I have a '94 Camry, 2-door V6, with 120,000. It’s been a great car, with never a problem. Recently it’s begun stalling out, immediately after turning over.
I’ve managed to feed it gas each time, long enough to get it into gear. This seems to happen when the engine is warm and after making frequent, short stops.
My mechanic is unable to diagnose/fix the problem unless/until it happens again. Of course, as Murphy’s Law would have it, it never seems to stall when in the shop.
Is there anything I can do to preempt the problem before it leaves me stranded. Seems silly to wait for the inevitable and be forced to tow the car in order to get it fixed.
Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
When you say it stalls out, does the engine just idle slow until the engine dies (watch the tachometer)? Has the throttle body been cleaned recently with special emphasis on the Idle Air Control and its passages?
Hope to helps further.
Thanks for your reply.
It turns over easily, without a hitch, but immediately it’s dead quiet - no slow idle at all, completely off. I will watch the tachometer, next time it stalls to see what happens.
When you say throttle body do you mean, a physical cleaning - beyond a fuel additive? I use a fuel system cleaner every 5k, but do not know how to clean anything beyond that. Is this a self-service kind of thing?
The throttle body cleaning is where the mechanic removes the air inlet hose and uses a throttle body safe cleaning spray to wash accumulated gunk off the plate and throat of the throttle body. The idle air passages will be accessed in the same way through a passage below the throttle plate.
A injector cleaner poured into the tank will not clean the throttle body as fuel is added much further along the intake system so it cannot get up to the throttle body to do any significant cleaning.
But ask your mechanic as hopefully he has done this service already.
Will do.
Thanks so much for the advise - much appreciated! : )