Ok Car People

[sam_gordon]

I mentioned the accident I was in last week. Got rear ended at a traffic light and shoved into the truck in front of me.

Now, when driving home tonight, the car just loses power and dies. Won't restart. Sounds like it's trying to start but won't. Doesn't sound like a bad battery. Engine never ran rough, just lost power.

2015 Camry.

We never opened the hood after the accident because we weren't sure it would close again.

So, what do you think it can be, and could it be related to the accident?

Currently waiting on the side of the road for roadside assistance.

 

[MillauFr]

I mentioned the accident I was in last week. Got rear ended at a traffic light and shoved into the truck in front of me.

Now, when driving home tonight, the car just loses power and dies. Won't restart. Sounds like it's trying to start but won't. Doesn't sound like a bad battery. Engine never ran rough, just lost power.

2015 Camry.

We never opened the hood after the accident because we weren't sure it would close again.

So, what do you think it can be, and could it be related to the accident?

Currently waiting on the side of the road for roadside assistance.

Bummer. No idea. I had a 1995 Camry that did the same thing. Everytime I would drive it on a road trip that was 2 hours + it would die the minute I pulled up to a traffic light. Brought it in several times and they could never figure out what was wrong. I got frustrated and just got rid of the car in 2011. It did have 140,000 miles on it but I thought it should have lasted longer.

 

[sam_gordon]

I've had the car for two years with no issues. Was cruising on a highway and just lost power.

 

[TwoMisfits]

I mentioned the accident I was in last week. Got rear ended at a traffic light and shoved into the truck in front of me.

Now, when driving home tonight, the car just loses power and dies. Won't restart. Sounds like it's trying to start but won't. Doesn't sound like a bad battery. Engine never ran rough, just lost power.

2015 Camry.

We never opened the hood after the accident because we weren't sure it would close again.

So, what do you think it can be, and could it be related to the accident?

Currently waiting on the side of the road for roadside assistance.

Did you get the car fixed after the accident? I can't believe insurance wouldn't have wanted to have someone look under the hood.

If you didn't, I'd document everything now.

 

[Southernmiss]

We had a Honda Civic do the same thing. 4 mechanics in 3 different towns could not find the issue. We had to get rid of the car.

 

[cvjw]

My son’s 2 year old Toyota rav 4 did the same one morning. Push the start button, you could hear it trying to crank, but it wouldn’t. Toyota came and got it. It needed a new battery. That was 4 years ago. Hasn’t ever done it again.

I hope you figure out what the problem is. If it happened to me and no one could figure out the cause, I would trade in the car.

 

[sam_gordon]

Did you get the car fixed after the accident? I can't believe insurance wouldn't have wanted to have someone look under the hood.

If you didn't, I'd document everything now.

Waiting on an appointment. Car has driven for just over a week. Hoping whatever it is can be blamed on the accident.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Could be a problem with the alternator not charging the battery. If the alternator was damaged at all in the accident, it might not be charging the battery properly, causing the car to shut down.

 

[TwoMisfits]

Waiting on an appointment. Car has driven for just over a week. Hoping whatever it is can be blamed on the accident.

I would inform insurance of this and tell them the car is now non-drivable and you need it evaluated asap.

 

[TCRAIG]

Could be a problem with the alternator not charging the battery. If the alternator was damaged at all in the accident, it might not be charging the battery properly, causing the car to shut down.

This gets my vote

 

[sam_gordon]

I would inform insurance of this and tell them the car is now non-drivable and you need it evaluated asap.

They're my first call in the morning. Well second . Confirm the shop finds the keys. Lol

 

[Skippy918]

Could be a problem with the alternator not charging the battery. If the alternator was damaged at all in the accident, it might not be charging the battery properly, causing the car to shut down.

this sounds about right, cause that’s what happened to me when my alternator on my old car died. The car just shut off and coasted to a stop. Scary cause I was on a highway and it was late.

 

[Lehuaann]

I've had the car for two years with no issues. Was cruising on a highway and just lost power.

Our Lexus did that. Completely died on the freeway near an exit ramp with a dealership. DH coasted right up to the front door. It turned out to be the alternator.

 

[lanejudy]

Sounds like the alternator. That happened to my old car a few years ago. It just died on the Interstate. Good luck!

 

[Cadiewampus]

Could possibly be the Torque converter if it does it while you are stopped. Bad fuel pump is another possibility

 

[kdonnel]

Sounds like a problem that may be difficult to fix because it might be hard to reproduce.

I had an Expedition that ran great but would always stall when going again after going a steady speed for 10 or more minutes. So every time you exited the interstate and came to a stop on the exit ramp you had to know that when you stepped on the gas to go it would just stall. Despite it being relatively easy to reproduce the dealer was never able to fix it. We just learned to never trust pulling out in front of any vehicles.

Good luck, I hope when your appointment comes it never happens again after they fix it.

 

[sam_gordon]

Could possibly be the Torque converter if it does it while you are stopped. Bad fuel pump is another possibility

Sounds like a problem that may be difficult to fix because it might be hard to reproduce.

I had an Expedition that ran great but would always stall when going again after going a steady speed for 10 or more minutes. So every time you exited the interstate and came to a stop on the exit ramp you had to know that when you stepped on the gas to go it would just stall. Despite it being relatively easy to reproduce the dealer was never able to fix it. We just learned to never trust pulling out in front of any vehicles.

Good luck, I hope when your appointment comes it never happens again after they fix it.

Well the car wouldn't start again, but didn't sound like a dead battery. Based on reading here and the internet (so it must be true), it does sound like it could be the alternator. Anyone want to take a guess whether the accident last week could have caused the problem last week? I wonder if some wire got loose in the accident and finally wore out last night.

If it is accident related, then insurance should cover it. But I did find out the service department doesn't work with insurance. The body shop isn't taking appointments until the end of July. So I guess I pay for the repair to get it road worthy again and then hope I can get reimbursed.

 

[kdonnel]

Well the car wouldn't start again, but didn't sound like a dead battery. Based on reading here and the internet (so it must be true), it does sound like it could be the alternator. Anyone want to take a guess whether the accident last week could have caused the problem last week? I wonder if some wire got loose in the accident and finally wore out last night.

If it is accident related, then insurance should cover it. But I did find out the service department doesn't work with insurance. The body shop isn't taking appointments until the end of July. So I guess I pay for the repair to get it road worthy again and then hope I can get reimbursed.

Sounds like a crappy situation.

Accidents never work out in anyone's favor.

 

[sam_gordon]

Well the answer is (probably) in... I ran out of gas. And before someone says "how'd you miss that", the fuel sensor module had failed, so my gas gauge and "miles to go" reading were stuck on "full". And yes, I drove a week and didn't notice my gauge hadn't moved. It wasn't until I was talking to DW today about the fuel sensor that she remembered I had to stop for gas the morning of the accident.

I'm still going to try to get this repair ($1300) reimbursed by insurance for the accident. I still think it's related. The service tech says he can't prove it one way or the other.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Go

Well the answer is (probably) in... I ran out of gas. And before someone says "how'd you miss that", the fuel sensor module had failed, so my gas gauge and "miles to go" reading were stuck on "full". And yes, I drove a week and didn't notice my gauge hadn't moved. It wasn't until I was talking to DW today about the fuel sensor that she remembered I had to stop for gas the morning of the accident.

I'm still going to try to get this repair ($1300) reimbursed by insurance for the accident. I still think it's related. The service tech says he can't prove it one way or the other.

Good to hear you solved the mystery, Sam. Hope it gets covered.