2009 SS

got in my car to head home one day and it started and ran like junk, turned the car off and started it again and it ran for a few seconds and shut off.

Had the car towed to a local shop, they told me that the PCM was bad

ordered a tuned pcm from ZZP with 3bar map sensors (hey why not upgrade?)

shop was holding my car longer than they should so i went down there and had it towed to my house.

Installed new pcm and sensors.

car started just fine, CEL came on.

looked under the hood and noticed the shop unplugged my MAF

plugged it back in and started the car

car died after running for a few seconds like before i installed the pcm.

Replaced the MAF, still same results...

anyone have a clue what would be causing this?

 

Likely a crack in your charge pipe system, a large vacuum/boost leak

 

ill inspect those areas, any easy way to find a leak?

 

Build a boost leak tester. (google it with site:cobaltss.net)

 

Final update!

I bought a new MAF the other day and tried to plug it into the harness. I made a mistake when i did this, I didnt realize that the computer needs airflow from inside the intake in order to function correctly. I went back out, and installed it in the intake, plugged the sensor in, and BOOM, it worked. cleared the codes and it runs great now.

now what do i do about the dealership that told me the pcm was bad when they knew it was just the MAF, i bought a new PCM because of their error. i know that they knew it was just the MAF because when i got my car from them the MAF was unplugged. they forgot to plug it in prior to me getting it from them. what would you do if you spend $550 on a new pcm because a dealer lied to you, instead of $50 on a new MAF?

 

never ever take a car like the cobalt to a dealer is what you do.

 

Call the dealership and tell them you are going to express your dissatisfaction on social media. Don't be emotional and don't accuse them of anything. Explain your loss to them and see what they say. They probably don't care, because you aren't going to come back for service or to buy a car. It's worth it to give them a chance to make amends, though.

 

Being very familiar with dealership culture, I agree with your approach. There are 2 types of dissatisfied customers...those with a calm and reasonable approach that simply want their concern resolved (fix the problem, reimburse the expense, etc.) and those that are belligerent. The belligerent ones rarely get what they want and typically end up shouting about retaining a lawyer as they leave the dealer.

Unfortunately I do not see them reimbursing you for the PCM cost, but it would be wrong of them to not at least refund the money you paid for the misdiagnosis.

 

^ good advice. After all you didn't have to buy a tuned pcm with 3 bars. Look at it this way, you have a tuned car and a spare pcm.

 

I too have two PCMs. I have my OEM one and a BYT tuned one. Although I only spent $200 on mine with tune. It was a deal tho... not the usual case.