2000 EX- V6. Took a little trip yesterday. At about 200 miles I stopped for food. When I went to start, the engine started, then died after a couple of seconds. That happened about 4 or 5 times. Finally I was able to keep it going by pumping it. I held the brake and backed out while holding the revs up a bit. The car smoothed out quickly and I've had no problems with it since. A bit of bad gas maybe?

 

Many of the 6th gen v6's had/have an issue with "heat soak".

Car at normal op temp.....shut the car off for ~20 minutes, re-start the car and bad/no idle, have to hold the gas down for a minute or two, dies, sometimes you will get a mis-fire code.....then after a few seconds the car clears up and everything is fine

There is a TSB about this issue.

What to do - well that depends on how far you want to go.

 

Thanks poorman! Could this be the reason my SRS light has come back on? I reset it last week after having taken out the driver's seat. I tried to reset it again last night after I got home, but it doesn't want to reset now.

 

Those would be two different issues IMO.

I'd get the codes for the SRS - 9 out of 10 times it will be the drivers side latch but don't do anything until you get the codes and test.......PS, many have cleaned the drivers side latch and got it to work again. IF it is the latch and cleaning does not work/don't want to do - a new one is ~$75.

 

Seat belt latch, right?

 

Yes, in this gen - IMHO most of the SRS code(s) are related to the divers side seat belt latch. Again get the code(s) before doing anything.

 

Also, check for engine codes to possibly help with the stalling issue. A stuck open EGR valve, for example, could cause your car to stall out when the engine is cold and idling.

Please don't blindly replace the EGR valve based on the above statement. You'll have to diagnose the problem if/when it returns.

 

Guys, thanks for the replies. Hey, looking for "heat soak", I just found What do you think- is he full of it, or might he have something there? Or is this old news?

 

I've heard and read all kinds of things on this issue. Heck wait a month before you do anything and they will have switched back to "summer blend" gas and I'd be willing to bet a cup of coffee the issue will not come back until the next round of "winter blend" gas....yes the gas "makers" change the blend of gas for winter and summer. I've picked up 2~3 MPG's in the last two fill ups so I pretty sure they have already changed.

Some have reported that just replacing the T-stat with a new OE one solved the issue.

Testing the ECT is a pretty simple process......

So at this point - mid March - I'd do nothing and keep driving. If the issue comes back in two or three weeks from now and continues into the warmer months (summer blend gas), then I would start to think about what to do.

I don't and can't call "BS" on the ECT - I will say that is a new "answer" I have not seen before.