Engine Cut-out on it's Own Twice Now!!!

[marcusturbo]

MB Titanium Diesel, 43000k's & 18 months old.

This is the 2nd time that the car has cut out on my wife, well it is her car. Both times she has been driving along, approaching a junction/roundabout and slowing down. At just about walking pace the engine has cut-out, my wife described it as if the engine stalled, not that easy when an auto box.

The engine has re-started straight away but the following drive it has felt a little rough and the gearbox like it was kinda stuck and not wanting to change gear the way it normal does, think she means the torque not taking up the slack.

Has anyone else had anything similar and thus what was the problem.

Car booked into the garage to be "looked at" and also get a service while it's there.

[Russ]

Originally Posted by marcusturbo

MB Titanium Diesel, 43000k's & 18 months old.

This is the 2nd time that the car has cut out on my wife, well it is her car. Both times she has been driving along, approaching a junction/roundabout and slowing down. At just about walking pace the engine has cut-out, my wife described it as if the engine stalled, not that easy when an auto box.

The engine has re-started straight away but the following drive it has felt a little rough and the gearbox like it was kinda stuck and not wanting to change gear the way it normal does, think she means the torque not taking up the slack.

Has anyone else had anything similar and thus what was the problem.

Car booked into the garage to be "looked at" and also get a service while it's there.

The only things I can think of with it being a diesel is perhaps to do with the DPF and the regeneration (self cleaning) process or otherwise the IAC (idle air control valve). I know in my previous car (GT TDI Golf manual) when driving at slower speeds and the regen kicked in it would run very rough and feel as though it was going to stall, the difference being that you could always put the clutch in and give it a few revs being a manual. Once the process was complete it was back to normal. I had it checked by VW on several occasions but it never had any error codes logged, so they just put it down to being a characteristic of the car :( That was one of the reasons I sold it and went back to a petrol engine. From what you have described it's probably more likely to be fuel related. It may just need to have the fuel filter changed or it could be the IAC needs a clean. I'm not sure what fuel you use but always make sure you refill at a reputable servo as crap diesel fuel does not go down well with these newer engines

[NZ XR6]

Ford seem to have programmed some intelligence into the regen; it never seems to try to do it around town. Maybe it monitors parameters like cat temperature, road speed etc? I think one was in progress when I exited a motorway a few months back as the engine sounded very strange for a minute or two.

It's probably a good idea to take the car for a decent drive regularly if it's just used around town.

[b.e.l]

This happens to me regularly with my MC Titanium, I too think it has something with the DPF regeneration process. I can generally tell when this is in progress as the engine note changes to a deeper note for a while and the engine fan is going flat out along with a slight burning smell if it is still in regeneration mode when I pull into my garage.
I dread stopping at the lights when this is happening because the engine starts to run really rough and wants to conk out so I have to use some throttle as well as brake to keep it going while I'm waiting for the green.
Unfortunately these horrible Powershift auto's don't like throttle and brake action at the same time so the auto goes haywire as well, I find that switching off the car stops the DPF regeneration and then engine returns to normal operation.
If ever happens anywhere near a Ford service centre I'll call in to prove it actually happens, because unless it is happening in front of there eyes they don't believe me, along with other weird stuff.

[apstar]

Originally Posted by NZ XR6

Ford seem to have programmed some intelligence into the regen; it never seems to try to do it around town. Maybe it monitors parameters like cat temperature, road speed etc? I think one was in progress when I exited a motorway a few months back as the engine sounded very strange for a minute or two.

It's probably a good idea to take the car for a decent drive regularly if it's just used around town.

The exhaust temp should increase by the computer if driving around town.I have always said here to take the diesel for a 30 km 110 km/h [where possible] spin to assist the DPF I do a few trips to the ACT and the car feels much better at a return trip to the ACT from Sydney

apstar

[Russ]

Originally Posted by b.e.l

This happens to me regularly with my MC Titanium, I too think it has something with the DPF regeneration process. I can generally tell when this is in progress as the engine note changes to a deeper note for a while and the engine fan is going flat out along with a slight burning smell if it is still in regeneration mode when I pull into my garage.
I dread stopping at the lights when this is happening because the engine starts to run really rough and wants to conk out so I have to use some throttle as well as brake to keep it going while I'm waiting for the green.
Unfortunately these horrible Powershift auto's don't like throttle and brake action at the same time so the auto goes haywire as well, I find that switching off the car stops the DPF regeneration and then engine returns to normal operation.
If ever happens anywhere near a Ford service centre I'll call in to prove it actually happens, because unless it is happening in front of there eyes they don't believe me, along with other weird stuff.

I had exactly the same issue with my Golf TDI only being manual it was possible to keep the idle up without stalling VW were also in denial to any problem as unless it throws an error code as far as they're concerned there is no problem. The later model diesels that are equipped with the DPF's do need a really good run at least once a week to ensure that the engines run efficiently, especially with the lower quality of our diesel fuel over here :( In some instances it may be necessary to take the car to the dealer and they can force a manual regeneration to clear out the DPF. If it stuffs up within the warranty period then it will be covered but outside of warranty it's a very expensive repair :(

[NZ XR6]

Originally Posted by b.e.l

This happens to me regularly with my MC Titanium, I too think it has something with the DPF regeneration process. I can generally tell when this is in progress as the engine note changes to a deeper note for a while and the engine fan is going flat out along with a slight burning smell if it is still in regeneration mode when I pull into my garage.
I dread stopping at the lights when this is happening because the engine starts to run really rough and wants to conk out so I have to use some throttle as well as brake to keep it going while I'm waiting for the green.
Unfortunately these horrible Powershift auto's don't like throttle and brake action at the same time so the auto goes haywire as well, I find that switching off the car stops the DPF regeneration and then engine returns to normal operation.
If ever happens anywhere near a Ford service centre I'll call in to prove it actually happens, because unless it is happening in front of there eyes they don't believe me, along with other weird stuff.

Exactly, I had the deeper engine note when I exited the motorway. For a moment I thought there was something wrong with the exhaust.

But apart from that one incident, it just has not been a problem. It could either be that most of my driving is motorway or open road, or maybe they've changed something with the MC?

Thanks for the tip about turning the engine off, might be useful one day.

[marcusturbo]

Thanks for your replies and ideas, food for thought and maybe something to through at the garage to check, somehow?????

I was taking to one of the guys are work, he does Allison Transmissons, and he says that there could be something wrong the "lock-up" on the gearbox and that it's not releasing as the car is almost at a stop & thus making the engine stall.

When I do get to drive the car, I give it a good boot when I can, not easy in Perth, usually pulling away from traffic lights on speeding up to join freeway. Normally the first couple of boots results in quite large plumes of dark exhaust fumes like the good old fashioned diesel donks but eventually it stops and the exhaust stays clear. I also like to change gear manually and make the engine rev just a little higher than normal to burn off any carbon that's built up from the wife's week of town driving.

[NZ XR6]

You definitely have a problem with your emission controls - it should never smoke like that! Hopefully your dealer can sort it.

[Russ]

x 2, I never saw any smoke from my Golf diesel with DPF. There is definitely an emissions problem somewhere in the system (or it was a Friday arvo build day and they forgot to fit a DPF)

[marcusturbo]

Ok so the car was in the garage today and surprisingly all went better than I thought. I received a phone call from the technician after he had the car on the diagnostic machine and some good news was that there were a couple of stored codes. The main one was that the airflow actuator was jammed and not moving freely and the other a fuel fault code due to the wrong air flow readings. So they have removed the actuator and it freed it up, tested it and all seems good for now, just need to keep an eye on it.

I took the car for a drive tonight and it feels a little smoother pulling away and also on light throttle apps it responds quicker than before. I also noticed that there is no longer any smoke coming from the exhaust.

Also there was the normal your rear brake pads and discs are shot and need replacing with a quote of $807 to fix......no thanks. I'll check them myself at the weekend.

18months - 45000k's and still one of the best cars out there, well maybe I XR5 was just a touch more playful, fun & defo sounded better.

[NZ XR6]

Good to hear that you got it sorted.