Engine Stalling Intermitently

Model?
model year?
engine?
transmission?
mileage?
any non-factory modifications?

hunsakeralec said:

My engine continues to stall intermittently while I'm driving, almost as if someone is turning the ignition switch off. It has died at speeds up to 50mph but also while slowing to a stop. I've noticed that it almost always stalls while I am shifting or in neutral.

Please let me know if any of you have had this problem and what you have done to fix it. Any suggestions are welcome.

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Has the check engine light come on at any time? It would be nice if there was at least a code to help with the diagnosis.

hunsakeralec said:

My engine continues to stall intermittently while I'm driving, almost as if someone is turning the ignition switch off. It has died at speeds up to 50mph but also while slowing to a stop. I've noticed that it almost always stalls while I am shifting or in neutral.

Please let me know if any of you have had this problem and what you have done to fix it. Any suggestions are welcome.

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Hello hunsakeralec,

We're terribly sorry to hear about this stalling concern you're experiencing with your Cruze, and this is certainly something we don't like to hear. Have you made your dealership aware of this yet? We would welcome the opportunity to reach out to them on your behalf to set up a service appointment. If interested, please send us a private message with your VIN, current mileage, full contact information, and your preferred dealership to move forward.

Sincerely,

Chelsea D.
Chevrolet Customer Care

Faulty main fuel pump. It may not trigger a CEL because the pump is telling the ECU and BCM everything is fine despite not working properly. My wife's Dodge Intrepid did this for 7 years before the fuel pump finally died - no CELs ever, just random stalling.

2012 Chevy Cruze LS
1.8L
Manual Transmission
97,000 miles
Non factory modifications: tuned exhaust, air intake

No check engine light has come on

obermd said:

Faulty main fuel pump. It may not trigger a CEL because the pump is telling the ECU and BCM everything is fine despite not working properly. My wife's Dodge Intrepid did this for 7 years before the fuel pump finally died - no CELs ever, just random stalling.

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But was it a clean stall, or more of a stumble as it ran out of gas?

In my Corsica, it stuttered and stumbled. But when I had a bad fuel injector which caused a computer shutdown, it was clean.

In this case, I'm thinking about the relay problem Nick reported. Since it's so cheap and easy, I'd be very tempted to throw that part at it and see if it fixes it.

Ignition relay, underhood fuse/relay box, label is under the cover, whoever buys my Cruze for parts will get a brand new Panasonic relay.

Never learned if the Cruze is using a brushless DC motor for the fuel pump, but since this adds a buck to the price of the motor and the price they are charging, I sure hope its a brushless motor. Very common in computer fans.

Water in the gas?

Ignition can be instant or stumbling if that point contact is jumping around, fuel is typically stumbling when the engine is trying to run but slowly starving to death, very painful way to go.

I think it might be the throttle body. You say it happens only when in neutral or shifting which makes me think it is somehow idling speed related issue. No CEL does not mean there is nothing detected by te ECU, it might just be pending DTC code that gets itself cleared on the next run.

👀