Car turned off while in Drive
 

At a stop sign, while in Drive, my 2005 Mazda 6S with Automatic transmission just turned off by itself. This is scaring me...is it the alternator? battery? transmission? I've had the car for about 2 1/2 months with 2700 miles on it.

RE: Car turned off while in Drive
 

Does it start back up after it shuts off? Is it a sudden turn off or does it kinda surge a little and the lights get dim? Does it make sort of a clicking sound when you try to start it back up? Do you have to jumpstart it when it dies? Sorry for so many questions. Just trying to help.

RE: Car turned off while in Drive
 

It felt very weak and sluggish while driving. Then when I came to a complete stop at the sign, it just died. I started the car up again immediately, and it drove ok. No need for cables, no clicking sound, and no problems since... didn't get a chance to notice the lights, but I'm sure all the dash lit up when the engine stopped. Should I have it checked out? Could I have left the lights on all night ? (I don't think I did, and it should shut itself off anyway).

RE: Car turned off while in Drive
 

It sounds like the battery too me. Or it might be that the alternator is loose too. Check too see that everything is in tack and not loose. Then check your grounding points in the car too.

RE: Car turned off while in Drive
 

Not likely the battery or alternator. If the car started ok then battery was good. When driving the engine is running off of alternator and if it had no output your battery would have been dead when you tried to restart. If has only happened one time the dealer will probably not be able to duplicate and will not try to repair anything. Would not hurt though to take in and have the complaint documented that it happened. A stalling problem like that should certainly be covered by your factory warranty and is just a matter of making it happen for dealer so they will be able to determine the problem. May have been a one time weird event as well..

RE: Car turned off while in Drive
 

It started fine, but felt sluggish all the way to work... very strange. then just died at a stop sign. It's been fine ever since. I guess I'll just wait to see if it happens again. I called the dealer and they said that unless there are any warning lights, they couldn't do anything about it....thanks for the input everyone.

RE: Car turned off while in Drive
 

I have had the same thing happen to me twice, months apart oddly at the same stop sign. The lights and radio stayed on and started no problem. The drive never felt sluggish and was a suprise to me both times and didnt happen till i approached the stop sign where 5 or 7 cars were ahead.

RE: Car turned off while in Drive
 

i was in my good old ford when i was getting off at an exit ramp and my car turned off... no power controls at all (no turning, no brakes, etc.) and almost nailed a guard rail since the ramp was going downhill and turned sharply to the right... was hard enough braking let alone trying to hold onto the road while going about 45mph

never did find out what the problem was... but it never happened again.

RE: Car turned off while in Drive
 

wtf is up with cars these days, this is a guess an uneducated guess, but could it be that the ECU for some strange reason decided to reset itself and do a systems check or something like that?

RE: Car turned off while in Drive
 

i had it happen to my iroc once... it was the first year for the tpi

anyways

it used to die when i was rolling up to stop signs, the problem was the iac was clogged by something

idle air controller

when your not on the throttle it is what is contorlling alot of your systems

find out where it is in these cars ( or a similar system) and see if it is clogged up by something or needs to be changed

RE: Car turned off while in Drive
 

Tracker, thats a good Educated Guess man. But why would they want to do that? I mean if it has happened randomly and never happened again. I really like that guess.

RE: Car turned off while in Drive
 

this is kind of like "unsolved mysteries"

RE: Car turned off while in Drive
 

thanks i dont know that much about cars as much as my friends do but i tend to pick up on things kinda quick sometimes, its answers like that just pop into my head.

RE: Car turned off while in Drive
 

What's up with cars these days? It's cuz they're running everything off computers...that's the problem. :eek:

RE: Car turned off while in Drive
 

yeah they try to make cars smarter that are being built by stupid people, actually if think about it its good for the environment purpose and the life of the car....i think, but its bad for the hardcore people who like to tinker with their cars and such, current cars are getting harder and harder to mess with because of the complex configuration of the car but then again, it also brings up the oppertunity for people who want to upgrade cars to give them a challenge and an oppertunity to create truly unique car.

RE: Car turned off while in Drive
 

another problem car programmers have is deadlines ( they need to have the car ready by such and such a date) and thus does not allow for all of the kinks to be worked out.

RE: Car turned off while in Drive
 

Recently (in the last few days) I have experience the same problem, but much more frequently. When at a complete stop, the car will idle for about 10 seconds and then the engine will die. The radio, lights, fans, all stay on...like if you had the key in the 'on' position before starting the ignition. I put the car in park, restart the car, and it will drive fine...as long as I keep the rpms above 1000.

Earlier today I brought it in to the dealership to get it fixed, and the person helping me had no clue but tried to sound like he did. He thinks that by doing an engine computer upgrade it will fix the problem, but they wont get the upgrade for about a week. So I'm still driving with a car that will die in the middle of rush hour traffic...

I'm not sure I believe the computer solution, is there anything else it could be? Right before this happened I had them fix the idler pulley (does that sound right?) They replaced it and then this started happening. I have the paranoid feeling the dealership messed something up...

RE: Car turned off while in Drive
 

Normallywhen they come through my shop for similar problems its and emissiond issue. most commonly either MAf or MAP sensors. Also IAC motors are very commen. Check the throttle plate also. if they get dirty and thee engine is intaking more air then what the ECM thinks it should be it freaks the car out and they will sometimes stall. Generally its nothing big but its a pain to figure out. Very hard to replicate once we get it in the shop.

RE: Car turned off while in Drive
 

Hey wkhoury,

What ended up being the problem/solution?

David

RE: Car turned off while in Drive
 

Has anyone considered the paranormal? My old Honda used to crap out at the same stop sign EVERYTIME I came to it. I could never figure it out. The car NEVER did it anywhere else. I was convinced someone died at that stop sign and was haunting the area. It's funny cuz I dont even believe in ghosts or anything like that (well I do watch Ghost Hunters a lot). Things that make you go...hmmmmmmmmm.

RE: Car turned off while in Drive
 

That's a rotory that goes, "hmmmmmmmm."

(I'm showing my age again, right?) :D:D:D