Said It Here

Why does my car stall when I come to a stop?

Vehicles sometimes shut off or shake and drop RPMs when coming to a stop sign, red light, or while reversing early in a drive. This happens even with accessories like the AC and radio turned off, leaving drivers uncertain about mechanical issues while a persistent P0328 code returns.

Overview
People affected25 accounts across 2 forums
Workarounds found44 items attempted
Community agreement35 total upvotes

What the numbers show

Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count

  • The most recent one is from October 2026.
  • This comes up 10.1× more often in r/MechanicAdvice than across the site as a whole.

What people tried

Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.

44 items+ Contribute

Found another way around this?

Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.

  1. 1
    Scanning for diagnostic trouble codes
    2 people mentioned
    Did this help you?
  2. 2
    letting it warm up for 5 minutes before driving off
    Did this help you?
  3. 3
    restarting the car with the key
    Did this help you?
  4. 4
    taking the car to different repair shops and dealerships
    Did this help you?
  5. 5
    Replaced the O2 sensor
    Did this help you?
  6. 6
    Suggested cleaning the MAF sensor and throttle body
    Did this help you?
  7. 7
    checking for a vacuum leak
    Did this help you?
  8. 8
    cleaning throttle plates
    Did this help you?
  9. 9
    checking the fuel pump or torque converter
    Did this help you?
  10. 10
    changing the throttle body
    Did this help you?
  11. 11
    Taking the car to a different dealer for diagnosis
    Did this help you?
  12. 12
    Using devices to permanently bypass or disable the auto start-stop feature
    Did this help you?
  13. 13
    Manually pressing the button to disable auto stop every time the vehicle is turned on
    Did this help you?
  14. 14
    Replacing the purge canister and PCV valve
    Did this help you?
  15. 15
    Cleaning the MAF and throttle body
    Did this help you?
  16. 16
    Replacing the power brake booster multiple times
    Did this help you?
  17. 17
    Spray testing components to find vacuum leaks
    Did this help you?
  18. 18
    turn off the air conditioning and restart the vehicle
    Did this help you?
  19. 19
    turning off the air conditioning to allow the vehicle to restart and drive
    Did this help you?
  20. 20
    Checking engine compression
    Did this help you?
  21. 21
    Checking if the camshaft is spinning by removing the oil cap
    Did this help you?
  22. 22
    Checking for air pulse or pressure from the radiator cap
    Did this help you?
  23. 23
    Replacing parts like the EGR Control Solenoid on a trial-and-error basis
    Did this help you?
  24. 24
    Checking battery, alternator, and starter
    Did this help you?
  25. 25
    Replacing spark plugs and wires
    Did this help you?
  26. 26
    Replacing components such as the crank sensor, crank sensor connector, main relay, and cam sensor
    Did this help you?
  27. 27
    Cleaning out valves
    Did this help you?
  28. 28
    Checking error codes with VCDS
    Did this help you?
  29. 29
    Wiggling wiring harnesses
    Did this help you?
  30. 30
    Replacing components like the crankshaft sensor or checking the fuel system diagnostics independently before sending the vehicle to a repair shop.
    Did this help you?
  31. 31
    letting off the brakes
    Did this help you?
  32. 32
    Scanning codes with an OBD2 tool like FIXD
    Did this help you?
  33. 33
    Taking the vehicle back to the mechanic for diagnosis
    Did this help you?
  34. 34
    Replacing parts based on error codes without full diagnostics
    Did this help you?
  35. 35
    Replacing components like the purge valve and alternator
    Did this help you?
  36. 36
    replacing the EGR valve
    Did this help you?
  37. 37
    pulling the intake manifold to clean clogged EGR ports and tiny passages
    Did this help you?
  38. 38
    Replacing the mass airflow (MAF) or manifold absolute pressure (MAP) sensor
    Did this help you?
  39. 39
    Replacing the idle air control valve (IACV) instead of just cleaning it
    Did this help you?
  40. 40
    Checking coolant lines to the idle valve for clogs
    Did this help you?
  41. 41
    getting a jump start
    Did this help you?
  42. 42
    taking it to a professional shop for diagnostics
    Did this help you?
  43. 43
    getting a new battery put in
    Did this help you?
  44. 44
    taking it to a mechanic
    Did this help you?
Tried another approach not listed above?+ Share your workaround ↑

In their words

Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.

r/MechanicAdvice18 people · September 2026 – October 2026

“Engine turned off when stopped in traffic.”source ↗

Piper_s1 · r/MechanicAdvice · 7 upvotes

“While returning home, the car suddenly gave 2 jerks and then stalled.”source ↗

“Now the car won't start. A warning light came on, and the brake pedal became very hard after the engine stalled.”source ↗

shaaaruuuk · r/MechanicAdvice · 2 upvotes

“My car a Nissan Altima 2023 shut off today while at a stop light.”source ↗

“Called insurance got a new battery put in and it was fine until now it’s acting up again with a brand new battery.”source ↗

Previouslycold · r/MechanicAdvice · 2 upvotes

“I have a 2016 Nissan Altima with about 135,000 miles on it. Just recently I’ve had an issue where my car has stalled when I’ve been stopped at a stop sign or red light.”source ↗

“This morning on my way to work it happened again. All three incidents have been very early in the drive on the first time driving it that day.”source ↗

grobetz · r/MechanicAdvice · 1 upvotes

“Car began to stall when coming to a stop.”source ↗

“This is my college aged son's car and I've been working on it for over a month. It's killing me.”source ↗

demonsforryu · r/MechanicAdvice · 1 upvotes

“I have a 2001 toyota celica, 2 door - coupe, 4 cylinder. It just broke down, does anyone know what it could be?”source ↗

“The problems: it kept shutting off when I was at the red light. I tried to make it home, eventually it shut all the way down, and it started shaking and smoking..”source ↗

“The car still turns on, the lights on the dash, and everything else, its shifting, but it is not going into drive at all.”source ↗

Past_Assumption3425 · r/MechanicAdvice · 1 upvotes

“All lights on my dash are on except battery, in drive or reverse car shakes and flashes check engine.”source ↗

“Car somehow got me to work and back before kicking the bucket (when became noticeable issue).”source ↗

no-hate · r/MechanicAdvice · 1 upvotes

“I’ve had this car for a little over a year now and still have this occurring issue where the car will stall randomly without any warning at idle, and turn back on like nothing happened.”source ↗

“It’s becoming a royal pain in the rear end and just want some advice from anyone who’s dealt with this.”source ↗

CartographerAsleep80 · r/MechanicAdvice · 1 upvotes

“sounds like a fuel delivery issue, could be the pump or filter. I've seen similar issues with my old Jetta too.”source ↗

DentelleMarie · r/MechanicAdvice · 1 upvotes

“I was at a stoplight, letting go of the break to the gas cause it turned green in the car basically stalled all the lights were still on. Everything was still working, and it won’t crank over.”source ↗

Professional-Ask6565 · r/MechanicAdvice · 1 upvotes

“The concerning part is that today the car actually shut off while driving twice, very similar to what it was doing before the original timing chain failure.”source ↗

RaticleYT · r/MechanicAdvice · 1 upvotes

“That P0011 is almost never just a sensor acting fussy, something's physically off with the oil control valve or the cam phaser itself, and after a rebuild it's way too easy to get the timing a tooth out”source ↗

Maleficent-Event-579 · r/MechanicAdvice · 1 upvotes

“Car made a whining/siren noise when accelerating. Then eventually stalled it wouldn’t turn over.”source ↗

“now the car will turn on, but takes a while to catch one turning over. Stays on for a minute and shuts back off.”source ↗

Quirky_Bug_4507 · r/MechanicAdvice · 1 upvotes

“my Honda started to stall while I was accelerating and when it would go back to driving it would jerk back rough and then it would go but when I would stop or slow down it would do it again and it wouldn’t wanna go for about 30 secs to a minute sometimes then it would just jerk back into driving”source ↗

nihilisticbehavior · r/MechanicAdvice · 1 upvotes

“can fire up and run only when on the pedal, I can sweep the rpms fully with the pedal, haven't red lined it yet but im sure it could. However, the moment I remove the throttle input the vehicle stalls.”source ↗

CurrentNext4203 · r/MechanicAdvice · 1 upvotes

“would run fine with any throttle but flatlined the second you let off”source ↗

Funny_Rip1301 · r/MechanicAdvice · 1 upvotes

“I was driving to work and my ford fusion just stopped mid drive and I had to pull over . When I try to crank it , it turns over but doesn’t crank completely.”source ↗

“I got a jump and it cranked at first but he moved the cables around and it will turn over but not crank now still .”source ↗

SierraDaniielle · r/MechanicAdvice · 1 upvotes

“I honestly don’t know what I’m doing I’ve never had a failure like this”source ↗

Previouslycold · r/MechanicAdvice · 1 upvotes

“This happens everytime I get gas. Only after I get it. Is this something really serious ? And is it in exspensive fix? Also if I don’t fix this will it become a more expensive issue ?”source ↗

Own_Paleontologist82 · r/MechanicAdvice
r/AskMechanics8 people · September 2026

“My car has roughly 190,000 miles on it and recently it has been making this weird clanking noise while i’m driving and idle.”source ↗

“It also stalls when i’m coming to a stop or slowing down Any ideas on what it could be?”source ↗

Aggravating-Gold6062 · r/AskMechanics · 2 upvotes

“if my AC and radio were on and I came to a stop sign or red light the engine would sometimes shut off.”source ↗

“Now it’s started happening even when the AC and radio are off. It can also happen when I put the car in reverse to back out of my garage. The car will start shaking, the RPMs drop, and then the engine shuts off.”source ↗

“But the P0328 code keeps coming back on.”source ↗

Hefty_Elk3394 · r/AskMechanics · 1 upvotes

“Anyone know why my engine has a hard time finding the idle?”source ↗

“there have been times that I cost through a turn, pushing the clutch in to either down or up shift, and if i cost too long, the engine can stall”source ↗

Throttl_ · r/AskMechanics · 1 upvotes

“someone plsss helpp😖😭💔”source ↗

Aggravating-Gold6062 · r/AskMechanics · 1 upvotes

“it has broken down 4 times, twice at the start of an intersection, once on a road and the most recent one in the middle of an intersection because of this start/stop feature”source ↗

“it’s been a real pain in the neck for her because Hondas should not be breaking down like that on 30k miles”source ↗

Icy-Priority4637 · r/AskMechanics · 1 upvotes

“It happened once before about 5 months ago, again when stopped in traffic.”source ↗

Piper_s1 · r/AskMechanics · 1 upvotes

“1999 RAV4, car stalls out after a bit of driving and dies. Check engine, battery and oil light come on.”source ↗

“We just replaced the EGR Control Solenoid thinking that was the issue but after a test drive it still does it. Trying to figure out what the issue here is.”source ↗

Fresh_Custard9540 · r/AskMechanics · 1 upvotes

“2013 Hyundai Elantra (130k miles, automatic) shakes/rattles when in drive but completely stopped with brakes applied. Rattle goes away if you let off the brakes.”source ↗

doggyloggy100 · r/AskMechanics · 1 upvotes

“Engine turned off when stopped in traffic. All lights came on.”source ↗

Piper_s1 · r/AskMechanics

“My car has been doing weird stuff whenever it is in idol such as breathing (video attached) and turning off completely not like auto stop start where it turns back on when my foot comes off the brake it just fully turns off.”source ↗

Loose-Intention2560 · r/AskMechanics

Where this came up

People with this problem also raised