Car stalling

Tiny
GAVIN PAGE
  • MEMBER
  • 2012 SUBARU LEGACY
  • VR6
  • 4WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 41,000 MILES
So while I am driving my car is randomly stalling/shutting down. Normally it is after I have decelerated or after waiting at a stop light, and on occasion it seems that the engine does not engage at low speeds (it kind of hiccups, and then after a second or two it reengages). When it stalls the car shakes for a couple seconds and then shuts off, but I do not hear anything. Once the car has stalled/shut down I cannot give it rpm's, but the electrically continues to run (ie AC, dashboard, etc.). In order to restart the car I have to put the car in park, turn the key to the off position, wait one to two minutes, and then turn the car on again. It happens inconsistently, but often (ie it does not happen at every light, but it happens once or twice a day). I cannot tell what conditions lead up to the stall/shut off. I have tried adding HEET to my tank with premium gas to see if it was possible that I got water in my gas tank, but that did not solve it. Thoughts?
Friday, September 1st, 2017 AT 9:47 AM

1 Reply

Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 43,261 POSTS
It sounds like your crankshaft angle sensor is going out but we should run the codes to see whats comes up first. Here is a guide for that.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/checking-a-service-engine-soon-or-check-engine-light-on-or-flashing

If nothing comes up the crankshaft sensor can still be bad becasue it not always sets a come for a intermittent sensor failure which stalls the engine.

Here is a guide to give you an idea of what you are in for when doing the job.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/crankshaft-angle-sensor-replacement

Also when the engine doesn't start check for spark, if it does have spark its not the crankshaft angle sensor.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-test-an-ignition-system

Here is what it will be like on your car (below)

Please let us know what you find.

Cheers, Ken
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Monday, September 4th, 2017 AT 3:01 PM

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