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2010 Malibu CEL P0172


jar92380
08-11-2013, 03:10 PM
Hello All

As the title says it all I have a 2010 Malibu LS with roughly 88k on it and just noticed that the CEL light came on last weekend. On Monday the light went ahead but it came back on this morning. Took it to Autozone and the error code was P0172, Fuel System Too Rich, Bank 1. I noticed this happened last weekend after putting in some gas at QT. The Autozone guy recommended some fuel injector cleaner as a starting point and recommended using pure gasoline (premium). Any thoughts on this?

Thanks
James

gmtech1
08-11-2013, 06:16 PM
Hello All

As the title says it all I have a 2010 Malibu LS with roughly 88k on it and just noticed that the CEL light came on last weekend. On Monday the light went ahead but it came back on this morning. Took it to Autozone and the error code was P0172, Fuel System Too Rich, Bank 1. I noticed this happened last weekend after putting in some gas at QT. The Autozone guy recommended some fuel injector cleaner as a starting point and recommended using pure gasoline (premium). Any thoughts on this?

Thanks
James

May or may not be your problem, but there is a TSB to check the alcohol content of the fuel with a Tech II scanner, reset it and reprogram the PCM with a new calibration. A dealer would need to do this.

jar92380
08-13-2013, 11:11 AM
Thank you gmtech1. Anyone know where the MAF is located on the 2010 model? Another friend recommended cleaning that as well with MAF cleaner.

Thanks again
James

gmtech1
08-13-2013, 11:59 AM
Thank you gmtech1. Anyone know where the MAF is located on the 2010 model? Another friend recommended cleaning that as well with MAF cleaner.

Thanks again
James


It's in the air intake ducting between the air filter and the throttle body, near the air filter.

Tech II
08-13-2013, 03:06 PM
2.4/3.4?

Check things that could make it run rich......dirty air filter, bad injector(s), leaking fuel pressure regulator, MAF, etc.

jar92380
08-17-2013, 03:42 PM
It's a 2.4, cleaned the maf with CRC MAF cleaner and replaced the gas cap. I had an auto store clear the cel codes and they came right back a day later. Should I just take it to the auto shop? They recently repaired a leaking oil drip pan and I wonder if they may be related. Any thoughts on what else I could try?

gmtech1
08-17-2013, 05:06 PM
Refer to post #2, that may be your problem...

jar92380
08-17-2013, 05:07 PM
Do you know how much that would cost?

gmtech1
08-17-2013, 07:11 PM
The reprogram may or may not be covered by Emissions or Powertrain warranty, I don't know. If not covered I would guess upwards of 100.00. Without having the car in front of me and a scanner, I can't say for sure that this will fix it, but it is a real possibility.

j cAT
08-19-2013, 07:33 PM
Hello All

As the title says it all I have a 2010 Malibu LS with roughly 88k on it and just noticed that the CEL light came on last weekend. On Monday the light went ahead but it came back on this morning. Took it to Autozone and the error code was P0172, Fuel System Too Rich, Bank 1. I noticed this happened last weekend after putting in some gas at QT. The Autozone guy recommended some fuel injector cleaner as a starting point and recommended using pure gasoline (premium). Any thoughts on this?

Thanks
James

the failure code is that the O2 sensor reports a rich condition. now dirty injectors/ or plugs are old or platium tip fell off plug ,plug wire damaged , arcing or high resistance.

get a bottle of techron fuel system cleaner also add about 5 OZ of marvel mystery oil to the fuel. after a hundred miles reset the code and see if it comes back. just use 87 octane and stay away from cheapo gas stations as they may be screwing with the gas mixture adding contaminates to it .

now if this still is a problem then bring in to have the PCM calibrated and checked.

jar92380
08-23-2013, 08:55 AM
Here's a quick follow up. Took my car to the dealership that I normally go to since I get a work discount (not much). Fuel Injectors were completely clogged and barely working, 3 spark plugs were misfiring and needed to be replaced. 400 dollars later its running better. If i had to know about the spark plugs then I would have changed them myself, but since I have little knowledge on cars I took it in. Thanks for the help everyone.

Tech II
08-23-2013, 12:57 PM
You did not feel a misfire and the CE light was not flashing?

jar92380
08-23-2013, 01:02 PM
Nope the CEL light was just solid orange and I never felt anything out of the ordinary which is why I was shocked that I was having misfires.

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