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Shutting off while driving

64K views 35 replies 23 participants last post by  200_S_AWD 
#1 ·
2015 200 Limited purchased in 09/2014, ~5700 miles when first incident happened

Back on June 12 around 8pm, I was driving down the highway going about 55mph when my car just completely shut off while in the left lane. No indicators of it happening, just driving at one point then pushing the accelerator did nothing and then I got the beeps and message to put the car in park so I could start it again. Almost got hit twice, I was stuck in the left lane bringing it to a stop and it failed to start 3 times. Just revved for about 10 seconds, failed, rinse and repeat. It finally started on the fourth time and I was thankfully able to get home. It did not start at all for the rest of the night.

Called the dealer the next morning, got roadside to pick up the still dead car, got to the dealer and while taking it off the tow truck it actually started. Dealer looked at it for about 5-6 days, said it was fine and they couldn't find anything wrong with it. I should also say it was serviced for the recall back when I got my oil changed a few months before this. I got it back and it never gave that same satisfying start up noise when pushing the button, it sounded shallow like it wasn't fully firing up.

Then on June 29, I was in school for a few hours, came out to the lot and the car would not start. I called roadside, they towed it to the dealer again and it has been there ever since. They said it was part of the transmission, had a special tech come in and take it apart, then wound up ordering a new transmission. While test driving the car in their lot, it broke down again with a brand new tranny in it, now they say its the electronic shifter and the part is backordered.


I'm curious if anyone else has had this issue, and how it was resolved. I've been in contact with the dealer and with Chrysler, both have been telling me to talk to each other so I'm stuck in a loop right now. In NJ, I am within the Lemon Law requirements to start the process but I would really rather not as I am leaving for school in 6 weeks and want it resolved in the fastest way possible. I don't feel comfortable in this car anymore and want a replacement, has anyone had luck with this and what way did you go about it?
 
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#2 ·
Just experienced this actually about 6 hours ago, I knew it was coming because I could feel the transmission kicking and jolting while trying to drive, then other morning I went to put it in drive and it said "Put car back in Park then select desired gear" with the D gear light blinking. Then this morning in the middle of driving it completely cut off, I got to the side of the road thank god, I tried to turn it on, nothing. Waiting about ten seconds to try again, about three seconds later you can hear it trying to turn over to start, it struggled but finally came on.


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#4 ·
Just experienced this actually about 6 hours ago, I knew it was coming because I could feel the transmission kicking and jolting while trying to drive, then other morning I went to put it in drive and it said "Put car back in Park then select desired gear" with the D gear light blinking. Then this morning in the middle of driving it completely cut off, I got to the side of the road thank god, I tried to turn it on, nothing. Waiting about ten seconds to try again, about three seconds later you can hear it trying to turn over to start, it struggled but finally came on.


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I was thinking it could be a TIPM issue until you said you know it's coming because of the transmission kicking and jolting.
 
#8 ·
Apparently they said all I needed was an oil change, for the kicking jolting and stalling to stop. Got the car back yesterday and it's running fine. Let's see if that was the fix.
Sorry, that is about the saddest thing I ever heard. If that came from your dealer ( it's representative ) I would have asked to talk with the service manager.
An oil change could in no way affect how the transmission was operating or the electronics and the controls to the transmission.
I suggest your thoroughly read your invoice and the description of the work performed.
 
#13 ·
I'm in NJ, it's the Turnersville Jeep Chrysler dealership. I have the documentation, it states the problem I told them I was having, and that they did an oil change. He also stated that he test drove the car, it stalled..they did the oil change and everything was working fine after that 
Ouch ! Literally 2 miles down the street from me ... but I don't go there.
New dealer ( owned by Foulke group, Cherry Hill Dodge Triplex, etc. ) but still a new dealer, new mechanics and new service advisers.
Now I know I won't ever go there.
 
#15 · (Edited)
Your initial post sounds almost exactly like my story. First of all, your car is not fixed. There is absolutely no possibility that an oil change fixed your problem. It WILL break down again.

My car had its transmission replaced and then broke down one mile from my house after I got it back. I am in the lemon law process now. When you win Chrysler has to pay you back everything you have spent on the car AND they will pay your lawyer fees. It will not cost you a dime when you win.
 
#20 ·
I guess if as suggested the car automatically shuts down as a failsafe, we should all carry a quart of oil in the trunk.
 
#21 ·
Sorry, but it is not at all logical that any on-road passenger-carrying vehicle would be engineered to deliberately shut down due to low oil level, without first providing a warning indication and allowing time to drive to a safe location. Any system that was deliberately designed like this would be putting the protection of the engine ahead of the occupants of the vehicle and of other vehicles sharing the road, which ought to be grounds for major liability damage claims and awards.

Might the engine run poorly due to low oil level and even stall? Possibly. But be deliberately designed to shut down without warning? Not likely.

The first symptom of low oil level would be elevated oil temperature relative to coolant temperature, for which a warning indication could be engineered. The next symptom, if level was very low, would be intermittent low oil pressure, for which there have been warning indicators for at least six decades. So there are opportunties to tell the driver of a problem before there is serious risk to the engine.
 
#35 · (Edited)
Sorry, but it is not at all logical that any on-road passenger-carrying vehicle would be engineered to deliberately shut down due to low oil level, but they do shut down without first providing a warning indication and allowing time to drive to a safe location. Any system that was deliberately designed like this would be putting the protection of the engine ahead of the occupants of the vehicle and of other vehicles sharing the road, which ought to be grounds for major liability damage claims and awards.

Might the engine run poorly due to low oil level and even stall? Possibly. But be deliberately designed to shut down without warning? Not likely.

The first symptom of low oil level would be elevated oil temperature relative to coolant temperature, for which a warning indication could be engineered. The next symptom, if level was very low, would be intermittent low oil pressure, for which there have been warning indicators for at least six decades. So there are opportunties to tell the driver of a problem before there is serious risk to the engine.
Well maybe they are breaking the laws of logical, because my car also shut down on the hwy and refused to crank again until oil was added to appropriate levels .and just to be clear I change my oil regularly and check levels in between . .. I never got any warning lights or beeping or anything . The car was running fine and then it just shut down in the middle of the hwy I lost all power to my brakes and steering ,and had to kind of slide off the road to stop..
This happened on my 2015 limited 2.4


Now I am having an issue on my 2016 limited 3.6 that sounds very similar to this post,only my oil level isn't and hasn't been low on this model ..
last week I went to start my car ,it acted as if the battery was dead ,jumped it off cranked up fine drove all that day no problems . Next morning same thing acting as if the battery was dead jumped off .. the next day I replaced the battery she cranked up then wouldn't start again but sounded like it was trying to , a quote on quote "Mechanic" told us it was the starter ,So we Replaced it car ran long enough to return the old starter for the core charge. then just shut off while it was running ,in the parking lot of the part store .. so we had them test the alternator and the diagnosis was alternator had a bad charging system/ voltage regulation . I replaced the alternator .. car cranked and ran until it got to running temperature then shut off while running again refuse to start just sounded like the starter hanging up or like the ignition is continuously trying to turn over and just will not start .... I left my car parked where it broke down at overnight.
The next morning the coolant was a little low so we topped off the coolant ,and the car cranked right up drove us home ,cranked yesterday ran fine ,but we didn't run it long . today once again the car just shut off while it was running , again as it got to normal running temperature..tells me to shift to park to start then refuses to start sounds like its trying to ,and maybe isn't strong enough or like the starter is hanging up,like the car will continuously just get stuck turning over but will not crank while it's hot ..


and is currently still broken down in a dollar store parking lot ..

I came here trying to find answers or to see if anyone else has had problems with or like this ,
but I also just had to say that my first Chrysler absolutely did kill on a hwy , when the oil was low with no other indication of the oil ever being low ..

But if anyone and I do mean anyone may have helpful advice for this please reach out ... This car of mine literally has me at my wits end and I don't know what to do ...someone please help ???
 
#22 ·
Speed limiters are one thing, programming the engine to shut off when the oil is critically low is completely different. If it gets low enough, it will shut off on it's own permanently. LOL

What happened to the VW engineers that made the vehicles run differently while being emissions tested, did they get hired on at Chrysler? LOL

I can't see how this would be possible. If it even could be - like a few have said, there would need to be a warning etc...
 
#23 ·
Without getting into why car owners don't check their oil levels on a regular basis ( along with tire pressures ) I have to ask this.
Has anyone had a code reader plugged into their vehicle to see what codes ( if any ) were stored ?

Anyway, I think I would be looking at the oil pressure sensor or switch as a possible problem.
 
#24 ·
Are you guys that are having the stalling trouble,running the 2.4L..??. Reason I ask is the 2.4 actually has oil pressure activated solenoids that open/close the valves....if the oil level drops too far,you get no pressure to the solenoids,and the valves won't operate....then the car shuts off.

That's why it prob started on the tow truck,it was elevated enough the oil was getting to the solenoids.

My bro is a chrysler tech,and is seeing this quite a bit.It doesn't help that the 2.4L is notorious for using 1-2 quarts between changes,and people have a new car so they think they don't even have to check the oil.

If you have a 2.4L make sure to check the level between changes...a couple times..LMAO

Glad I got the V6.. :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=126&v=Td9Gz_h7Qpg
 
#25 ·
Are you guys that are having the stalling trouble,running the 2.4L..??. Reason I ask is the 2.4 actually has oil pressure activated solenoids that open/close the valves....if the oil level drops too far,you get no pressure to the solenoids,and the valves won't operate....then the car shuts off.
Smart design, hilarious that there's no warning of low oil before it shuts down.
 
#26 ·
I have experienced this twice after buying my car in August and both times my car said it needed an oil change which was information gathered from the oil life gauge. I have have experienced transmission problems with it before each case but thank god i wasn't driving on a busy road. I am about to do another oil change on my car
 
#27 ·
I have had the car's oil life monitor down as low as 2% and never experienced any problems.
Then again, I never allow the oil level to drop below a half quart low. Oil is always visible on the dipstick.

Why not check engine oil level between oil changes as the manual suggests ?
 
#28 ·
I occasionally read some of the same issues on the Subaru forum as here when it comes to oil burning. It seems to me that many 4 cylinder cars that use 0w20 oil, burn through the oil about a quart every 1000 miles.

Like here, those forums also have people whom don't check the oil thinking it will last oil change to oil change. I dread the day automakers get rid of the dip stick.
 
#30 ·
My car has been doing that for the last week and i get to the dealership and they tell me that i needed an oil change 1000 plus miles ago and my car shuts down to stop other problems..so once they change it im goinv to drive for a week to see..it could very well be true because a year ago my entire car shut down because i needed a battery and car had to be reprogrammed...i pray this solves the problem but in a week or so i will let you all know..
 
#36 ·
There is no 'dedicated' shut-down circuit for low-oil pressure, but the variable valve timing (VVT) & MultiAir (2.4L only) depends on oil pressure to hydraulically control valvetrain timing advance & valve actuation.

The big 2.4L oil consumption recall only became a safety recall because being stalled or stranded in the wrong place at the wrong time can be unsafe. The recall wasn't actually about the oil consumption itself.
There are plenty of other cars that have bigger oil consumption issues, but they won't stall with low oil levels or the oil level is monitored with a warning light.
The 3.6L is usually pretty good about oil consumption. If it is low, it is generally because of a leak. Not burning it.

Recalls are for safety & emissions issues. The FTC might step in if it notes 'too many' failures for something. It might get a 'customer satisfaction' recall or be granted an extended warranty in these cases.
 
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