What's wrong with my car?
Asked by Riffcoe4427 Mar 27, 2017 at 01:30 PM about the 2001 Toyota Camry LE
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
I have a 2001 toyota camry. And while I was driving
the car stop accelerating. I had to coast into a
parking lot. The steering wheel got very hard to
turn. And the brake pedal is very stiff when I try to
push it. Also the transmission won't shift. I was
barely able to get it into neutral to get it into a
parking spot.
8 Answers
Your engine shut down, stalled. Could be a lot of causes for that to happen. Without the engine running the steering would be hard to turn and the brakes would be hard to push. It would have to be looked at to determine why it stalled, quit running. Should get it to a shop for repair.
Have you noticed any warning lights on or flashing when the engine is running?
Riffcoe4427 answered 7 years ago
The check engine light has been on for a catalytic converter issue. Would that cause it to stop like that?
If your catalytic converter has issues, it needs to be changed out. This throws the O2 sensor readings off, and adjusts the engine to run leaner, or richer causing problems with the way the engine runs. It is possible the catalytic converter is so plugged up that the engine just can't run any more, causing it to stall.
Do you recall the code ID associated with the CAT diagnosis?
Could be plugged catalytic converters, here is whats involved with that code...P0420 TOYOTA - Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold Bank 1...Possible causes; Three way catalyst converter Bank 1, Exhaust tube Intake air leaks, Fuel injectors may be faulty, Fuel injector leaks, Spark plugs may be faulty, Improper ignition timing, Engine Control Module (ECM)...As the code description implies the P0420 code means that the vehicle's control module has detected that the three-way catalytic converter is not working properly (is not as efficient as the factory is expecting). Replacing the oxygen (O2) sensors may sometimes fix the code, but in most cases the catalytic convert needs to be replaced to fix the problem. If the P0420 code is combined with other codes, try fixing the other codes first...
