I've had this ongoing problem with my Riv and I can't seem to get it fixed. When I drive in speeds excess of 50MPH it starts to shake and stutter a little bit. The RPM thing goes crazy too. It also happens when going up a hill.

I've the pulley's looked at and had one of them replaced. I also had the check engine light come on and had that checked out. It said it was the ignition module and that was causing the stuttering. I had it replaced but the problem continues.

Thoughts?

Ignition wires?

I haven't had the wires themselves checked. All I keep hearing for a response is "Wait for the Check Engine light to come on, then we can fix it".

But ever since the ignition module was replace the light won't come on, but the problem continues.

If you don't know when the wires were last done, or haven't ever done them since getting the car, go with new wires. Preventative maintence on one hand, and might fix your problem on the other.

Shuddering under load, or uphill is 9 out of 10 times the plugwires.

replace the wires because at the very least we can rule them out as a possibility.
a set of plugs and wires, if you do it yourself, will only run about $50 for the good stuff.

i still got the same problem...same things on up hill and on 50miph whit 4gear it vibrates and shuters.
but not allways.
i got new wires/plugs and coils seemed to be fine(replaced one coil cos it broke)


BUT! as i remember when i replaces the wires (on 12.12.2008) the shutering stoped for some time...maybe the wires got damaged somehow...even tho they look fine on visualy inspection.
Got zzp 10mm wires arriving soon and iridium plugs..will see if the problem is solved after that.

could also be the TCC slipping. that is the mph that that engages IIRC.
Is the transmission fluid level right?

still should replace the wires, b/c it's good insurance to keep the car running right.

as for the more immediate problem, does the car crank over at all or does it do nothing? we need more details to determine a no-start culprit.

Thanks for the help fellas. As soon as I get my car running I will try and get the wires replaced.

starters rarely ever go bad on 3800 motors. my bet is you need a new battery or the connections are bad. our cars a rated for 880 CCA and most cars dont have that kind of power, which makes our cars difficult to jump start. (the other car needs to be running, and try a direct connection to the battery)

transmission flushes are not a good idea IMO, but it's done and hopefully you wont have any problems.

You can jump it from the front battery terminal, but make sure you have a good connection and ground (I use the engine mount), and have the other car sit at medium revs for a couple of minutes. Then rev high (4k) before and during your starting attempt. If you have a truly dead battery, this can take several minutes.

I've discharged my original stock battery more than a few times. I can't sit with the car off and lights on for very long, but it still starts the car on a daily basis. Your battery might still have something left, even if it's dead.

yap! tranny flushes no good. but, cross fingers. i had the same problem i found one of the coils was bad.replaced coil and all was well until the problem reapeared. i found 2 of the cheapo vato zone wires were cooked,replaced them, and so far so good...ive had very good results with optima batteries ,might wanna try one.dont know if it will help but, look to your grounds? a similar problem occured with my friends astro van and they narrowed it down to corroded grounds. i mean...just check everything out and you will fix it. (i should talk, i know crap all about engines! but these are the things ive tried,witnessed, and sometimes.. you get lucky...)

So I tried removing the battery and failed tremendously. The wires that are connected to the battery posts are not moving at all. I have no idea on how to remove them.