Chevrolet Repair: Chevy Cavalier Stalls at Idle, 2000 chevy cavalier, chevy cavalier

Question
QUESTION: I have a 2000 Chevy Cavalier with the stanard 2.2l engine. For the past couple of months I have noticed my car stalls at idle and espeically when on a uphill slant(waiting for a light)  The tach will go from 3500 to below 500 and may or may not die.  I can always restart it on my first attempt.  I also notice that when going from idle at a green light or stop sign that I will have no power and accelrate slowly then the RPMs will jump to above 3,000 and the car lunges forward.  This all stops when I get to speeds of around 15-20MPH.  Any advice on what it could be. The check engine light rarely comes on and when it does it goes off in a day or so.

Thank You

ANSWER: HI LUKE,THE FACT THAT THE CK ENG LIGHT DOES COME ON,THERE IS A ISSUE HERE. I WOULD GET THE CAR SCANNED AND FIND OUT WHAT CODE IS IN THE PCM. THIS MAY AID YOU TO DIAGNOSING THE PROBLEM. THE STALLING COULD BE FROM A STICKY EGR VALVE,JUST A GUESS. THE HIGH IDLE COULD BE FROM A FAULTY IDLE AIR CONTROL MOTOR. [IAC] GET THIS CAR SCANNED AND GET BACK TO ME IF YOU CAN. TOM..

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QUESTION: I could not get a reading on my car, the port below the dash seems to have too shallow of pins to make a good connection.  I tried this with two separate readers that a friend of mine had.  The other problem is the engine light went off.  We think the high idle may be from low transmission fluid and that it is most likely an EGR valve that is the main issue.

Answer
HI LUKE,LET ME ADDRESS THE FIRST ISSUE,THE DATA LINK CONNECTOR [DLC] DOES HAVE SHALLOW PINS, HOWEVER IF YOU ARE USING THE CORRECT SCAN TOOL FOR OBD2 ALL SCANNERS WILL WORK. THEY HAVE TO, IT STANDARD FOR ALL US BUILT CARS.. I THINK EITHER THE CONNECTOR IS FAULTY OR THE WIRES ARE PULLING OUT FROM THE BACK SIDE OF PLUG. [REPAIR IF YOU HAVE TO] YOU GOT TO GET THIS CAR SCANNED. JUST BECUASE THE CK ENG LIGHT IS NOW OFF DOES NOT MEAN THAT THERE IS NOT A CODE IN THE COMPUTER. THIS IS CALLED A HARD CODE..ENGINE HIGH IDLE WILL NOT EVER BE FROM LOW TRANSMISSION OIL..[NEVER] A FAULTY EGR VALVE WILL CAUSE 2 PROBLEMS >>>> ENGINE PING UNDER LOAD IF THE VALVE DOES NOT OPEN OR STALLING PROBLEM AT IDLE IF VALVE STICKS OPEN..THIS VALVE SHOULD BE CLOSED AT IDLE, OPEN UNDER THROTTLE. THIS IS NOT YOUR PROBLEM. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS VALVE. MY HYPOTHESIS ON THIS IS A BAD IDLE AIR CONTROL MOTOR OR POSS MAP OR MASS AIR FLOW SENSOR...JUST A GUESS. AGAIN,A FAULTY EGR VALVE WILL ONLY MAKE THE CAR STALL,WILL NOT RAISE THE IDLE UP LIKE YOUR CAR IS DOING. THERE ARE ALOT OF AUTO PARTS STORES THAT WILL SCAN YOUR CAR FOR FREE,FIND THEM IN THE PHONE BOOK.. GET BACK TO ME AFTER YOU SCAN THIS OK..ALSO PLEASE RATE THIS ANSWER WHEN YOU LEAVE THIS SITE,IT WILL HELP ME. THANKS TOM..