Stalled Car? 3 Possible Reasons Your Vehicle Is Stalling

When your car stalls, this puts you in a dreadful situation. The following guide will help you diagnose 3 common reasons why your car might have stalled. This could help you and your mechanic get to the bottom of the problem quicker.

Bad Fuel Filter

Your fuel filter is responsible for keeping debris or other particles from entering your engine. The fuel filter can fail or get clogged up. Your engine will die if it does not receive the correct amount of gasoline. The following are a few signs that could signal a bad fuel filter:

• Trouble starting your car
• Acceleration issues
• Backfires
• A foul smell coming from your exhaust (this smell could also be associated with a bad catalytic converter)

Talk to your auto care specialist if you notice these signs, and make sure you have the number to your towing specialist just in case.

Faulty Oxygen Sensor

The oxygen sensor (O2 sensor) is one of the components responsible for proper air-to-fuel mixture. This mixture is the heart of proper combustion inside your engine and the reason your car has power. Any miscalibration of air could disturb that balance and make your car stall. The following are a few signs that you have a faulty O2 sensor:

• Engine pinging
• Bad fuel economy if your O2 sensor is making your engine ask for more fuel to compensate the air inside your engine
• Rough idling
• Engine misses, especially at lower speeds or while idling
• Surging when your car is warm

Contaminated Or Bad Gas

The kind of gasoline that you put in your car could be the problem. Yes, putting the wrong gasoline in your car could make it stall, so make sure you put the right gasoline in your car.

Gasoline contaminated with water could also give you problems. Gasoline does not have a long shelf-life and usually begins the phase separation process in 90 days. (This is especially important if you have a car that sits. Be sure to drive it around every couple of days to prevent this issue.) Some manufacturers recommend that you change your fuel every 14 to 30 days. This change is to take into account how long the gas has been sitting at your gas station.

Separated water is also referred to as watered-down gad, and watered-down gas can definitely stall your vehicle. The following are a few signs that may signal a problem:

• Your car will have trouble starting. It will likely start, and stall after a while.
• Sputtering or stalling while idling
• Hesitation when you accelerate

Talk to your auto care specialist to help you get to the bottom of the problem as soon as possible. Remember to keep the number of a 24-hour towing company, like Standish Towing & Recovery Ltd, on hand, especially if you've noticed the aforementioned signs.