Hi, i am the owner of a terios daihatsu, over 10 years old. I live in Canary Islands, Spain. Here, like in the rest of Europe, Daihatsu has no longer any presence, including aftermarket and service.
My car has now started misbehaving and i do not knnow how to solve the issue because nobody is able to provide diagnostics due to the incompatibility of diagnostic software and vehicle motherboard.
The problem i am experiencing is the following. As i turn on he car, it stays on for about 3 seconds and then it switches off. I have been advised this could be an issue due to the keyhole not being able to read the key but after some tests this option has been ruled out. I also tested the sensors, which all seem to be ok. Another option which i thought about is the fuel pump not being able to work properly and as the fuel stream is blocked, the engine stops suddenly. The battery has been tested and it works fine.
The solution every mechanic suggests is to buy a new motherboard - but because nobody has the compatible software any longer, i am running the risk of 1) not being able to configure the centraline and 2) if the car brakes down again nobody will have a compatible diagnostics software and finally 3) the cost of a new mother board is high, might as well buy a new carā¦
I would like to have more opinions on the matter before i am forced to buy another car as i cant find any mechanic that can fix it.
Thanks in advance for your help, i look forward to reading the responses to my post.
Most of the regular posters here are in the US. And Daihatsu was never sold in the US so there is no experience base. Maybe there is a forum member that has some knowledge about these cars.
You might try to find a Daihatsu forum on the internet somewhere and see if you can find some knowledgeable help. Good Luck!
Actually, the Daihatsu Charade (what a model name!) was sold in The US, but their sales figures were so low that they were withdrawn from The US marketplace after just a few years. As a result of those low sales numbers, it isnāt surprising that you never saw one. In my areaāwhere foreign cars seem to predominateāI can recall seeing ONE, many years ago.
This is what Wikipedia had to say:
The third-generation car was sold in the United States for just five years, from 1988 through 1992. The car sold poorly, despite construction āas tight as a frozen head boltā and attractive styling for the market segment, perhaps because of its high price, few dealerships, rough-running three-cylinder, low performance (0-60 mph or 97 km/h in 15 seconds). Toyota, which had recently procured a controlling interest in Daihatsu, withdrew all Daihatsu-badged cars from the US market
In any event, I agree that the OP needs to seek an online forum that deals specifically with Daihatsus. Surely there must be oneāsomewhere. IIRC, they sold fairly-well in Costa Rica and some other Central American countries, soāassuming that the OP is fluent in Spanishāthere should be a Daihatsu-specific forum somewhere.
Ohhh I forGOT about the Charade! Terrible name for a carā¦ No wonder it never caught on.
ā¦yes, their choice of model name seems to have beenā¦ill-advised.
But, then again, their sloganāāas tight as a frozen head boltāāwas also not well-chosen.
Since they were trying to appeal largely to people who were not automotive aficionados, I can imagine prospective customers scratching their heads in confusion, trying to figure out if that claim was a positive or a negative.
I donāt see how it can be the computer. It doesnāt know when you turn. I can only think of something related to the ignition switch. Perhaps as the steering wheel is turned something gets pinched and shuts off the engine. I assume when this happens you have to restart the engine by turning the key.
Edit: Ignore my response. I was asleep when I read OPs post.
I did not see where turning the vehicle had anything to do with the problem. They state when turn on car it runs then dies. I think the turn on is meant as start car.
Ooops, too early in the morning for me. You are right. I misread the OPS description.
Can you describe what happens when the engine stops running? For example, are all the dash lamps illuminated or does it look the same as when itās running?
Will it immediately start back up if you rotate the key to START but then stall again after 3 seconds or so?
Has anyone verified the fuel pressure is in the specified range? Does it drop immediately once the engine starts but before it stalls?
You might try a Toyota dealer. Daihatsu has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Toyota for about a year and owned in part by Toyota for about seven years.
I had a similar problem on my boat, turned out to be the fuel filter, had a similar problem on my snowblower, turned out there was a brass filter in the tank that was getting clogged with debris as it ran, Had a similar problem in my other snowblower, debris in the carb bowl, hope this helps, not sure if it is even a carburated engine, but sounds like a fuel, or stuck choke (if equipped with a carb) related problem to me
Hi, thank you very much for the insight. My dad was actually suspicious of the same so we will surely check any issues that may be related to fuel pump/fuel filters
Hi, thanks for chipping in. i did take the car to a Toyota dealer and service centre but no luck 
Hi, thank you ever so much for the insight.
The car dies after few seconds (always the same amount of time, 3 to 4 seconds) on a cool engine. It is true thought that one time i went to the supermarket and the car was just fine (car had a normal engine temperature when i reached the supermarket) then after i finished with my shopping (maybe 20 minutes later) the car decided not to start any more. since then the problem has persisted and the car never run stays on for more that 3-4 seconds since. durign those 3-4 seconds the dashboard lights are on and everything looks the same as when it is (or should be) running.
the fuel pressure i dont think has been verified; i know for certain that the fuel pump has been checked and it works ok apparently.
in my dadās eye there is something disallowing the car to stay on, such as a sensor, a block in the fuel filter, fuel pump not absorbing fuel properly or something else fairly simpleā¦ do you think this could be the case?
hi all, apologies for the confusion. yes the āturn onā means start/switch on the car
thanks for the help; i will have to look into this option
ahahah i suppose laughing about a problem is the only way to fix it 
thanks for the contribution
thanks for the advice! i will have another look online