Mysterious Car Issue

[Joneslab]

This one is probably way out in left field because my mechanic isn't even sure what's happening, but I thought I'd put it on here in case somebody has had a similar issue.

The car I drive to Frankfort every day is a 2011 Toyota Camry. It has 155,000 miles. Two weeks ago I took it in to Goodyear near our house to have tires put on and an oil change. No problem.

Flash forward exactly one week to this past Tuesday. I'm pulling out of Chik-Fil-A's parking lot and the thing shimmies like it's going to stall out. That's never happened before. It happened again a few seconds later. I got it home with no problems but the shimmying thing worried me. I drive to Frankfort the next morning, no issues. Then as I'm starting back the check engine light comes on and the traction light. (I've heard the traction warning light is connected to the check engine light in some Camrys. May be a malfunction in the wiring.)

This happens as I'm driving home and on I-64, so I just keep plugging away. When I get to the Gene Snyder, it dies on me. Call the tow truck, have them tow it to the shop, and when I meet the tow truck driver at the garage he says, "You know, that car started." That didn't really make me think too much because when it died it didn't just die where the engine went out; it died where I just couldn't give it any juice and the steering wheel locked up.

So the garage finally gets to it on Friday and they tell me it's "throwing all kinds of codes." One is the Master Air Flow sensor, but another has something to do with the rack and pinion system. So they bring in another tech, and this guy changes just the Master Air Flow sensor. They call me to say it's ready, that they've driven it 20 miles with no problems, and I pick it up that afternoon. Soon as I get out of the parking lot the check engine light and the traction warning light come on.

So I drive about 30-40 miles and am coming back from my brother-in-law's on Saturday night...when it dies again. Same thing, except this time the battery and oil lights come on. So I pull over, call the tow truck, and I sit there about 45 minutes. Then I think, "You know, I'm going to try to start it," which I do...and it starts. It runs fine all the way to the garage (three miles).

So they just called me a few minutes ago to say that they put it on the machine again and the code it threw was the Master Air Flow sensor. They ordered a new one, a different brand, and put it on. The mechanic drove the car around...no issues. So I'm going to pick it up after work.

But there's a thought in the back of my mind that something else could be going wrong. Computer issue? Wiring issue? Anybody ever heard of anything like this?

[UK8STL11]

Sorry I can't help much - but the above is why I hate cars....ugh, no fun man.

My son's car had kind of a similar issue, crazy stuff happening that made no sense. They finally (after about 3 months) determined it was a "master computer" problem. They reset and re-wired a bunch of stuff (all WAY over my understanding) and we've had no issues since.

[catfaninin]

Cars these days are so damned hard to diagnose. They don't want the ordinary person to be able to work on anything. My first thought was fuel related. Fuel pump, fuel filter. Those will sometimes give you some of the symptoms you describe. But of course it could be any of a hundred other things as well.

[Joneslab]

Cars these days are so damned hard to diagnose. They don't want the ordinary person to be able to work on anything. My first thought was fuel related. Fuel pump, fuel filter. Those will sometimes give you some of the symptoms you describe. But of course it could be any of a hundred other things as well.

This was my first thought too. I thought I'd just gotten some bad gas. Two days before this all started I stopped into a Speedway that had all brand new pumps and I immediately thought I'd just gotten some water in the tank or something.

That Master Air Flow sensor does have something to do with the fuel lines though. I don't know the technical terms but apparently the first thing the mechanic saw this morning was that the fuel lines were off again, just like they'd been last time. So he fixed those and put on the new air flow sensor.

So maybe that'll fix it...but I worry that it's a computer issue. There seems to be some kind of code the car is feeding to the computer that just kills the engine.

[Lighthouse]

Sorry you're having these issues and hopefully they have it fixed now. Sometimes I think mechanics, and probably not yours, treat the symptoms instead of fixing the problem. This can keep you coming back and gets real expensive.

[Spiritof96]

This one is probably way out in left field because my mechanic isn't even sure what's happening, but I thought I'd put it on here in case somebody has had a similar issue.

The car I drive to Frankfort every day is a 2011 Toyota Camry. It has 155,000 miles. Two weeks ago I took it in to Goodyear near our house to have tires put on and an oil change. No problem.

Flash forward exactly one week to this past Tuesday. I'm pulling out of Chik-Fil-A's parking lot and the thing shimmies like it's going to stall out. That's never happened before. It happened again a few seconds later. I got it home with no problems but the shimmying thing worried me. I drive to Frankfort the next morning, no issues. Then as I'm starting back the check engine light comes on and the traction light. (I've heard the traction warning light is connected to the check engine light in some Camrys. May be a malfunction in the wiring.)

This happens as I'm driving home and on I-64, so I just keep plugging away. When I get to the Gene Snyder, it dies on me. Call the tow truck, have them tow it to the shop, and when I meet the tow truck driver at the garage he says, "You know, that car started." That didn't really make me think too much because when it died it didn't just die where the engine went out; it died where I just couldn't give it any juice and the steering wheel locked up.

So the garage finally gets to it on Friday and they tell me it's "throwing all kinds of codes." One is the Master Air Flow sensor, but another has something to do with the rack and pinion system. So they bring in another tech, and this guy changes just the Master Air Flow sensor. They call me to say it's ready, that they've driven it 20 miles with no problems, and I pick it up that afternoon. Soon as I get out of the parking lot the check engine light and the traction warning light come on.

So I drive about 30-40 miles and am coming back from my brother-in-law's on Saturday night...when it dies again. Same thing, except this time the battery and oil lights come on. So I pull over, call the tow truck, and I sit there about 45 minutes. Then I think, "You know, I'm going to try to start it," which I do...and it starts. It runs fine all the way to the garage (three miles).

So they just called me a few minutes ago to say that they put it on the machine again and the code it threw was the Master Air Flow sensor. They ordered a new one, a different brand, and put it on. The mechanic drove the car around...no issues. So I'm going to pick it up after work.

But there's a thought in the back of my mind that something else could be going wrong. Computer issue? Wiring issue? Anybody ever heard of anything like this?

My car (VW Jetts) did something similar on two occasions about a month ago. It would just die in traffic and wouldn't start even though it would crank. After waiting about an hour it would start and seem to be fine. In that case there were several cracked / broken hoses causing an "EPC error". In my case the hose was fixed and a sensor (I think master air flow) was replaced.

That fixed the issue (allegedly) but I also noticed that I had the issue when I got to less than 1/4 tank of gas, so I am not convinced that there isn't a sensor, filter, or pump in the fuel system that is failing. Time will tell I guess.

[TrueblueCATfan]

Many years agoI had a 1998 Ford Contour and at 32,000 miles the check engine light came on.....took it to every person we knew who worked on cars plus the Ford dealer and after replacing several sensors it finally went off....about a year later it came back on again..took it back and they could not figure out why the check engine light was back on again.....I drove the car with it on until we sold it and I got a new car

[George]

I had an '04 Jetta for a while, and it did something similar (among many, many other things). Turned out to be a fuel line issue.

[Joneslab]

Update!

Picked the car up yesterday afternoon and drove to Frankfort this morning. No issues. No check engine light. So here's hoping that the new Master Air Flow sensor they put in fixes it.

I can't imagine just installing the same part but a different brand would clear the issue up, but maybe there was some handiwork that was lacking the first time they tried it. Who knows. Fingers crossed.

[surveyor]

I can't imagine just installing the same part but a different brand would clear the issue up, but maybe there was some handiwork that was lacking the first time they tried it. Who knows. Fingers crossed.

You'd be surprised the difference it makes. 3rd party parts are akin to buying computer components in bulk. When we opened our office in `98, we purchased computers from a local shop that built their own. Found out later he bought his mother boards, CPUs, fans, drives, etc. in bulk. They'd come loose in a box. About 1/3 of them would be crap. The PCs had warranties but it was of little consolation if you're constantly taking it in for repairs.

[George]

Update!

Picked the car up yesterday afternoon and drove to Frankfort this morning. No issues. No check engine light. So here's hoping that the new Master Air Flow sensor they put in fixes it.

I can't imagine just installing the same part but a different brand would clear the issue up, but maybe there was some handiwork that was lacking the first time they tried it. Who knows. Fingers crossed.

It can make a huge difference.

[Joneslab]

Good to know. I've really never had a car with strange issues like this.

Had the transmission go out on my first car when it had 20,000 miles, but that was specific to Mazda. Broke down on the Gene Snyder once about 10 years ago but that was because I didn't check my oil.

Other than that I've been pretty lucky until this weirdness.

[Dwight Schrute]

My first car was a 1991 Camry that died on the side of the road because of an oil leak. The rot went clear through the side of the engine.

My other weird car issue was with a 2003 Oldsmobile Alero that I learned was common across the entire GM line during that era. It had this security sensor that if you didn't put the key in exactly right would lock the entire car. On more than one occasion I'd pull up to a gas station, fill up the car, then get back in only to have it refuse to crank. I had the thing replaced twice and it still happened. Eventually with some googling I figured out that I could reset it by turning it on to battery power and letting it sit for 10 minutes.

I was so glad when that car finally bit the dust and I could justify trading it in.

[Blue Heaven]

Update!

Picked the car up yesterday afternoon and drove to Frankfort this morning. No issues. No check engine light. So here's hoping that the new Master Air Flow sensor they put in fixes it.

I can't imagine just installing the same part but a different brand would clear the issue up, but maybe there was some handiwork that was lacking the first time they tried it. Who knows. Fingers crossed.

Sorry I am late to this thread. Will, do you mean Mass Air Flow Sensor? Those things can be just cleaned rather easily. Had my mechanic inform me of this as well as the EGR valve. He told me people can keep bringing them in but cleaning them is mostly all you ever have to do.

[Joneslab]

Sorry I am late to this thread. Will, do you mean Mass Air Flow Sensor? Those things can be just cleaned rather easily. Had my mechanic inform me of this as well as the EGR valve. He told me people can keep bringing them in but cleaning them is mostly all you ever have to do.

That's it.

Whatever they did the second time fixed it.

I still have doubts they actually did any work to it the first time, but will never know for sure.