please help ,cars got the hick ups !

[BonnyLover]

I have a 2002 bonny ssei with 118000km and i'm having an ongoing problem to which i cant find a fix. When i'm at easy or steady acceleration going up a hill or even just around 60 to 80km flat area the car starts missing or a hick up (bucking) . I let off the gas then accelerate hard and it stops . it never does it under hard acceleration , only when i'm just cruising taking it easy. The check engine light never comes on . the car idles fine and besides that run perfect. Some days its really bad and others pretty good (weird ).
i've changed the following
fuel filter,air filter, EGR valve , MAS , pcv , wires and plugs twice in 3 years just to make sure and the problem still there.
Please someone help me cause i'm running out of ideas.
Thanks !

[Trinity]

I have a 2002 bonny ssei with 118000km and i'm having an ongoing problem to which i cant find a fix. When i'm at easy or steady acceleration going up a hill or even just around 60 to 80km flat area the car starts missing or a hick up (bucking) . I let off the gas then accelerate hard and it stops . it never does it under hard acceleration , only when i'm just cruising taking it easy. The check engine light never comes on . the car idles fine and besides that run perfect. Some days its really bad and others pretty good (weird ).
i've changed the following
fuel filter,air filter, EGR valve , MAS , pcv , wires and plugs twice in 3 years just to make sure and the problem still there.
Please someone help me cause i'm running out of ideas.
Thanks !

Fuel rail pressure?

[nos4blood70]

Try replacing your ICM and the coils with known good ones to see if it corrects the issue, seeing as you already did plugs and wires. This is usually an ignition problem as explained in the Common Problems thread for the 2000+.

[1997SEgreenmonster]

Im in the same boat i cant figure it out

[DaMaroon]

Seems to be low kilomatage but timing chain was what came to mind. Use others suggestions first but keep it in mind.

[Jfridge92]

+1 on checking the coils and ICM.

[redzmonte]

mine does it ever so slightly just as you described, light throttle on the interstate 70-80mph going up a hill. Hmm.. LOL with all these little common problems im starting to think the Bonneville is the car that put Pontiac out of business :D

S

[Arrowhead]

LOL with all these little common problems im starting to think the Bonneville is the car that put Pontiac out of business :D

S

I think you might be right ! I've heard of Ferraris with fewer quirks and problems than the 00-05 B'villes.

[Alpine_jake]

I had similar issues with a bad coil pack. Cheap to replace (about 30 a piece) lots of guys say aftermarket "high performance" ones are a waste of money

[Ken_W]

This is a common thing with these cars; it has to do with the tuning of the transmission and when the car is programmed to shift from 4th to 3rd gear under load (such as when driving up a gentle hill -- a steep hill would trigger the shift). To save gas, the car stays in 4th a little too long, and if you have any sort of minor ignition or vacuum issue, you feel the strain (hiccups, chugging, and various other terms are used to describe the effect).

There is no universal fix. Many of us have simply decided to live with it. If you tap the gas pedal, this will trigger the transmission to shift into 3rd gear and the chugging will stop. That is IMHO cheaper and easier than trying to hunt down a tweak to make it go away, but many people insist of spending hours and dollars trying to make it perfect. This choice is yours. I myself replaced several vacuum lines and ignition components with no effect. Keep in mind, however, that despite how disturbing this feels while driving, it is really not hurting anything, especially if you tap the gas pedal whenever it happens to make it stop. It is not a "problem" per se that will get worse if left unattended.

Ken_W