Chevy Malibu owners manualdashboard light to check something but what?

Answer 1

Do you mean.....If you are referring to the check engine light, you may have an emission problem going on like I did. Even the service vehicle soon light may indicate an emission problem I'm told like the oxygen sensor, ERG, Diverter valve, ect. The best thing to do is take your car to auto-zone (if you have one)let them put in on the "free" diagnostic machine, purchase the part and have your mechanic install it.

Well, that's really not the best thing to do. The best thing to do is have it diagnosed by somebody who knows what they are doing, and that does not include Autozone. The number of people I have seen who have replaced O2 sensors, MAF sensors, etc. "because that's the code they pulled" only to have it fix nothing is staggering. There is a reason why there are flowcharts that need to be followed in order to diagnose an issue. Of course, being that you are talking about a Malibu here, you are probably talking about the low coolant light anyway, so that rant is moot

-Shadowaic

the 3.1 Ltr. V6 has a problem with the design of the intake manifold gasket that triggers a code for catalyst or defective catalytic converter which is commonly mistaken for a bad O2 sensor. What actually causes the MIL to remain active is that coolant is leaking past a weak point in the intake manifold gasket and eventually finds its way to one of the combustion chambers ( in the left bank) which in turn affects the air\fuel ratio causing a misfire in combustion process that will usually go unnoticed to the driver but will eventually damage the cat. another telltale sign of this problem is that you find yourself having to add a little coolant to the surge tank often with no visible signs of coolant leaks anywhere around the vehicle, there is an aftermarket design that has solved this problem and in most cases will have to be purchased and installed in order to correct this problem and finally restore the engine management to a closed loop mode ( turning off the MIL light)