2004 Chevy Aveo stalls while driving, but will restart a few minutes later

[SpruceJedi]

Hello everyone! I am new here, and I hope you guys can lend me a hand.

I am a Jeep guy, can tear them down and build them up, all day and night. These little chevys are pretty new to me. We have a 2004 Chevy Aveo, bone stock. 126,000 miles. It has all the usual issues that all the other Aveo's I see around have. rusty door bottoms, worn out struts, etc... All in all, its been a great vehicle, no major complaints. I have kept up on the timing belt maintenance, so all should be good on that front. I am now tackling the other issues it has developed over the last few years.

On the way home yesterday I was cruising down I-75 at 70 mph enjoying the nice sunshine and all of a sudden the engine just quit. Didn't stumble, didn't sputter to a stop, just went from on to off, right now. I coasted over to the side of the highway, tried to start it again, just cranked and cranked. I popped the hood, checked for anything obvious, didn't see much. I checked all the electrical connections in the immediate area didnt see anything. I got back in, tried to start it up, cranked right up like normal, drove it the remaining 20 miles home at 70 mph. I got up this morning had to move it around in the driveway, no big deal, started right up. Started right up, drove it all the way in to work today. I got in it to come home this afternoon. Cranked right up, jumped on the highway, got it up to 70 mph and within 1/2 mile of where it happened yesterday the exact same thing happened! I coasted over to the side. Parked it, went through the same routine as yesterday, it started back up a few minutes later, drove it home and here it sits. It didn't throw a CEL. I cchecked for stored and pending codes. Nothing.

Has anyone had a similar experience? I have a feeling its of electrical nature due to its on to off with no stutter or stumble. I have had jeeps that when the Crankshaft sensor goes bad, will sort of act like this. Not sure if these are similar or not. Any input would be great, it is my commuter so I would like to get it back on the road ASAP. I tried googling it but all the articles you find range from them telling you the windshield wiper reservoir is low on fluid to having to replace the engine. I hope you guys have some input. I know this is a pretty generic symptom and can be a whole can of worms, I was just wondering if there is something that is a common issue with these cars with these symptoms. Thanks! Nice to be here.

[avguy]

Yep, definitely caused by low windshield wiper reservoir fluid . Welcome to the forum - always good to have someone with lots of prior auto experience come on board. I'm sure you have more background in this stuff than I do, but I'll ask one question anyway. Did it restart both times right after you fiddled with some wiring? If so, maybe there's a corroded, partially broken, or exposed wire somewhere. If you were pushing on fuses, maybe one of the wires running to the fuse box?

[SpruceJedi]

Yeah. I knocked around under the good both times. Both times it started back up. Could be coincidence. Just got my kids down for a nap. I plan to crawl all over that thing. I'm hoping for something obvious. Otherwise I'll be driving with my diagnostic scanner hooked to it until it does it again.

Glad to be here! Looks like I'll be getting intimate with the inner workings of an aveo. In the mean time. The jeep will serve as my daily driver. Awesome. I'll sure miss that 38 mpg.

[SpruceJedi]

Worked on it a bit today. Started it up. Started unplugging stuff trying to get it to stall. It's amazing what it will run with disconnected. I got to the crank sensor. Disconnected it. Obviously it stalled instantly. Exactly like it did when driving. I tried pulling the code. It did not throw a code. Same as when it stalled on the road. I will drive it to work tomorrow with my scanner attached. Hopefully it stalls and I can record what the readings were at the second it went down. For now I'm leaning toward a malfunctioning crank sensor. Just has the symptoms that I have seen in other vehicles with that going bad.

[Thymeclock]

Worked on it a bit today. Started it up. Started unplugging stuff trying to get it to stall. It's amazing what it will run with disconnected. I got to the crank sensor. Disconnected it. Obviously it stalled instantly. Exactly like it did when driving. I tried pulling the code. It did not throw a code. Same as when it stalled on the road. I will drive it to work tomorrow with my scanner attached. Hopefully it stalls and I can record what the readings were at the second it went down. For now I'm leaning toward a malfunctioning crank sensor. Just has the symptoms that I have seen in other vehicles with that going bad.

It's not necessarily an electrical problem. Has the fuel filter ever been changed?

Failing fuel pump? Bad coil? If it's a bad ignition module usually the car won't re-start or run.

The first step is to determine whether it is electrical or fuel related. Easier said than done...

[SpruceJedi]

I am having difficulty determining fuel or electrical. Like you said. Easier said than done. Especially since the occurrence is random. I have never changed the fuel filter. Could be an easy and cheap try. I'll pick one up tomorrow.

I was thinking electrical just because of how it stalls. It doesn't stutter or stumble. It just turns off. Just like you turn the key off. It would be easier if it just quit and would not restart.

[SpruceJedi]

Update. I drove the car today and it stalled again only this time at a stoplight. I checked the ignition and I could not get the fuel pump to run and it would not start. after a couple of minutes I tried again and the fuel pump would run and this time it started now I am beginning to think that it is fuel related

[SpruceJedi]

&)&^#* ME!!! A fuel pump is over 300$ for this car!

[petrified.rabbit]

check the fuel pump relay first, before spending the money. It might also be a clog in the filter, versus the pump itself.

[SpruceJedi]

Replaced the relay. 12$. Will dig into the pump and filter this weekend. Thanks for the help guys. Hopefully it's something simple like that.