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Old 05-19-2008, 04:06 PM   #1 (permalink)
 
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Serious Problem with my Bumblebee

I was driving home from work on Friday (about a block from work) when the engine died. No warning, no check engine lights, it just cut completely out. Thankfully I was on a side street and pulled safely to the side of the road. The lights and radio were still on, as were the normal dash gauges. However, in the transmission indicator, there was nothing. I had a minor panic and then looked for my cell to call Smart service. No cell. Argh! With nothing else to do but walk back in the rain, I tried restarting it, and it started. I carefully drove it home and called the local dealership. Agreed to try driving it in this morning with DH following me just in case.

Saturday morning without thinking about it first, I drove to the grocery store and back, no problems. Got to the dealership this morning with no problems.

They checked the car today while I was at work. The computer wasn't giving off any codes/record of problems. They tried driving it and had no problems. So they called me to pick it up after work.

So now I have my bumblebee home, whom I love, but am rather afraid to drive. What if it had happened on the highway? Has anyone heard of anything similar? What did the dealership do? Overall, I've lost all confidence in driving the car anywhere near a highway in the near future, and that's not very useful to me. Anyone have anything?

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Old 05-19-2008, 04:18 PM   #2 (permalink)
 
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Drive it, carry your phone and hope they can find the problem when its acting up. If they can catch it acting up they can fix it. If it happens again tell the shop foreman to drive it home for a couple of days and check it out himself. Even if they cannot find the problem, make them drive it.
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Old 05-19-2008, 04:21 PM   #3 (permalink)
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This almost sound like you may have gotten a bad tank of gas somewhere and that would cause your stopping and then being able to restart again and the NPF No Problem Found at the dealer.
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Old 05-19-2008, 04:22 PM   #4 (permalink)
 
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What if... what if... If you are afraid of it, sell it, if not, drive it and don't look for trouble.
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Old 05-19-2008, 04:51 PM   #5 (permalink)
 
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Was this after a left hand turn?
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Old 05-19-2008, 04:53 PM   #6 (permalink)
 
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Originally Posted by JusNameMe View Post
What if... what if... If you are afraid of it, sell it, if not, drive it and don't look for trouble.
My wife would be asking the same question.
If a "what if" turned into a 15km walk on the highway at night she has every right to be concerned.
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Old 05-19-2008, 05:02 PM   #7 (permalink)
 
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could be watered gas sucked up into fuel line, or faulty engine management computer, hard to tell without more info. ie. fuel tank level, gear it was in, accelerating or braking, turning or going straight, smooth road or bumpy, etc.
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Old 05-19-2008, 05:12 PM   #8 (permalink)
 
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Originally Posted by bottlerocket View Post
Was this after a left hand turn?
Yes, it was just after a left hand turn! Something specific about that Bottlerocket?

And to answer 74AMX304V8's questions, fuel level was half a tank, speed somewhere in the 10-15mph range. I was driving straight in automatic mode and gently accelerating when it happened (stop sign on end of block), immediately after turning left. I had *just* left work.
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Old 05-19-2008, 05:22 PM   #9 (permalink)
 
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Originally Posted by saskdiesel View Post
My wife would be asking the same question.
If a "what if" turned into a 15km walk on the highway at night she has every right to be concerned.
SASKDISEL,
You are 100% correct!

What if, what if, what if, is not at all clever

This could be a big problem for anyone at
night or in a remote area or even rush hour traffic

I hope it works out for you Heathere3

Last edited by smartysmitten; 05-19-2008 at 05:29 PM.
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Old 05-19-2008, 06:06 PM   #10 (permalink)
 
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You know, I had this problem with a car before. It died on the highway when I was going 65. I had enough momentum to pull off an exit, down the road, and into a parking lot. But everything died, gauges and all. I waited, started it up, and drove again. Never had a problem. They said it was probably just a weird short, water on the battery, or something... It probably won't happen again.
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