Noise Issue

[Chevyfan488]

Hello there!

I purchased my 2006 Cobalt LT sedan in January of this year. The car had 52k miles on it and I got a good deal on it, and so far I've been pretty happy; it has done well as a fuel efficient commuter vehicle. Now that summer and the hot weather has hit, if the AC is running, the car loses a bit of power. I realize this is normal, but the engine also sounds extremely "tired" when accelerating with the AC running, and really obnoxious should I have to floor the accelerator. I've now had to get used to turning off the AC should I need to pass quickly, or accelerate hard from a stop. If I'm accelerating and turn the AC off, the noise just disappears and the car picks right back up in the power. My question is if anyone has experienced this "tired" sound, and if it's anything I should be concerned about. If so, what did you do to fix the problem?

Thanks for any input!

 

[cobalt123]

not sure, i have an 06 sedan in texas heat never had the problem your describing and i run the ac alot. car feeling sluggish in other words.

lucus injector cleaner(dont use anything else additive wise)
fuel filter change(every 20k miles)
oil change(change to fully synthetic mobil 1)
intake filter change(see airbox mod here)
take throttlebody off (4 bolts) form intake manifold and clean it.

should free up at tad

 

[Lenny]

Hi, In the Summer when the air is hot , there is less oxygen in the air, so your car may be a little sluggish. When it is cool at night, you may notice it runs like crazy. It is getting more oxygen. This is true of all machinery, not just your car.
This being the case, when your a/c is on your car may struggle a little. 4 Cylinder cars are great , but tend to be very sensitive when you start working them. The noise may simply be the engine struggling a little. makes a subtle almost "Gurgling" noise and disappears when the struggle is over.
Solution. Simply hit the A/C button, NOT the knob. The button until you get to a downhill or when you want to accelerate etc. That should do it. That is why this button was made. For quick on and off without having to turn the knob off all the time. Hope this helps. Lenny