my car stalled!!
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New User
Joined: Mar 2003
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my car stalled!!
My 2002 ford explorer stalled at 70 mph, i moved over 3 lanes to stop at the shoulder, tried to restart car, failed, called police, policeman came, couldn't find out what's wrong with it. while waiting for the tow truck, the car started back up. i drove 20 miles to the dealership where i bought the car, they couldn't find anything wrong with it. 2 days later, same thing happened, i was driving at 20 mph on a residential street. the car started back up right a way after i came to a full stop and in park position. can someone tell me why this happens? i have small children and this is really concerning me.
Hotshot
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 12,679
Likes: 15
From: BC, Canada
my car stalled!!
Hi sabot55. Welcome to FTE 
I've never seen a problem like yours on a newer Explorer but have on other vehicles. Can you leave it at the shop and have them run it until it quits so they can test it? Without being able to test it when it isnt running it is going to be very difficult to diagnose
When it stalls does it slowly die like if it ran out of gas or does it die fast like if you shut off the ignition?
Did they scan the vehicles computer for codes? I would think there should be a code in memory.
A couple things I would think about would be the Crankshaft Position sensor, connections at the PCM, ground wires tight and maybe the fuel pump.
I've never seen a problem like yours on a newer Explorer but have on other vehicles. Can you leave it at the shop and have them run it until it quits so they can test it? Without being able to test it when it isnt running it is going to be very difficult to diagnose
When it stalls does it slowly die like if it ran out of gas or does it die fast like if you shut off the ignition?
Did they scan the vehicles computer for codes? I would think there should be a code in memory.
A couple things I would think about would be the Crankshaft Position sensor, connections at the PCM, ground wires tight and maybe the fuel pump.
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my car stalled!!
thanks for writing! the car simply stalls with no warning, it's like all of a sudden the steering wheel gets heavy, the gas pedal loses pressure, check engine light on and all others too. the technician said if the lights don't stay, it's no way for them to diagnose an error code because nothing is recorded in the memory, is that correct? Yesterday afternoon i did some research, went to www.nhtsa.dot.gov and read a list of complaints under the category of engine/gasoline, and found that several similar incidents reported. i am beginning to believe that there may be a flaw, somewhere between the gas to the engine that the computer may be detecting a malfunction signal and shut the engine off. At the time of first stalling incident, the car was half tank full, the second time of stalling, it was near a 1/4 tank full. i don't know if the level of fuel may play a role of gas tank losing pressure.. Can a loose fuel cap cause the car to stall? The manual says it can take a long time for the PCM to detect a loose fuel cap, my question is what does the car do when it detects a loose cap while the car is moving at 70 mph, does it cause the car to stall? ~sabot55
Hotshot
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 12,679
Likes: 15
From: BC, Canada
my car stalled!!
Just because the check engine light isnt on doesn't mean there isn't a code stored in memory. There might be and there might not be. If your Ford dealer has a WDS scanner, and they should, they can also look at "Mode 6" data for clues too. Usually if it's a fuel problem the car will die a bit slower....like if it ran out of gas. A loose gas cap won't cause a stall but it can turn the check engine light on.
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my car stalled!!
this time i felt a little vibration first, looked at the dash board, speedometer and rpm went to zero, check engine light and check gage light went on, odometer 000000, the car was still in movement so i pressed the gas to see what happened, the car reacted and move faster, but it died again, so i pulled over and stopped, when the vehicle was stopped, everything went back to normal without even turning the engine off and restart. I drove another 20 miles with no problem. i called the dealer, spoke to the same service advisor who handled my car last friday, i bluntly asked if it is happening to other vehicles, he said '150'. he said will have to talk to his manager and call me back. he said if the error code disappears after 20 minutes. he has a machine that will allow me to put on the vehicle to record codes or problem when it happens, but the machine is now in use by another customer. (this sounds bad!) what should i do to document this problem so in case if i have a crash i will cover in some sort of law suit?????
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Joined: Feb 2003
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From: Peoria USA
my car stalled!!
back when i had my taurs i had the same problem, what we had to do is change the fuel pump to an after market fuel pump cause ford put something on the fuel pump that makes it malfunction...but thats not what im sayin is wrong with yours, just and idea
Trent
Trent
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Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 47
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From: Smithsburg, Maryland
my car stalled!!
Ever thought about using a video camera to record when you are driving. Set it up so you can see the dash fairly well. This might be an idea to not only show a lawyer if something happened (let's hope not) but you can show it to the service guy also since they can't repeat it.
Just a thought
Just a thought
