Car turns off the engine at low speed

It has happened for 3 months. Car sometimes turns off the engine when driving at low speed like in the parking lot. When it happens, the car switches to ignition mode, only the battery light comes on, there is no power for steering and braking. I have to turn the key to off and then start the car again.

I brought it to a mechanic but he couldn’t find anything wrong with the car. Battery is 9-month old, Oreilly said the alternator is good

The engine was replace 75000 miles ago. The real mileage of this engine is probably 160 000 miles

2009 honda accord exl v6 4dr

I replaced the battery terminal but the problem still persists. Does anyone know what is wrong with my car?

The first thing I would suspect is a crank sensor that’s starting to fail.

Tester

3 Likes

That’s called a “stall”. As in “The engine has stalled”. Could be many, many things, but Tester’s nomination is a good start.

2 Likes

Your check engine light (CEL) should also come on when the vehicle stalls not just the battery light… Take the vehicle to a place like Auto Zone and have them check the codes… With that being said, the crank sensor that Tester mentioned does not always set a code…

But, it sound like you would be better off paying a pro shop to diagnose the stalling and have them repair the vehicle for you… might be cheaper in the long run if you have zero mechanic experience, as stalling can sometimes be hard to diagnose even for a pro…

3 Likes

Normally I’d say check any number of wires after engine replacement. But, you’ve gone 75k miles so it might be a good guess that wires are good.
You mean to say motor had 90k miles when you bought it have driven 75k more miles?

1 Like

Yes, other parts of the car last more than 300 000 miles so I think it’s likely the crankshaft position sensor

The CEL usually does not come on if the engine stall is caused by the crankshaft position sensor failing or the ignition switch failing.

2 Likes

Unless the stalling problem is caused by a defective fuel pump, it is unlikely that the live datastream will be helpful, or that there will be any trouble codes stored in the PCM. If the problem is caused by a defective crankshaft position sensor, ignition switch, or wiring harness, there will probably be nothing for a scan tool to see.

Those are normal symptoms after the engine stalls. They aren’t indicating problems with the alternator, battery, or power steering. The problem that needs solving is why the engine is stalling when driving at slow speed. Providing all the routine tune-up maintenance is up to date, and there are no diagnostic codes, current, pending, or history, and all the readiness monitor are in their “complete” state, the first test I’d do is to measure the idle rpm, both cold and warm engine. My guess, the throttle valve is sticking, not moving freely.

1 Like

Does it just die or go real slow first and then stall?

It stalls and the car coasts like in neutral

Well there are likely and not so likely. Some of the likely would be fuel pump or crank sensor or Bad connections. Then on to the less likely like computer, ignition switch etc.

Unless it can be demonstrated in the shop or throws a trouble code, it will be hard to find. On mine over a year, I went though all the likelies and unlikelies and two shops and never did find the problem. I’d drive around with a fuel pressure gauge taped to the windshield an a test light and would shut off in about exactly 7 miles. Then start right up with no failure indication. I finally junked it but good luck.

1 Like

A sticky throttle body was why the Mazda we used to have was stalling under similar conditions, was able to duplicate the problem in front of the mechanics and it was fixed quickly.

1 Like

Yeah that was one of the first things done.