Down on power.
 

Hey guys I have a question. With in the last few days I've been having really sluggish acceleration. If I give it 100% throttle it just falls in its face and goes no where really. It will also start flashing the check engine light at me. The light then goes off when I let off the gas. It seems the more load that is on the car ( like giving full throttle in a high gear at low speeds) the worse the sputtering is. The car is a 5 speed 2008 saturn astra with 29000 miles. Everything is stock. It has not had a "tune up" either. Ive read about a sensor that seems to go out on this car a lot. anyway,, If you need more info please let me know. Thanks ahead of time!

By any chance, is your car equipped with traction control ??

I was going to suggest a clogged cat con, but with that little amount of miles on it, I don't think that's it.

Yes the car has traction control. I've turned it off and the car acts the same way. also when the traction control is on and is activated I have a light on the dash that comes on. I was actually testing the traction control last night ( in the rain of course) lol but it seems to be working right.

That crossed my mind as well. But I think it's a little early to have a clogged cat. I'm hoping its just bad gas or something simple.

Could very well be a bad sensor.............check for codes brother.

Will it still store a code if the check engine light is not staying on?

Late model cars will store historical codes but i don't know that the average scanner can access them. If you get the codes read somewhere specifically ask them to read historical codes too

I'm thinking the whole problem might have been some bad gas. I got gas today at my normal gas station this morning and the car already seems to be running better. I'm hoping its not wishful thinking. We shall see!

It is wishful thinking. Have the codes read!

Had the codes checked today. Only one in there is a po303. A miss fire on cylinder 3.

I know with most cars when the CEL is flashing, that means active misfire. Possibly water in your gas or bad gas, maybe check your plugs and wires and coil.

edit.: I didnt even see the last post lolol but i feel what i said is still relavant.

I put new gas in it yesterday morning. Tomorrow Im going to check the plugs. Im hoping its not that coil pack going out. All 4 coils are together in one part and is 400 dollars!! Thats crazy. With the miss fire code it does not tell me much. So im just going to start checking things and doing some more reading and see what I can find. Im hoping its just the gas!!

If it's the coil pack and you have a backup vehicle, get in touch with Hoesppi. He can probably hook you up for a lot less out of your pocket.

not sure hos deals in astras

Well my problem seems to be getting worse. Its now sputtering at idle. Its also keeping the check engine light on now, Im going to get that checked tomorrow. I went through and checked all my connections dealing with the ignnition system, and some others. Everything looked good. So tomorrow im going to check the plugs. Question.. would a bad crank position sensor cause the problems im having? im guessing since this is a newer car that there is no in line fuel filter to change.. Its probably all one piece with the fuel pump. There has to be someone out there that has had a similar problem!!

At face value this is a simple error code. What is interesting is how it works. The crankshaft position sensor can actually determine how fast the crank shaft is turning at some instantaneous point in time. Such as when the spark plug is supposed to light off the cylinder. And when that happens the crank shaft has a momentary speed up in time and if it doesn't the assumption is made that the cylinder in question did not fire.
So it points at #3 not firing.
The question is why.
You need proper compression. A way to determine that is to make a compression test. The simplest form of measuring that is a compression gauge that has a rubber tip on it that when pressed into the spark plug hole and the starter is activated so the engine turns over (spark plug wires removed so it does not run) the gauge will record a pressure reading. I can look up what it should be but about 110# is realistic. And under 100# is generally considered a problem area and it might be greater. The point is what ever number 3 is, #'s 1,2 and 4 all should be about the same with in say 10%.
If # 3 is way off you probably have a problem. Repeating the test by squirting some oil in the cylinder would increase the reading if piston rings are a problem and pretty much do nothing if it is valves.

You also need to know if the fuel injector is working. That is harder to determine with simple test equipment. A fuel pressure gauge would tell what is at the fuel rail and a manual will tell you what to expect. The other things is there are tools to determine if a pulse is being generated to run the injector and the pulse can be measured. I can with a simple meter determine pulse yes or no, but past that it is pretty much a guess. Last but not least is the spark.
One method is to pull the spark plug lead a bit off of the plug and look to see a spark jumping.
And there are others. 'One is actually to put your hand in the wrong place and feel it.
Not recommended.
There is another possible problem.
That one is simply that the Saturn spark generating circuitry is designed to use regular non-platinum spark plugs.
Platinum is pretty much a replacement plug these day and it is not uncommon that a parts store would cross the recommended spark plug for Saturn's to a platinum plug. And the tendency if you fuss with your motor is to naturally upgrade to better parts.
As to brand? Some people get really up tight about the brand. I am not one of them but and there is always a but. I use Champion Spark Plugs which date back to a long time ago and it is my preference. That is not the point. The point is that Platinum plugs have a slightly differing physical design to non-platinum and the spark generation circuitry is dependent on that design and frankly it does not work well with platinum plugs. To my surprise. But, if you are using platinum plugs the solution might be as simple as not using them.
These are all tests that I can run on my engine if I want to.
I guess another way to determine if the fuel injector is working is to unplug it. If the engine slows down,it was working. It might be a candidate for cleaning.
I have used some serious fuel injector cleaning product an on an older car it will do a number on gunk in the tank along with cleaning injectors so it is probably a good move to purchase a fuel line filter so you can change it after the use. The best fuel injector stuff I have used has been the STP top of the line fuel injector cleaning. Lucas and Dupont products are good too.
Anyway.
Good luck

So what did the problem turn out to be I wonder.

It ended up being a bad coil pack. I found the part just under 400 if I remember right. It's still running strong.

Seems to be a common thing with the Astra, and they are not cheap by no means. Just glad you got it fixed and she's on the road run'n hard.