need opinions on a car problem

[PKCSPT]

I am betting someone here will have a great suggestion on what might be wrong.

My mom has 2OOO Buick LeSabre 120,000 ish miles. At 81 she does not have any interest in a new car but I need to be sure this one is safe and right now it is not.

It is in the habit of stalling, highway speeds, city speeds and once as she pulled to a stop. It does not start running rough or any sign just all of a sudden it is slowing down and you realize it stalled out. When I restarted it she ran a little rough for a few seconds then runs fine.

Other than that it has nothing wrong she keeps up on all the regular maintenance.

We had the electronic ignition computer thing replaced and they have gone through and cleaned plugs and filters checked all the plug wires.

[G503AZ]

Karen,
You might want to have to fuel pressure checked.
In-the-tank fuel pumps can get cranky.
Check connetors at sensors.
Had a truck that would die on turns.
Turned out to be a bad connector at the ignition module.
If my guess is right this is a V-6 with distributorless ignition.
If so it has a crankshaft position sensor.
When they go bad engines stall.
Hope this helps.

Mark

[hotrod]

try a gas cap....

[PKCSPT]

Tomorrow we are taking the car in again and I am going to make sure they check your suggestions. Will check back here before we go to see if anyone else has a thought.
I am just scared that this is going to stall out and cause an accident.

[Miriam C.]

Karen I will second the gas cap thing. When my truck started doing that it was small cracks in the intake manifold gasket. Seems the gasket was old an crack all around the bolts. Took them a week to find a reason. Oh and there is a sensor there that failed.....At least that is what I remember of it! CRS

[PKCSPT]

Great, will get that all checked out.
Thanks everyone

[steve smoot]

Check the cheap things first, PCV valve, then spark plus and wires. If it has 120,000 miles and these have not been replaced, I would sure start there.

[LDK]

Check the cheap things first, PCV valve, then spark plus and wires. If it has 120,000 miles and these have not been replaced, I would sure start there.

1+ on this plus a gas cap.

[hotrod]

we had a similar problem wih the wifes 1999 buick, a gas cap solved most of them, it would chug chug chug and buck and carry on till you stopped, turned the engine off, got out took the cap off, put it back on and it would be fine for a couple hundred miles. lolol We put almost 290k on that car....

[PKCSPT]

at around 100,000 I had her replace plugs and put new plug wires on (they were looking old), those odd little things one often overlooks. They also looked them all over trying to figure this out and charged her $150.
I did look at the gas cap and it looked good goes on and off good.
the mechanic was agreeable the in tank fuel pump could cause the problem as they can be sporadic.
We told them to drive it around all they wanted to and I suggested they use it for parts runs til it stalls on them. They are going to drive it with gauges on.

[urban5]

Just as a heads up My Mother had a buick park avenue with the same engine and same symptoms. Her car was slightly older. It ended up being the Ignition Module. The coil packs mount on top of the module that looks like it is just a flat box about .25 inches thick.

Hers actually had a sticky goo that was coming out of the top of the module, and oozing between it and the coil packs. I bought another one at the junk yard off of a car that had been wrecked. Figured the part had to still be good since the car was wrecked. Sure enough it fixed it, but it started acting up a year or so later, and we put a new one on it.

So just in case the gas cap, fuel pressure test check out ok, it's another avenue to look at.

[PKCSPT]

Well after two day they finally had it stall on them with all their gauges and do hickys on it. They are going with a drive shaft sensor. Going to drive it another day before I let her pick it up.

[ssrjim]

GM are known for bad ignition switches. The good news is they are under 30 bucks.

[urban5]

Well after two day they finally had it stall on them with all their gauges and do hickys on it. They are going with a drive shaft sensor. Going to drive it another day before I let her pick it up.

Do you mean Crank shaft Sensor? I don't think that car has a drive shaft

[Mojave Bob]

The symptoms you describe are consistent with a camshaft position sensor. I had a bad connection at my CPS a few years ago, and just like you describe, the engine would just lose power, and it would coast to a stop. Once stopped, the lack of vibration and wind would allow the connection to work, and the car would start right back up. A few seconds of running rough until the computer figured out what was up, and then it would smooth out. Mine logged a code, though. No codes on your mom's car?