many times when i was installing intakes and when playing the strut bar height with NO issues... since u did have work done on the car it is very plausible that they did in fact force a longer screw in which is beyond comprehension.

Best bet is to have the same dealer fix it or ask your current dealer as long as they can find the work order on the previous repair so its all covered under their "stupidity" warranty... let us know how it goes

 

This is what I've been thinking too. Maybe you can check really closely for any visible cracks. EVen if you can't see them though, you might be able to set that screw with some rtv and see if it seals up ok. Temp fix, but it might tell you something.

 

Do you guys think that the car is ok to drive with a crack in the plenum?? I won't be able to get home for a few weeks :/

 

I agree with the other posters regarding the likely problem. You'll know if the crack (if that's even what it is, I rather suspect a "through-hole") worsens since your driveability will suffer. IMO it's probably ok to drive, I just would try to minimize it.

 

I dont think its safe to drive. You could do more damage

 

^^ LOL glad we can agree on that.

 

dang man, who the hell took your cover off last lol, I'd take it back to them.

 

****.... i hope it ain't the plenum man... that doesn't sound cheap :/

 

If he's under warranty then it's free.