Q: Intermittent Stalling

asked by on May 16, 2017

When it's cold the car starts rough with a rich smell of exhaust. Once it reaches running temperature if I'm idling it will die unless I'm on the freeway or giving it gas. It acts like it's out of gas but will usually start up within a few minutes. After that it can idle for pretty much however long I want. If I shut it off for a few hours after full warm up and driving for a bit and it hasn't cooled completely off it does the same thing. Won't start and acts like it's out of gas until it's completely cooled off again. But if I shut it off and try restart maybe while it's still hot, it starts right up.

My car has 157000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.

The statements expressed above are only for informational purposes and should be independently verified. Please see our terms of service for more details

Get an instant quote for your car

Our certified mechanics come to you ・Backed by 12-month, 12,000-mile guarantee・Fair and transparent pricing


Experienced Mechanic?

Earn up to $70/hr

What others are asking

Engine stalls out for no reason, what’s wrong?
There a number of things that can cause your vehicle to have this problem. Possible problems include a faulty Mass Airflow Sensor, a Crankshaft Position Sensor, and the Loss of fuel pressure. Intermittent problems can take more time to isolate...
can i switch between syn-blend oil & regular oil when i change it ?
According to Pennzoil, synthetic (including blends) and regular oil are completely interchangeable and thus there is no restriction on "switching" back and forth at any time. The main thing of concern with engine oils is that you are using the...
Orange wrench light
Hi there: The orange wrench light is typically a service due notification; that lets a car owner know that routine maintenance needs to be performed. The fact you're having serious driving issues like this with this error light appearing as...
What is the best way to replace the catalytic converter?
The y pipe for the catalytic converters connects to the exhaust manifolds near the rear of the engine. There's a transmission crossmember that needs to come out and a couple of brackets, but swivel sockets help out a lot in...
I used stop leak to fix a slow leak in my water pump,it worked but the car went into limp mode after it.
Stop leak in the cooling system is likely to cause more problems than it will solve. Modern cooling systems are much more finely drawn and have far smaller passages than older cars, and stop leak will jam things up. I...
Rough idle
Hi There, A rough idle may be caused by many different things such as low fuel pressure, low voltage to the fuel injectors, dirty fuel injectors, a vacuum leak, a faulty Oxygen sensor or a dirty or failing idle air...
Installed new delphi fuel pump and fram fuel filter. still no pressure on fuel rail valve and wont start. 2003 Chevrolet Tahoe
Hi there - I suspect you have weak power getting to the fuel pump. I would first check the voltage coming out of the fuel pump relay (https://www.yourmechanic.com/article/symptoms-of-a-bad-or-failing-fuel-pump-relay). If the contacts in the relay are burned, you will not get...
My car has a Maintenance alert with a "man icon" that just reads "Other." what does this mean? I have about 47k miles on it.
I went through all the possible icons in the owners manual and does not show an icon as you describe. I can only recommend you get the vehicle checked and scanned for problems and if you can send a picture...
RPM
Claimed by Jeff Engstrom

Related articles

A Buyer’s Guide to the 2012 Kia Sportage
The The 2012 Kia Sportage is a compact Sub that offers quality, reliability, and great fuel economy. It has lots of nice features that come standard, an available turbocharged engine, and a sleek looking style that make it attractive to...
The Top 5 Selling Cars in Kansas in 2012
Kansas Kansas sees a varied climate with all four seasons, which means drivers in the area choose a variety of vehicles. In years past, some of the front-runners have included the Ford F-150, Buick and Toyota Camry. 2012’s top five...
Kia Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) Car Program
If If you have been shopping for a used Kia vehicle, you may want to check out cars under their certified pre-owned program. Many manufacturers have a certified pre-owned (CPO) program, and each one is set up differently. Read on...