Engine stalls out when transmission is shifted into gear

SUNNYDAY90

MEMBER
2017 GMC TERRAIN
4 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
68,000 MILES

I was driving my car home from work. It drove just a little harsher than normal, meaning it sounded a little louder than normal. But I thought because I had extra people (4 teenagers) add a car full of groceries, it was working a little harder. Anyway, I drove about thirty minutes through town. When I made it home, stopped to check the mailbox, I turned the motor off. When I got back in the car, started the motor and put it in gear, it immediately shut off. No lights, no warning, nothing. That happened three times before I was able to drive it about 200 feet. I decided to back into a parking spot in case I needed a jump. When I put the car in reverse it shut off again. Still no warning lights, no sound nothing. What could it possibly be?

1 Reply

KASEKENNY

MECHANIC
18,907 POSTS

This sounds like the torque converter is locked up. What happens is when you put the vehicle in gear it stalls the engine because the converter is applied when it should not be.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/stall-at-idle

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/automatic-transmission-problems

Think of this like when you let the clutch out with no accelerator input on a manual transmission and the engine just stalls. This is because the RPM is not high enough to add the load of the transmission and drivetrain.

When this happens does the vehicle always start back up? If it does, try putting it in neutral and starting it, then put your foot on the brake and accelerator and raise the RPM to about 900-1000 and then put it in gear. Clearly do this in a safe place because even though you have your foot on the brake it may jerk a little but if you are able to keep it running then the converter is locked up. This is not definitive because even if it stalls, it could be the converter still due to the "stall speed" being higher.

Let me know if you have questions. Thanks