The car a ?98 Chevy Lumina with V6, AT, AC and 211K miles.
Recently my wife (the primary driver of this car) complained that the engine had died as she was driving down the highway. She said by the time she pulled over and stopped the car, she was able to restart and continued on without another problem. (We live in a small rural Kansas town, so this is not a dangerous as it sounds.) She took it to the local Chevy dealer. The dealer suggested water in the gas tank and replaced the fuel filter. I then added a bottle of Heet.
I couple of weeks latter, the same problem. Back to the dealer. They replaced a sensor (I don?t know which one).
Last week, as a test, I drove the car to a dentist appointment and shopping trip (55 miles one-way). I took the ?main? highway going (speed limits are 70 are about 1/2 the trip and 65 the remainder). No problem.
I took the ?back? road on the return trip. A nice two lane paved road but no shoulders. Speed limit is 50 or less the first part of the trip and 55 the remainder. About 10 miles from home, while cruising at 55, as the car is starting up a slight incline, just as the cruise control starts to open up, the car starts to slow down and the cruse disengages. At this point the engine is not dead and no unusual lights on the dash. I pushed the accelerator to the floor - nothing. I can?t pull over (no shoulder - just the ditch, but I?m on the ?back? road and there is no other traffic). I played with the accelerator and discovered that if I waited a few seconds, I could push the accelerator and the car would accelerate for 1 to 2 seconds. I repeated this 4 or 5 times before the car slowed to around 10 mph and the engine died. I stopped the car and immediately got out and removed the gas cap. I believe there was the release of some pressure, certainly not a big sucking sound.
I got back in the car and immediately tried to start it. The first time that I turned the key nothing happened - the dash lights were lit but no starter. On the second try the car started and I drove to the town where we live without problem.
Before continuing home, we stopped at the local gas station to get a loaf of bread. They were unusual busy and I sat in the car with the engine and AC running for 10 minutes or so while the wife purchased the bread. As we pulled away from the station we got about a half a block and the car died. I put the car in neutral and restarted without stopping. We continued home (just a couple of short blocks) without problem.
Any ideas where I should look.
Thanks,
Glen
I would start by finding out what sensor was replace and checking to see if your car has any stored error codes. Some places will read them for FREE. Try Autozone or Advanced Auto Parts. Get the exact code not just their translation into English and post it back here. It likely will have a format like P1234.
My daughters 03 Chevy Caviler had a stalling issue like that and since she is in collage and 10 hours away; I told her because it continues to restart every time it stalls just keep driving. After about 6 months and stalling a few times a week it quit all together and the in-tank fuel pump fixed the issue.