What causes an 02 Cavalier trac off light to show up on the dashboard? The car also does not shift right.

I asked my mom if the gas has changed. I told her to take it in to Auto Zone for them to run a diagnostic on the car. Would someone there be able to adjust/fix the problem?

No just sell parts and pull codes. I pulled a starter off my 86 full-size pickup and took it in to an AutoZone that said the replacement was in stock. Walked in set the starter on the desk and two of the employees had no idea what it was. After explaining it was a starter they pulled the one I needed, they had no idea what the starter shims in the box were either. If you can use a cash register then you qualify as an employee for AutoZone...

LOL thats funny. She took it to Auto Zone and they told her it was the throttle sensor. So now we need to find an inexpensive way to replace it.....

John, Auto Zone said it is the throttle sensor. Do you know why the brake light would be coming on now?

Abs light on also? If not check the brake fluid and the parking brake lever, if the abs light is on then it's an abs issue and the brake light is on saying there is a code to be read

Hi John. How much should brakes cost for a cavalier? I'm trying to find an independent mechanic to do the work. Do you know any mechanics around Ann Arbor, MI?

No I don't. Disc brakes are quite simple and watching a few tutorial videos would probably enable you to do them yourself. You would need a jack, tire iron to remove the lugs, a hammer, a long flat head screw driver and a basic set of wrenches once the tire is off you set the caliper all the way in with the screw driver, pull the two bolts that hold the caliper, the rotor should slide off, and the pads should fall out, sometimes a few hammer taps are necessary on the rotor and the pads sometimes give a fight coming out but generally on these it isn't bad. With how popular Cavaliers are you could probably easily find a tutorial for your car on YouTube or ehow.com

Just Google "throttle position sensor replacement cavalier", mid 1990s all the way up to 2002 are identical for the cavalier and sunfire

Have the codes read on the car OBD II connection and see what codes show up.

Is it sucking down more gas also? I saw you write on a previous post I was on.

MIne is doing the same thing. From what i can see about the other posts on other threads, this sounds like a horribly frequent problem with the chevy cavaliers. Mine is a 2001 chevy cavalier, and its been having trouble shifting smoothly when going from 1st to second, or second to 3rd gear. Trac off light is on intermittently as is the check engone light now. Stopped at a light this morning, and when it turned green, the car would not move when I pressed the gas.... Had to turn the car off and then back on to get the damn thing to go. And when I moved it into Drive, a loud clunk came from the engine. Temp also goes up more than normal, Car has always been at a steady 195, but lately on and off it will begin to go above that temp. Car doesn't always brake correctly either, its like the ABS kicks in and forces the car to slide instead of brake properly. And oil light comes on and off intermittently also.

I changed my brakrs and the abs light came on, never really a problem though. Changed my tranny and the battery light cones on shortly after it starts, but makes a sound till said light. Now the trac light comes on after a few minutes of driving and wont sgift out of first. Battery light still on at this time. Weve changed the alternator and still only getting 12v.

Cars stays running after tge trac light cones on. Just wont shift out of first...

Wrote long answer, made me sign in again when I submitted and everything I typed disappeared. Short answer>> Check voltage at small and large terminals of the alternator with the key on and engine off, should be battery. If not find why and fix it. Check all of your pulleys to make sure they spin freely. Have you checked your trans fluid level? Make sure cables at the starter are tight as well as the engine ground strap.