Maybe MAF sensor going bad
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I started my I30, the HIDs came on since it was in Auto mode and I was in the garage, the Bose was on, the auto climate control was on (in Econ mode, so a/c was off), and I turned on both seat heaters cuz it was pretty cold, then 10 seconds later, I feel the car stuttering, I continue to back out of the garage, so pretty much most of the tail lights were on, then the car died while backing up... It started back ok, so I turned off the HIDs and seat heaters and it seemed to be normal again.

Is it the battery? Was I drawing too much power at the same time? The alternator was replaced last month and all is well, so I don't think it's the alternator again. Should I wait a minute after starting the car before turning on the seat heaters? The whole point of heated seats is so we don't have to wait to warm up our seats, having to wait totally negates the purpose.

 

If it were the battery, I don't think your car would have started again without a jump.

 

sometimes the fuel pump will surge.... may just have been something small like that. I wouldn't worry about it unless something like that happens again.

 

So no one thinks it's the battery? I remember when I had a Mazda Protege and the alternator belt broke, thus the battery wasn't charging, and it was stuttering the exact same way before it died, but you are right 96i30azn, it wasn't able to start back up without a jump, and my I30t was able to start back up without any hiccup, so maybe that rules out the battery.

Weeble1, I am not sure what you mean by "fuel pump will surge", does it mean fuel isn't flowing normally? Is that a common problem? My driveway is pretty steep, I don't know if that has anything to do with it. The 2K1 Max died once too on the driveway, but it was cuz it was low in fuel, my I30t has about 3/4 tank full.

 

Alternator possibly not charging battery...

 

that's exactly what I mean, It might not have been feeding fuel. I don't think with that much gas in your car that it would be because of the incline. And as far as I know it's not a common problem.

 

Check the connections on your battery cables. They could be on there poorly or corroded. That would explain why you died and then were able to start back up again.

I doubt its the alternator because if that had crapped out, you'd be looking at a dead battery.

 

Thanks for the inputs guys. It did it again today, 3 times! All while trying to go in reverse, it was fine when it started, but once I put it in reverse, it starts to stutter then dies. Now I am guessing it has something to do with the cold start and idle speed when in reverse. Later on when the engine's all nice and warm, I decided to try it in reverse again, and it was fine.

I don't know if this has anything to do with it, but I noticed the fuel cap was loose, I KNEW the lady didn't tighten it correcly, I didn't hear any click at all after she was done fueling, I was going to retighten it after I get home, but I totally forgot about it. Stupid Oregon law, we can't fuel our own cars, we have to wait for them to do it. It's such a long wait and unreliable, loose caps, fuel spills, wrong octane! I was so much happier fueling it myself when I was living in Cali.

 

see I have that same problem too only on cold starts Iam tring to figure out that same problem.

 

Does it spit and sputter at all when speeding up while it's still cold? Does it only do it in reverse or drive too?

 

yes it does spit and sputter when speeding up or slowing down while it's cold but when it's warmed up then it's all ok.

 

Check the fuel pressure at start up.

 

how would I check t he fuel pressure?

 

Nevermind...

 

Install a fuel pressure gauge after the fuel filter. The gauge should read 43 psi when the key is at the 'on' possition prior to start up and then drop to 34 psi once the engine is started.

 

Sounds EXACTLY like what was recently going on with my A32. I would start it, but I felt it sorta sputtering and hesitating. I thought maybe an O2, but EGR was coming up so couldn't be that. So I decided clean out the throttle body just to see what that might do and the car started up fine and ran fine for a couple runs, but then back to the same ol BS. As SOON as I would try and shift gears it would choke itself out.

Then it got to the point to where it would start but conk right out, didn't even reach the changing gears stage anymore. I had to start it and simultaneously give it some gas and keep the RPM's at about 1-1,500 until it warmed up enough and the valve opened then it would idle fine by itself.

Anyways, got it checked out by another guy and it ended up being the Crank Sensors. There's 2. One runs about $60 and the other $100 range. Not sure if this is what you got, but it sure sounds VERY similar.

 

I would clean the POS and REF crank sensors before replacing them. Sometimes the POS can get metal shavings stuck on it from the starter ring on the fylwheel/flexplate.