Car keeps turning off while driving : HELP
 

OK so I am driving and the engine just turns off/stalling usually at low speeds or when I brake but was able to get it home by putting it back in netrual or park and start it and give it some gas and go. weird huh? any help would be useful its a 2000 infiniti i30 has about 138k miles just recently replaced the battery and starter.

Have you done a general inspection of the vehicle yet? This could be many things... the main thing that comes to mind is a massive air leak (i.e. the intake came off). Could also be bad battery cables or alternator.

yes everything is fine and battery is fine because when it does stall every else is still on like lights, radio, etc. maybe it could be when my mechanic replaced the starter he forgot something but that still doesn't make since because it drove fine for a week after he replaced the starter so this is all so confusing.

if the problem started after the battery and starter change i would take a good look at those. does the car idle fine in park?? like the previous guy said it sounds like some time of air leak

Starter has nothong to do with a vehicle stalling.

well I was about to reply saying I fixed it but I didn't. I had reset the ECU and it worked for a few min. But the problem is back and Ill tell you in detail. It happens when the engine is warm and once started it idles fine but right after it stalls the first time it starts to idle all weird on me with the idle needle either all the way down or when I'm reviving it. when ever it stalls I quickly put it in netruel while rolling or stopped and start it and give it high revs and put it in drive and drive off. It only happens when car is coming to a stop or when I press the brakes while coming to a stop.

also where do I look for a air leak?

Does it stall as soon as you put it into drive? it sounds like a lock-up tourqe convertor problem so far, major labor $$ if that's the case. Scan your codes, and does your overdrive light flash several times when you first start the car?

nope doesn't happen when I put it into drive and no overdrive light flashes at all, I got one code which was p0430 which was 02 sensor but Ive had that for about 4 months.

well today I cleaned the maf with maf cleaner and put in a new air filter and reset the ecu. so far so good but it acts like it wants to stall because it idles really low when at the stop sign or signal and i also hear a whining noise like there might be a air leak? hmm so confused

Even though it might not be related, replace your O2 sensors. The number one rule of self diagnostic work is the make sure the vehicle is code free before you begin.

Try adjusting your base idle. Follow the directions in the 4th gen stickies.

^^^ What he said.

I used to have a problem with a very shaky idle on my 01 I30t at 118K miles- the diagnostic returned a faulty MAF. The dealership changed the MAF and reporgrammed the ECM and then it started to do exactly the same thing as you described...then they said something is wrong with the ECM and they need to replace it. Since I did not have to pay for it, I agreed - and everything worked out very well ever since.

I only hope you don't need to go that route, it can be quite expensive.

About that shaky idle, did it only happen during the first few minutes of a COLD start? And only during cold weathers? Mine did that, it would shake a bit and then stalls, but it's been over 50 degrees here lately, so it didn't do that for a while now :clap:. Brio suggested it's the ECM, but I want to confirm the symtoms+solution+result before doing the fix, it's quite costly.

No, the revs used to jump like crazy at all the times, especially while in Park or Neutral. During driving, the revs were steadier but high (~2000) and the car was drivable. But that was before changing the MAF.

After changing the MAF and when I started to experience the stalls, yes, I had to wait until the coolant temp reached the operating range before being able to move the car, otherwise it would stall on me, no matter what. Even after that, the revs would drop during braking and stall on occasions, but it was a bit better than with the cold engine. And I forgot to mention, the MIL was on.

All this happened during May 2005, in SW Ontario (~50 degrees). I did not wait for the weather to warm up so I cannot confirm a change in the behavior due to the weather. All of these have been fixed in my case by changing the ECM - everything returned to normal.

I hope it helps - let me know if you need more details.

Thanks! That was fast and thorough :). Mine doesn't have any MIL/SES/CEL on, so I am still uncertain of the cause. I'll see if it'll happen again, spring is here, and the temperature should keep rising, so I may not have to worry about it for quite a while.

Here is a maintenance list in order of importance, whatever you have already done in the last 12 months, disregard...

1) PCV Valve - get it directly from Nissan or Infiniti dealership, about $15
2) Replace your faulty oxygen sensor, it sets your injector pulse width through the electronic fuel injection system so you might be stalling from lack of fuel, get it from Nissan or NGK its about $100.
3) Check your spark plugs, if they are fouled buy some NGK Platinum Plus plugs for about $12 a piece.
4) Fuel filter - put in a '90-'94 300ZX fuel filter, old one might be further restricting fuel flow autozone it for about $15
5) Get yourself a cold air intake for increased airflow for under $120, from where ever you prefer, just dont get the Injen.
6) Pour some injector cleaner in your gas tank... the only brand that works for sure is Chevron Techron Concentrate Plus, I have a friend who works at a fuel testing facility and he passed that information on to me... its about $12 at autozone or strauss.

Good luck buddy!

I'd go oem on this as well.

This happened on my friend's 2000 I30t with 137k miles on it. The idle would drop and then it would stall out while waiting on red lights, going slow, etc. (going from 1000rpm to about 600 to 400 then stall out).

I changed the Idle Air Control Valve (IACV) assembly along with the Idle Air Control sensor and it runs fine afterwards.

I'm having a similar issue. For a while my car was idling weird, and then yesterday while I was slowing down at a rotary the car just turned off. When I started it, I'd have to rev the engine and then quickly put it in drive or it would stall out again. I took it to a mechanic down the street and he replaced the MAF, which is odd because I just had that replaced 8 or 9 months ago. It's not stalling anymore, but it is still having trouble idling, sometimes it'll idle around 1.5k to 2k, other times it'll be under 1k.

I also have had codes for an o2 sensor, but when I took it to get inspected the guy said he couldn't find anything wrong with them. Odds are he just didn't know what he was doing.

P0430 is cat efficiency, there is a 20% chance it's caused by an up or downstream o2 sensor, but 80% of the time on 5g's it's the cat. P0430 is bank 2, so it's the one by the radiator, which now brings us to 90% chance it's the cat since 5th gen's always need those.

Are you in Mass by any chance? Not many states with Rotary's..........

I'd bet big on IACV

When this happened to my car I cleaned the throttle body, fixed it.

+1 on the IACV (idle air control valve)

they are notorious for lasting only around 100k miles.

Check your Idle Gauge Valve, same exact thing happend to me awhile ago except sometimes, instead of stalling out, the car would idle at 450 which is VERY low

Is this one of the things that, when it fails, takes the ECM down with it?

Wow, im having identical symptoms on my 2000 Infiniti I30 with 154k. I thought it was the coil packs, I am going to clean that IACV out like it was a bank. Hope I come back on this thread with good news.

Also, +1 for this thread being 4+ years old

Bringing this back from the dead lol. I am having very similar issues with this and notice that it happens after the car warms up a bit. It starts up and idles fine and drives fine but suddenly will bog down and even if I hit the gas pedal feels like its trying hard to catch itself from dying. I changed the IACV and seems to have gotten better but it still randomly wants to stall. Also replaced all the coil packs and spark plugs. No codes beside P0180 which is for a fuel temp sensor, could this cause this? I have a really dirty Cold Air Intake filter, could this cause this issue?
Dirty MAF?

Any and all help is appreciated! TIA!

Many CAI filters are washable. You should wash yours...or replace it...maybe with a factory airbox and OEM filter...because CAIs do jacksheet to help your engine until you have a bunch of other stuff done to it too. The i30 came stock with a cold air intake...where outside air is channeled straight from the outside through the filter and box and directly into the throttle body. It is a very good design, and no aftermarket CAI will do much better.

Anywhoo, that is probably not the issue, and it is hard to say what the issue is because a lot of things can result in what you are experiencing. Fuel pressure being too low can do that. Do a fuel pressure test. You mentioned a fuel temp sensor code...fix that. Clean the throttle body, remove it if you can, and scrub it out til it shines. Youtube has infoz on that. Cant say that those things will fix it, but they are good things to do and if they are mucked up they can result in the problems you are experiencing.

*UPDATE*
So I figured out what it was. My issue ended up being the MAF sensor. My CAI filter was super dirty and I cleaned it and figured the MAF would be dirty as well. I just ordered a Refurbished OEM one on Ebay and popped it in and the car drives like butter again. Hope this helps someone!

I had the same problem in 2001 Infiniti I30 109 k miles I change the fuel filter and the fuel pump cost around $60 the fuel filter and the fuel pump there in the gas tank is little bit hard to take it apart but you can do it . Now the car is running just fine I have no problem. I want to tell you I'm not a mechanic but I'm not afraid to take things apart.
I hope this help !