2002 Buick Century car stalls

2002 BUICK CENTURY
128,000 MILES • V6 • FWD • AUTOMATIC
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ANNE EMBERSON
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
I can drive several miles before I have problems.But when I slow up like stopping at stop light or slowing down to turn a corner my engine stalls with no warning ,At night the lights are on they don;t dim or flash. There are no
dash indication that anything is wrong .All power is lost and I can hardly move the steering wheel ,power streering is gone. Put it in Park immediately and it will start no problem. I have had a mechanic use diagnostices on the car and nothing shows up everything appears normal.I have upped the gas recently to high octane 91%
Have also used isopropol and fuel injector cleaner.I know it is an older car but was hoping to last thru the winter.I am retired and can not afford to get a different vehicle now.Could it be the computer in the car of the
gas pump which is located inside the gas tank.(What a stupid place for it).Please help I am desperate.
Sep 3, 2014 at 4:37 PM
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CARADIODOC
  • ✓Experienced Mechanic
  • 34,406 POSTS
The fact that you can restart it right away suggests you have a low-idle speed problem and nothing else. Two things to look for are the air passage around the throttle blade is plugged with carbon, and there's carbon buildup on the throttle blade. Cleaning either of those solves a lot of elusive problems, especially after people try all the expensive and less-common things.

Chrysler had a lot of trouble with carbon plugging the air passage on their Mitsubishi 3.0L engines in the '80s, which is what I'm driving right now. Those problems have disappeared with the better additives in today's fuels. Your engine uses the same part for idle speed control and you check the passage the same way. Remove the idle speed motor and look into the passage to see if it's clear or blocked with carbon. You can wash it out with carburetor cleaner.

Clean the backside of the throttle blade with that cleaner and a tooth brush.

Also check the fresh air tube between the mas air flow sensor and the throttle body. There can't be any leaks in it anywhere. Any air that sneaks in without going through the mass air flow sensor will not get fuel to go with it.
Sep 3, 2014 at 5:27 PM
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