Why would a car shuts off for no reason?

Hi,

I've visited my non-Toyota mechanic twice. He has a good reputation in the neighborhood for being very honest.

Back in 11/07, I had my tune up, as well as new spark plugs and timing belt replaced. All of a sudden in January, my car turned off while waiting at a stop light. It wasn't particularly hot or cold, but it was while I was out of town and had driven about 75 miles that day. It turned back on right away. It became an intermittent and entirely random problem, maybe once every couple of weeks or days. I don't drive that far usually, so my car doesn't normally get too hot and I couldn't find a particular pattern.

I barely drove it at all, but since I'm moving cross-country, I decided to get it checked out, as well as my oil change. The mechanic said this is a very common problem that the throttle is dirty, so they cleaned and lubed the assembly. The next day, it turned off again while at a stop light. I noticed that the idle dropped real low before it did so.

I brought it back. He said, it wasn't the assembly and he'd have to do testing and it wasn't going to be easy to find the problem. He couldn't replicate my problem and couldn't find anything wrong with the car, he ran all his diagnostics and drove it 5 miles without any problem. He said he "put chemicals in" to clean the fuel. I think he meant injectors (?) This was Friday. I drove my car about 5.5 miles later that night. It was super smooth (big difference in performance). Parked it. Three hours later, got in. Every time I stopped, it would hesitate. It didn't turn off but when I pressed the gas, it would hesitate.

Then I parked. When I tried to start the car, it cranked but wouldn't start. Ten minutes later it started fine and drove great.

It drove it twice today. In the morning it was fine but a little weird. The RPM almost went up to 3k just up a slight incline. While at a stop sign it seemed to idle a little loud and when it quieted down, I noticed the idle dropped very slightly. On my way home it was totally fine. Tonight, I drove it 5.5 miles, it hesitated at every stop light, even when warm (after a short jaunt on the freeway). A couple of hours later, I drove back and it didn't hesitate at all, but when I went to parallel park and was in reverse without pressing on the gas, the engine turned off. It did the same thing as yesterday and wouldn't turn on. I waited a few minutes, it turned on long enough for me to finish the parallel park and it turned off again.

What is going on? I'm so confused. I'm gonna take it back Monday to the mechanic but can't find any other posting with a story similar to mine.

Thank you. Would you have any ideas why the problem would have changed with the fuel cleaner? I mean, before the fuel cleaning it would stop every now and then, but start up right away. Now it is having frequent problems and not wanting to start up again. I am losing sleep over this. So tired.

Yeah, it's kinda interesting. I took the car to the dealer. I'm not a mechanic so I don't know how to do what you were talking about. I barely know how to check my fluids. Though I really want to learn these things! It's important.

They found the solution after driving around and it breaking down on them. They said it was the ect sensor. I have to say, that when I drive the car I feel a knot in my gut, cause i'm worried they got the wrong thing. I mean, I believe them, but after all this drama, I don't know whether to believe it or not!

HELLO HELLO HELLO. My car issue is it stalls when I come to a stop. If I floor the gas pedal it sometimes prevents the car front cutting off. I just replaced the fuel filter. PROBLEM just started up again. Hmmm. What else could it be? THANKYOU HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL OF YOU

Engine coolant temp sensor?

I am having the exact same problem. With my 1994.4 cyl.139,000 mile Toyota Camry.

My car is doing the same thing.I also have had a new fuel filter put on mine. My car mostly only does it when it rains.I have also had a new distributar put on it and it still does the same thing. When it decides to it will shut off everytime I come to a stop. Or after it ahs been sitting and idling a few minutes.

The exact same thing is happening with my 94 camry. Did this solve your problem?

My Camry has been stalling as of late. I have taken it into Toyota who advise the car has no codes and cleaned the intake manafold. The car has a slight hesitation when driving above 3000 rpm. It then drops its RPM's at stops which leads to a stall. If I restart the problem goes away until again I drive above 3000 rpm. If at the time before stalling I put the car in neutral and rev it up, it idles fine. It also idles fine when I drive on a trip and keep my rpm ess than 3000.

Check the egr valve. It sounds like the valve is sticking and or stuck!

I have a 1994 Toyota Camry, 4 cylinder xle and after approximately 6mins, it stalls every time I stop at a stop sign or red light with my foot on the brake in DRIVE position. I've had the intake system checked and cleaned and the air hose replaced and a lot of other stuff cleaned or replaced. I've also noticed that it IDLES very low when it's in the DRIVE position with my foot on the brake. It shakes, then stalls. Could it be something related to the spark plugs or the idle itself or some other hose--I don't see any rips in any of the hoses. I'm at my wits end. Please help me with any info you may have to resolve this problem I'm experiencing with this car. It'll be much appreciated. Thank you so much.
Jason

Does the vehicle seem to have a miss just before it dies? If so, a common problem is that the ignition coil will get a crack in it. The only way to see this is to remove the distributor cap, and rotor and protector piece under the rotor. Visual inspection will reveal a crack. Be sure that you have a absense of spark through the spark plug wires before spending the time to inspect the coil.

A friend jump started another car and it created a charging problem on his. After this his car died as a result of a low battery. He replaced the alternator and once again had the same problem. He returned the alternator and after testing they found the regulator no good and suggested a short somewhere. I have looked at it and checked the fuses in the kick panel and under the hood and all are good. My question is where to start to look for a short. Any ideas? Thanks for the help in advance !