2019 Equinox 2.0T light engine shudder in park- MAP maybe?

[Fouroaks]

I have a 2019 equinox 2.0T premier with 103k miles. I have noticed in the last 4K miles or so that I have a slight shudder when I am idling in park.

There is a shudder that you can feel like there is a not perfect idle but it is not to the point where if feels like the engine will stall. I have always changed the oil every 5k miles with synthetic oil, and changed spark plugs at 60k.

I thought it could be time for plugs to be done again so I changed them, along with the boots. I noticed a slight improvement to fuel economy which has been bad as well (24mpg now on 91/93 premium).

I still have the slight shudder even with new plugs. I thought it could be the MAP sensor- but I cannot find the thing on the engine.

Any ideas on what the shudder could be from? I also feel like the auto start/stop feature is more noticeable (could be anxiety though).

Also any info or pictures where the map sensor is located?

No check engine light.

 

[Hey Vern!]

Have you ever had the throttle body cleaned?

 

[Fouroaks]

Have you ever had the throttle body cleaned?

No I have not. Basically I have only done tires, spark plugs, air filters and oil changes. I just changed my transmission fluid today at home.

How hard is it to get to the throttle body? I don’t see much space in this equinox.

 

[Hey Vern!]

No I have not. Basically I have only done tires, spark plugs, air filters and oil changes. I just changed my transmission fluid today at home.

How hard is it to get to the throttle body? I don’t see much space in this equinox.

It sits behind the engine, so not the easiest to get to. With your mileage I would assume it is due. It's usually 75,000 to 100,000 miles when it needs service. Google says the average cost is $250 ish to have a shop do it for you.

 

[NXR71]

Are you almost exclusively using Top Tier gasoline? If not, you could try a fuel system cleaner.

 

[Fouroaks]

Are you almost exclusively using Top Tier gasoline? If not, you could try a fuel system cleaner.

I was using a lot of 87 up until a year ago. I then went back to premium and usually that was ethanol free. I fill up either at a circle k which I avoid now and a mobile.

 

[NXR71]

I was using a lot of 87 up until a year ago. I then went back to premium and usually that was ethanol free. I fill up either at a circle k which I avoid now and a mobile.

You may have misunderstood my question. I was not asking about the octane. I was asking whether you were using the Top Tier Gas brands that are recommended in the owners manual. Those have extra detergents to help keep the engine cleaner. All of the cars our family has owned for the last ten years have recommended Top Tier gas.

Here is the list of brands and Circle K is not one of them: https://www.toptiergas.com/gasoline-brands/

I'd run a fuel system cleaner once or twice through the engine and then start using Top Tier gas regularly. It may not help short-term but should help long-term.

 

[Fouroaks]

You may have misunderstood my question. I was not asking about the octane. I was asking whether you were using the Top Tier Gas brands that are recommended in the owners manual. Those have extra detergents to help keep the engine cleaner. All of the cars our family has owned for the last ten years have recommended Top Tier gas.

Here is the list of brands and Circle K is not one of them: https://www.toptiergas.com/gasoline-brands/

I'd run a fuel system cleaner once or twice through the engine and then start using Top Tier gas regularly. It may not help short-term but should help long-term.

View attachment 3092

Does it hurt to use the cleaner back to back? Should it be skipped for a few tanks?

 

[NXR71]

I have no personal experience but I know people who used to add a can in every tank years back.

 

[Fouroaks]

Tried fuel cleaner as suggested here. I used the AC Delco cleaner. No change.

I changed the map sensor as a guess and there is no change.

How can I tell if a coil is intermittently not firing? It has new plugs and boots.

 

[FleetMgr1]

Tried fuel cleaner as suggested here. I used the AC Delco cleaner. No change.

I changed the map sensor as a guess and there is no change.

How can I tell if a coil is intermittently not firing? It has new plugs and boots.

You’d be throwing engine codes if there was a misfire. My 2020 2.0t does the same thing at idle. Previously, she was throwing codes and had the #1 ignition coil going bad, replaced the 4 plugs and the bad coil pack and she’s running gold now. Doesn’t hurt to only use 93 octane with detergents and add a fuel injection cleaner every other fill up or so. She still does the rough idling at times. Not worried unless the ECM doesn’t like it.

 

[4549stiltz]

I would find a scanner that reads live data. Then check the fuel trims to verify if engine is running correctly. It sounds like it might be running a little lean by your description. Yes, I seen lots of engine running lean and sometimes it is hard to find out why. I retired from a Chevrolet dealer and that was my line of work Run ability.. Good luck.