Hi all, I don't know much about cars but I know when my car is messed up. I think it's a fairly simple problem but no one has figured it out.
The problem started when I took my 2003 ION for its 10,000 mile check up. They did only minor stuff, didn't change the oil, they did change the heat filter, etc. I never had a problem with the car before I took it in. After I take it in about three days later I notice the following: the power steering is not as "powerful" anymore, that is it takes more turn of the wheel to steer. Even worse, the engine acts different. It lurches forward, the acceleration is poor, it feels like the car is slipping gears. I take it to two different Saturn dealers and they can't find anything wrong with it but I was so sure that it was driving much better before. I also noticed that this lurching and slipping got worse after the gas level got below half. So ok I go maybe six months thinking I can do nothing about it. I take it in to Walmart for an oil change and boom, they change the oil and the filter and the is just like it was. Nice and smooth. At this point I think everything is fixed and thank god I wasn't imagining things. But after a week or so the same stuff is starting to happen. Now I think I have a piece of pertinent information that may help crack this: when the car is having problems, the heat or AC functions even if it is set to off. In other words, I can be driving with the heat off but it is still blowing lots of hot air into the car. I may be wrong but in my other cars if the heat was off it was off period. Any ideas? Please!
Gabe