Hi there, I have a 2013 Highlander Limited with around 85,000 miles. This morning when i went to start it, the car was running fine, but as i was pulling out of the drive way, the car was sputtering, and then died. It was able to restart it, but it died again, the engine light came on, and the brake warning light came on. The thing then started shaking violently. I had washed the car yesterday, including the cover on the engine, but nothing but that one cover. I also cleaned the inside of the gas door, but i dont think that would kill the car, since i was able to drive it yesterday. Can someone help me?
There’s no way in hell we can tell what the problem is with that little information.
First thing to do is get the code that triggered the Check Engine Light. That’s where to start. If the vehicle won’t start then either have it towed someplace or go buy a code reader and do it yourself. It’s actually simple. Once you have the code then do a Google search of what that code means. It could be something simple, or very expensive.
If they lights came on after the car died, then they came on because the car stalled out, not because of a pending code. I would check to make sure the battery cables are tight against the terminals and make sure that the ground to the body didn’t get dislodged when you were washing engine cover first.
The battery is installed correctly. It is an auto. Are those able to stall?
An automatic can and will stall. As others said find a way to get the check engine light read, that will start pointing in the direction of the problem and solution. Washing the cover of the engine probably got water into a place that should not get wet.
OTOH, that the vehicle began “shaking violently” suggests severe misfiring and that ought to have generated a code.
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Sure, but the timing of when the light actually came on hasn’t been clarified by the OP (ie during operation or after a stall), nor have they said whether the light is still on. We’re shooting in the dark until they give us more information
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