Legacy L - motor stalls at stoplights

[Santous]

This problem just started happening about a week ago and has occurred about 10 times since. Every once in a while (generally when the motor hasn't been running long) the car will turn the motor off when I come to a complete stop. Got a 1996 Legacy L Sedan, any ideas? I'd think that'd be an electrical thing because the radio and lights stay on, the motor just stops.

[MoclovFlop]

Must be a Prius motor swap :shock: .... PICS!!!!!





























:razz: No Idea, good luck

[robertd84]

fuel filter ? that's my guess..

i would do a full tune up if that were to happen to my ride...

Rob - Tune Up Here You Come!

[evolegacy]

could be fuel filter, clogged PCV valve, or a vacuum leak. could also be something electrical for example like a loose or disconnected spark plug wire, you'd have to open the hood up and start searching for loose wires and such. Good luck

[d1giPhux]

Might want to describe.. HOW the motor feels / sounds when its coming to a stop. Does it just die out quickly? Does it stutter and choke and then stop.. etc.. etc.

[Santous]

Hmm... I guess I haven't really paid much attention. What generally happens is it will rev past it's normal idling of about 500 when braking to about 1k and then start to die, at which point I can wait for the motor to shut off or if I have some room I can release the brake and save the trouble of switching from park to drive. I'm not very engine savvy right now (working on it), so what kind of irregularities should I be looking for?

[d1giPhux]

We'll i know that sort of thing use to happen to me at one point.. and my MAF was dirty / going bad.. so thats always a possibility.. with an auto its a bit harder to diagnose (for me).. but does it ever idle erratically any other times? Just when coming to a complete stop / hard stop.. or what? Does it ever bog out / stutter.. do any of that type of thing at any point?

[ben g]

if you have an auto then its not electrical its a clogged cat if you have a standard your fucked

*edit if its your cat it will probably throw a couple codes one for catalyst efficiency map circuit valve low and one for your pressure sensor in your tranny p0128 p0420 and p0107

[d1giPhux]

^ explain? That doesn't say much of anything.. i don't think much of anything is wrong.. probably just a sensor or something minor.

Did you try searching google for other people with the same prob? Found this myself:

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/t71375.html

http://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin ... hts-32605/ (http://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin/f66/engine-dies-stoplights-32605/)

[ben g]

well what happens is your cat on an auto gets clogged and its starts to put stress on the rest of your engine. It also sets off every other sensor, and because the exhaust can not escape it goes back up causing the engine to shut off.

[d1giPhux]

I would shoot for the basic stuff first..

Air Filter
Clean your MAF sensor with MAF sensor cleaner (this is my best bet.. mine would do the same thing and it was MAF)
Fuel Filter..

I think if the CAT was clogged it would probably throw a CEL code.. as they are pretty sensitive and can detect problems pretty easily.. but.. I'm not really sure how to test what he was saying about that anyways.. so you would have to ask him (ben g)

[Huffer]

This problem just started happening about a week ago and has occurred about 10 times since. Every once in a while (generally when the motor hasn't been running long) the car will turn the motor off when I come to a complete stop. Got a 1996 Legacy L Sedan, any ideas? I'd think that'd be an electrical thing because the radio and lights stay on, the motor just stops.

Are you tripping any CHECK ENGINE lights? (aka CELs). If you are, go to an autozone or similar parts store and get the code pulled. Just the code. Should be P0XXX or similar.

[Santous]

Thanks for all the responses. I'll try to hit everything I can.

The Ultimate Answer - Auto Tranny

1. The car starts back up every time, never had a problem with that.

2. It doesn't idle weird at other times, however every once in a while on a hard stop it takes a bit longer to speed back up afterward, but that's more of a brake problem I would think, and not a big deal either.

3. It never stutters, no idea what bogging out means to be honest.

4. "Clean your MAF sensor with MAF sensor cleaner (this is my best bet.. mine would do the same thing and it was MAF)" Can you link me to something that will show me or explain to me how to do this?

5. No check engine lights. Every once in a while I'll get an ABS light, but it goes away after a few minutes.

[Soul Shinobi]

My '92 Legacy did the same thing until I cleaned the IAC (Idle Air Control valve) but pouring Seafoam into its hose a few times (which is factory procedure!).