SPONSORED LINKS

Engine sputtering stalling out

Tiny
CGAMBLE1821891
  • MEMBER
  • 2000 TOYOTA CAMRY
  • 78,500 MILES
I have a 2000 toyota camry 4 cyl. That stutters/sputters when in idle, to the point SOMETIMES to where it stalls out. When I put load on the engine (i.E. Put the car in drive/reverse/gear OR put the A/C on while car is in park or neutral) it stutters/sputters SO bad the car does indeed stall out (it can be restarted once put in park) but then goes right back to doing the same, I literally have to turn car on, give it a little gas and throw it in Drive in order for me to have no chance in stalling. First and foremost I changed the spark plugs AND spark plug wires, didn't help. If you google this/youtube this issue everything comes back to issues with the idle control valve, well cleaned/fixed that. No change. THEN I took it to two separate hobby shops on different bases ( obviously i'm military and even though it's a hobby shop they are certified mechanics) one of the shops assured me it was the EGR valve/switch/solenoid, well as difficult as it was, replaced that and NO CHANGE, then we checked fuel pump, it was fine, so I replaced fuel filter to be safe, still nothing helped! Only other thing one of mechanics could think of is ECU/ECM and according to dealer they want $1000+ not something I Want to pay/can afford right now but this was also do to the fact the mechanic and I checked out what we thought was THE fuse box, hoping it might be electrical/a fuse. Well we only saw/though there was one. Upon reading manual (which we did but totally over looked) there were two other smaller fuse boxes under the hood (haven't been back to point it out to mechanic yet) but could one of these fuses cause this large of a problem? If not, should the ECM/ECU be what I focus my attention on? I know it's a long question but I wanted to be as detailed as can be in hopes of coming to a resolution, PLEASE HELP!
SPONSORED LINKS
Wednesday, August 28th, 2013 AT 9:40 AM

27 Replies

Tiny
HMAC300
  • MECHANIC
  • 48,601 POSTS
Clean throttle plate on both sides with choke cleaner and iac hole. scan for codes and check fuel pressure with a gauge 44-50 psi minimum

This guide will help us fix it

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/engine-stalls

Please run down this guide and report back.
SPONSORED LINKS
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Wednesday, August 28th, 2013 AT 12:30 PM
Tiny
MRCHANO76
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
  • 2000 TOYOTA CAMRY
  • 4 CYL
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 111,000 MILES
I have a 2000 camry it starts but imediatley dies out. I have checked fuel pump, its running. Fuel filter is good. T.P.S. Tested positively. The car ran just fine then got parked for a year ran once just fine after that moving around yard next time tried to start this issue popped up. It has half a tank of gas old gas but gas. She will crank for an hour so dont think its battery or alt. Anyone have any ideas or run into this before
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
-1
Thursday, June 18th, 2020 AT 10:13 AM (Merged)
Tiny
RASMATAZ
  • MECHANIC
  • 75,992 POSTS
Verify the fuel pressure if its within specs by checking it with a fuel pressure tester it could be coming on but is it producing the correct fuel pressure. If okay test the coolant temperature sensor, MAF sensor, throttle position sensor and clean out the idle air control valve.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
+2
Thursday, June 18th, 2020 AT 10:13 AM (Merged)
Tiny
RAY HOLANDA
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
  • 2000 TOYOTA CAMRY
  • 130,000 MILES
2000 Camry XLE with luxury package (leather seats, moon roof, powered windows and seats, all in good condition, etc), which every time I take into the shop they say is in great condition except for XYZ issue. There is a hole in the muffler that requires the replacement of the entire exhaust pipe ($1,300), dead battery and probably alternator. It has new tires with less than 3000 miles on them.

It died on the road the other day and requires now to be towed to move. What is the value of this car, if I want to trade-in or re-sell it? Thanks!
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Thursday, June 18th, 2020 AT 10:13 AM (Merged)
Tiny
HMAC300
  • MECHANIC
  • 48,601 POSTS
You'll get more for it if you replace the battery and fix the alternator if it's bad as it can just be the battery that is causing the problem, otherwise people will just take advantage of it. You can look in kelly blue book for car price for specifics.
SPONSORED LINKS
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Thursday, June 18th, 2020 AT 10:13 AM (Merged)
Tiny
IAMJAMESDEAN
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
  • 2000 TOYOTA CAMRY
  • 4 CYL
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 129,000 MILES
I have a 2000 toyota camry that I just replaced the engine in. Everything looked good and I drove it about 50 miles after the swap before it stalled. After figuring out that a fuse had blown it was replaced and driven home, only to stall again close to my house. The fuel was low so I thought maybe the fuel pump had overheated so I tried again the next night, only to have it stall again. The fuse is labeled EFI which I assume is electronic fuel injection. What could be causing it to blow so many times and stall the engine?
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Thursday, June 18th, 2020 AT 10:13 AM (Merged)
Tiny
RASMATAZ
  • MECHANIC
  • 75,992 POSTS
Hi iamjamesdean, Welcome to 2carpros and Ty for the donation.

Lets do this find the fuel pump connector and disconnect it and see what happnens to the EFI fuse did it blow
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Thursday, June 18th, 2020 AT 10:13 AM (Merged)
Tiny
IAMJAMESDEAN
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
Yes it still blew the fuse.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Thursday, June 18th, 2020 AT 10:13 AM (Merged)
Tiny
RASMATAZ
  • MECHANIC
  • 75,992 POSTS
Remove the circuit opening relay this time do the same thing
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Thursday, June 18th, 2020 AT 10:13 AM (Merged)
Tiny
GRYOUNG
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
  • 2000 TOYOTA CAMRY
Engine Mechanical problem
2000 Toyota Camry Two Wheel Drive Automatic 56000 miles

just started happening this morning. Car hesitates (RPM pulses quickly up and down) when foot is on gas maintaining speed, does not seem to do it during acceleration. Also, the car stalled twice when idling or at very low speeds.

Problem went away towards end of destination.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Thursday, June 18th, 2020 AT 10:13 AM (Merged)
Tiny
BMRFIXIT
  • MECHANIC
  • 19,053 POSTS
Did you get check engine light on
or was it blinking
suspect and check it for tune up 1st
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Thursday, June 18th, 2020 AT 10:13 AM (Merged)
Tiny
GRYOUNG
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
No check engine light has never come on. No indicators of problem besides actual symptoms
SPONSORED LINKS
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Thursday, June 18th, 2020 AT 10:13 AM (Merged)
Tiny
BMRFIXIT
  • MECHANIC
  • 19,053 POSTS
6 or 4 cylinders?
4 cylinders suspect bad or wet wires (water or oil )pull and check
check it for tune up as 1st step
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Thursday, June 18th, 2020 AT 10:13 AM (Merged)
Tiny
LOREAL1126
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
  • 2000 TOYOTA CAMRY
  • 4 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 114,000 MILES
I've had a problem with my speedometer fluctuating and then eventually just going to zero while i'm driving. My odometer is digital and when the speedometer is fluctuating the odometer will start to flash sporatically and eventually it too will completely go out. The car doesn't make any noises and doesn't jerk. Those are the only two things that seem to not be working. Lights, other guages work just fine. I took it to the dealership and they said nothing was wrong and they couldn't recreate the problem. A few months later it broke down. (Speedometer was fluctuating and the car shut it self off. Engine light came on.) Dealership said it was a transmission sensor. Had that replaced. Less then a week later it did the exact same thing. (Speed/odom fluctutating, engine light came on car shut off.) Now dealership says it is a head piece that needs to be replaced. I'm wondering if it could be anything else. Or if I could tell the dealership to check anywhere else to stop this problem. Thanks!
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
+1
Thursday, June 18th, 2020 AT 10:13 AM (Merged)
Tiny
SERVICE WRITER
  • MECHANIC
  • 9,123 POSTS
What codes were in the computer? I assume the cel came on before the stall?

I would check for bad connections at the igniters for a start.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Thursday, June 18th, 2020 AT 10:13 AM (Merged)
Tiny
KHLOW2008
  • MECHANIC
  • 41,815 POSTS
Hi loreal1126,

Check the speed sensor.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Thursday, June 18th, 2020 AT 10:13 AM (Merged)
Tiny
AZNGUITARSTAR
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
  • 2000 TOYOTA CAMRY
Engine Mechanical problem
2000 Toyota Camry 6 cyl Front Wheel Drive Automatic 150k miles

hi. My camry, when I start up the car, the rpm immediately goes up to about 2500, and when I am driving, it feels like it is accelerating by itself. Also, when I turn off the car, it seems to turn off really abruptly and it vibrates.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Thursday, June 18th, 2020 AT 10:13 AM (Merged)
Tiny
BMRFIXIT
  • MECHANIC
  • 19,053 POSTS
Check for vacuum leaks
check accelerator and cables
remove IAC valve check and clean or replaces
IAC valve located on the lower end of the throttle body
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Thursday, June 18th, 2020 AT 10:13 AM (Merged)
Tiny
HERESMYLINE
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
  • 2000 TOYOTA CAMRY
When I first start the car in the morning blueish smoke comes out the exhaust. Then it stops. It only happens when egine is cold. Whats the problem? I have automatic remote start and the engine shuts down and restarts often also, Im not sure if the problem is related to the blue smoke. I have not tuned up the car in the last year. I have been using injector cleaner often, every three months.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Thursday, June 18th, 2020 AT 10:14 AM (Merged)
Tiny
MHPAUTOS
  • MECHANIC
  • 31,938 POSTS
Hi there,

This smoke is oil burning, when engines sit over night oil can leak down past the valve stem seals or worn valve guides, this oil will sit on the valve or enter the cylinder and burn up when you first start up. This is not a super urgent problem, but it is a sign that a top end o/haul is not all that far away. If the valve guides are badly worn, you may notice some smoke when you back off the throttle at speed, as the rapid increase of manifold vacuum tends to draw bit more oil past the worn seals. Engines that smoke all the time usually have worn or broken oil control rings on the pistons.

Mark (mhpautos)
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
+1
Thursday, June 18th, 2020 AT 10:14 AM (Merged)

Please login or register to post a reply.

Related Engine Stall While Driving Content

Is it Safe to Drive Check Engine Light?
VIDEO
Is it Safe to Drive Check Engine Light?
Instructional repair video
Engine Stalls While Driving
GUIDE
Engine Stalls While Driving
An engine that stalls while driving and then starts back up again, either immediately or after a short time is different from an engine that just wont start or if the...
VIEW MORE

Sponsored links