i love the car, but that aggravating power-stalling problem is coming up again. yesterday going to work i warmed up the car and then drove for about 20 minutes from sherman oaks to calabasas. upon hitting the exit (parkway calabasas), i downshifted from fifth to fourth to third, finally going to neutral from 20 mph down.

when i came to a stop, the car, which was in neutral at the time, STALLED again! aaron at the scion main office has been extremely helpful and diligent in trying to find a solution, and i've made now three trips to the dealer, but each time they can find nothing wrong. of course, the dealer keeps the car for one day, trying to recreate the problem, when i have told them time and again that i've had maybe six occurrences of this in about 5600 or 5700 miles. statistically, keeping the car for one day isn't likely to recreate the problem.

it would be one thing if scion or the dealer were to swap out the engine or the powertrain or replace the fuel line or whatever might be causing this problem, but they haven't. so far the response at the dealer has been, "we can't find it." it's gone through the dealer level to the regional level, and now it's a management issue at scion.

i would think that they would be willing to take the car back, swap me out into another one, and then keep this one for study to figure out what's wrong. to say the least, this is frustrating for an otherwise exemplary car.

 

weird... :? ...definately must be a prob. with your ride only....never happened to me ...anyone else???

 

hey do u have and intake or just stock

 

does the car turn completely off? there were a couple matrix's having the same problem and after changing the throttle body it fixed the problem. it happens close to the way you explained as driving for about 20 mins.

 

bone stock. i put tint on the front windows to make the windows match. i'm sure that's the issue!

 

car goes completely dead. all the lights illuminate on that center pod, and you have to restart the car. several times this has occurred while i was still moving. imagine if i were turning a corner on PCH and this occurred.

i've heard of one other guy with this issue so far, so i'm guessing i got a lemon. maybe this one was assembled during that dockworkers' strike in long beach!

 

it sounds similiar to the same issue that was going on with the matrix. i would have them look into changing out the throttle body. the first step would be to take it to a dealership that will work with you. you will also need to recreate the problem with a tech in the car.

 

bring it to dealer they will take care of it....

oh yea, what level of tints u have for front windows??? i wanna match mine too....

 

the car has been to the dealer four or five times now...i've lost track. one time, the service manager, sat in the car with me while we drove for about 30 minutes in all traffic conditions. we could not recreate the problem, and he could not chalk up the issue to my inability to drive a stick or my driving style.

being that this problem has occurred five or six times in about 5700 miles on the car, statistically i can't imagine that having a tech in the car is going to cause the problem to rear its head again. i've suggested to scion that they keep the car for a month or two and give me a loaner, but they shot down that day. i am open to the idea of having the tech sit in the car with me every time i'm in the car, but that ain't gonna happen.

 

i've been to the dealer four or five times--lost track of how many times now. they haven't been able to solve or recreate the problem. quite frankly, it's frustrating. the only solutions in my mind now are either to start swapping parts of the powertrain and fuel line out of my car or to give me a new car. i've jumped through their hoops--this is really starting to get old.

as far as tint...it was whatever level that more/less matched the stock tint on the rear windows.

 

Hmmm, it might not necessarily be the throttle body itself, but very highly possible that it is an issue with an electronic sensor such as the TPS (Throttle Position Sensor) or even the MAF (Mass Air Flow sensor). Either way, this sounds like a very serious issue, and you gotta make sure the dealership checks the whole car super duper thoroughly!

 

has any tech tried changing any parts? if not, i would call scion corp. then again, it is hard to treat a problem that you don't know what triggers it.

 

When my dad was still alive he was a auto tech for over 30 years and these intermitent problems are the worst to figuer out. I had a 95 golf, auto tranny and would have the same problem, and the tech's at Volkswagon could never get it either my dad and I finally did a load test on the battery and the alternator with a volt meter and we would get a suden drop, to make a long story short there was a short between the alternator and the battery. I got rid of the car after that because of all the problems I had. Try to work things out with the dealer, and if that goes no where go to Corp and see where that gets you if nothing I would look into the Lemon law. Here is a site I found that explains it all: http://home.cinci.rr.com/asktherep/L...C%20states.pdf

Hope this helps, just keep working on it with Scion Corp. Its a new car over here and I'm sure they are willing to do what they can in reason.

James

 

thanks to all for the posts and suggestions. i'll keep you posted. i should be hearing from scion corporate early this next week.

 

a scion rep would be the smart idea.
techs just can't start changing parts if they don't know what the problem is

 

a scion rep would be the smart idea.
techs just can't start changing parts if they don't know what the problem is

 

aaarrrrggggghhhhhh!!!!!!!!!

The same damn thing is happin to me. Took it to my dealer, and they couldn't find anything. Just now coming to work the thing stalled .... although I think I have a better idea now when it happens ... when I'm breaking heavily from speed (comming off the freeway ... haulin @ss down the side streets .... etc :twisted: ) Sound similar?

 

I work at the BBB and take complaints for several different manufacturers. Toyota or Scion is not one of them though. Scion has Dispute Resolution Settlement Board. Don't forget to use it if you feel you have a lemon. The info is in your manual.
The law ( and I am not an attorney but....) says 2 (if safety impaired)- 4 (non-safety)repair attempts and/or 30 days at the d/ship w/in 18 mos. or 18,000 miles, the manuf. should buy the vehicle back. That's for CA at least. Different conditions for different states.

 

Couple of problems with the buy back theory, Scion is going to be reluctant to buy anything back just because the owner says so. Everyone is in the business to make money, and there is no such thing as a free lunch. Even if you do try the lemon law, the court will want to see documentation on the "problem" being fixed by the dealer, but still reoccuring. Otherwise known as heirsay (?).

Keeping this in mind, Toyota does seem to be more open minded when it comes dealing with the customers, a lot more then the domestic dealers. Hopefully if you keep after them, they will help you out.

Some other things to try. Next time it does break down, call the dealer before you restart. If the car is throwing any codes, they may be present at that time, and the mech. can scan for them. Also, take note when it happens, and be specific as possible. Does it stall making hard right turns, sudden stops, whats the weather ( high humidity?) average time it takes to stall ( you had mentioned 20 minutes in, is it about this long everytime?) The more specifics you can give them, the better off you are.

Im keeping my fingers crossed you find the problem, before it drives you insane. I used to have a Plymouth Acclaim that would die during warm up ( nothing like doing 70 mph and have the car stall out and shut off! ) and finally gave up after countless trips to a reputable mech not being able to duplicate, and traded it in.

 

Good advice CB. The lemon law is not clear cut and doesn't guarantee anything. Like CB said, it usually depends on whether these issues are documented or not. The process if free to the consumer (through DisputeSettlement....whatever board) and is not actually a court process. And I think I forgot to note that the first step if you feel you may have a lemon is to try and work it out with the manuf. Also good advice CB, have the vehicle towed (without restarting it) to the d/ship so they can pull the codes. It is hard for a judge of arbitrator to make a determination without something in writing that says you do have a problem. Good luck.