Honda Accord Stalling

[ManagerJosh]

I recently took my 98 Honda Accord to the dealer for a bunch of maintenance and they did a whole mess of maintenance on my car...changing the timing belt, water pump, etc.

Since then, I've had my car stall out on me TWICE in the middle of driving. It just happens all of the sudden and I haven't been able to reproduce the proper set of conditions to make the car die out. The two times I have observed it dying was it losing power gradually before it coming to a complete stop. Sorta like a flashlight with batteries dying out. You see the light slowly, gradually, fading away.

I have plenty of fuel (in fact today, I just filled up my car and was coming home before the car died on me in the middle of driving.)

I had to physically turn my car off, wait a few seconds, and restart ignition to get my car going again.

Any ideas? I have NEVER had this problem before, until I took my car back to my dealer and they started poking under the hood. Thoughts?

[Asvin]

My dad's car has some problem with the transmition system... There is something wrong with the silencer too I guess!! When he puts it on reverse, it sounds like a quite library, but when he puts it in drive, then it makes sounds of fire engines and stuff.. So freakin loud..!!

[ManagerJosh]

Not helpful, Asvin. -_-;

[Jose Amaral Rego]

No indictcators turn on/off and did you check fuel pump or under the brake peddal. Did you here anything strange before or during this lost of power.1

[ManagerJosh]

check engine light came on first time, second time it didn't
no strange sounds

fuel pump - not yet.

[Jose Amaral Rego]

If it is fuel pump, then the coil would be corroded and it can also be your filter on the fuel pump that clogged and less fuel is entering the carburetor to create the necessary explosive mixture of vaporized fuel for your engine to work properly.

[ManagerJosh]

I sincerely doubt it's related to the fuel pump. I dont' see how that's gonna be a problem especially since it just came out of maintenance from a dealer.

[Dilly]

No i'd say fuel pump too. They have a habit of going out of the blue.

[Jose Amaral Rego]

That is what I got from what you have posted, as I am not driving your car. It is plausible it may been over looked and it does cause power loss if any of those go wrong, but then it could be may other things. e.g. tranmission. Do you loss power shifting or obtaining a certain speed.

[ManagerJosh]

I took the car recently on a trip this past weekend from Los Angeles, to San Diego. I didn't experience at any point where it just gave out completely like it did the previous time. And I've been driving the car everyday this week. Then today, it died.

I've been talking with a friend, and he suspects its the timing belt and they did something funny with it.


If it was the fuel pump dying, I don't think i could be able to restart the car in a matter of mere seconds

[Jose Amaral Rego]

If the filter is clogged, then that may account for your car losing power while driving. I never trust a mechanic without having a video recording of what was done. Does not the Honda Accord have the ability to print out what is failing? Did they not give you a list from what your own car said about itself?

Good thing you are not in Canada, as we have some of the worst mechanics that try to millk you for everything and most times try to create other problems.

EDIT

http://autorepair.about.com/library/faqs/bl409h.htm

[ManagerJosh]

I don't have a scanner to read the computer.

[Dilly]

If it was the fuel pump dying, I don't think i could be able to restart the car in a matter of mere seconds

You could.

[ManagerJosh]

But wouldn't the problem be more prominent? I mean at least I'd die on the road more than twice. Plus considering that I didn't have this problem before I took it into the dealer for it be worked on...It just seems funny.

It's only happened twice since I've had the car maintained (August 17th was when the car went in). Plus I can't reproduce exact set of conditions to make the car die out on me.

[Jose Amaral Rego]

http://www.autozone.com/in_our_stores/free_testing.htm