Dodge Avenger Starting and Stalling Problems

adiox900

Im new to this whole forum thing and all, but as a suggestion from a dealership who is enangering me, I made an effort to come and and try to figure somthing out. I have a 98 Avenger ES Auto. I aquired the car for very cheap, and I was currentley attempting to restore it to a nice, driveable car. When I picked the car up, it had a slgitht starting problem, just wouldnt seem to get enough gas to start. Also, (the main problem) while driving, if I was to hit the gas pedal about a 1/3 of an inch to far, the car would poop. When I say poop, I mean engine bogging out, and a few awkward noises would be propelled from the engine. We have replacd numerous things, such as the fuel pumps, a couple sensors which I am not 100% sure which ones, and have also done a full tune up, including wires, plugs, cap and rotor. I have all new fluids in the car, new fuel filter and some other odds and ends. Im in desperate need of an opinion of someone, becuase obviously the mechanics at my moms work dont know the difference between there [non-permissible content removed] and a hole in the ground. The car is becoming a major inconvience, and we are looking to find the solution so it can be replaced and start being driven again. If anyone has any help, please suggest away!!!!

avenger4

ive had my avenger for bout 3 months and i have random stalling problems at idle and at higher rpms when im driving the odd time it will jerk as if its goin to die. no check engine lite but i took it into a shop and they told me my throttle body line was plugged and they cleaned it out and it still stalled then they said it was electrical. wondering if nebody had ne solutions to my problem

finfan203

I have the same problem with my 2000 AVEENGER. I have replaced the ECM at 800.00, the coil and the distrib. at 300.00. It has been in the shop for 3 weeks and the techs dont know anything. have you gotten any answers???
Russ

shoopaloop

Hey what up. I've noticed that on some dodge motors the valve seals will leak oil into the combustion chamber if the engine has high miles on it.... about 100000 miles or so. the oil can cover the spark plug in that cylinder and cause the plug to misfire or not fire at all. check that out by pulling the plugs and checking for oil on them. on the 2.5 liter v6 engine the front plugs are pretty easy to get to... but you may have to take the pendulum off to get to the back ones. !!

cwallacelives

:mad: :sick: DODGE AVENGERS WILL TAKE ALL YOUR MONEY! Sorry to break the news to you, but there are manyyy glitches to the avenger that will have you spending money on the wrong parts! Ok so for starters the oil gauge is shotty! It will read low oil even after an oil change. Also if this is happening the other glitches are the gaskets in AVENGERS ALWAYS BLOW, everyone i know that drives one also has slow coolant leaks or leaks of some sort that will cause stalling on a consistent basis. The tire, atleast on my *OLD and SOLD* ride would rip and crack due to some [non-permissible content removed] rims the previous owner had on it. SO SELL YOUR CAR!!! I fixed the problems with mine for about $900 and the same thing happened about 1.5 yrs later. GET RID OF IT.

kellycalibell

i have a 99 dodge avenger v6 and i have recently started having problems with it stalling out and overheating all at the same time, i am not sure if 1 has to do with the other. i can be driving along fine and all of a sudden you can feel it cut out the engine lites are not on yet but if you press the gas pedal you can see the rpm's are not going up and then all of a sudden you can feel it open back up and gas is going thru again. sometimes it will not open again and just stall out completely, you have to turn off car and wait a few minutes and try and start it again, usually it does.

avenger1965

I am so tired of one thing after the other going wrong with this car. I had a new starter installed yesterday and went to crank it this morning and it wasn't turning over. Now they are saying I need a new distributor to the tune of $500. So the grande total for the past two days has been over $900. Piece of poo. :mad:

optimisticone

My Avenger has over 225,000 miles. Never had any serious problems with this car until it got over 200K. I think I'm having fuel delivery problems. Engine completely stalled at when coming to a stop. It drove OK on the highway but stalled when I came to the exit..started back up and stalled again as I slowed to make a turn. I've read some of the forum notes on stalls and agree that the Dodge dealers aren't good at troubleshooting this car. Probably because it's a Mitsubishi. I know that one of my O2 Sensors was changed because I told them to change it. This was after I had an intermittent problem with fuel delivery at acceleration (car sounded like it was missing and then would take off). This was fixed by installing a new catalytic converter...and the O2 sensor. Has anyone had the stall problem I've described...stalling when you are coming to a stop or when you take your foot off of the accelerator? If so have you or your mechanic found a fix? The problem with the Dodge dealer is that the trouble shooting manual leads them into repairs that are probably needed for a car with this type of mileage but too often miss finding the root cause. I've had to return this car several times before they fixed the problem on the last 3 repairs and had to negotiate my way out of paying for the full repair, particularly when they tell you what's wrong and it doesn't fix the problem. I know that some of the parts on this vehicle were not designed to last over 10 years, 200K. I would like to have some idea of what could cause this problem so that I'm prepared to discuss the repair and ask the right questions.

98avengerv6

try the cam sensor i read alot of reviews seems like a problem with this car when it doesnt start!!

midnight1987

i recently bought a 98 avenger v6 it had the same problem wrong with it stalling out everytime u come to a stop and having NO pickup from 0-30 or pulling hills almost like it was starving for fuel, I replaced the MAP sensor, fuel filter, and vacuum hose, and it no longer stalls out and it runs great now, just waiting for the next thing to go wrong on it but i like it for now so its ok.

drive62

I am so tired of one thing after the other going wrong with this car.

Then get rid of it. It's 10 years old....and it's a Dodge.

tmeight

i have the exact same problem with my 96 avenger. I was just wondering if you have found out what the problem is yet because my car is in the shop and they have no idea what the problem is

avengerkris

I have a 1995 Avenger ES 2.5l v6. with 48,000 miles on it ive have had no problems the entire time ive had it tires screech when i floor it from the line,which i thought wass in presive because it was stock. i looked under the hood and saw that mine had a holley throttle body and intake manifold i havent done any research to see if theae are factory parts put on by dodge that wouldnt be on the mitsubishi equivelent motor or on any other avenger. although i took it on a road trip and it seems that when you go highway speeds for an extended amount of time the engine light comes on. I also noticed that on the same trip it would come on after leaving an onramp, or . i did some reading and found that the fuel regulator and the fuel pump dont work very well in unison the ungines sucks more gas then the regulator allows to get to the engine from the pump. and the computer isnt fast enough to adjust causing the light to come on. but the car would not stall or anything. i also found that the computers dodge put in the avenger in 1995 were not the one to go with the engine(v6 models is what i was told)due manufacturing deadlines they had to throw a computer that, and i quote the mechanics at the local dodge dealer, "would work in operating the engine components under normal driving comditions, not under highway or even under stressful conditions,{ex:racing) I dont have the money and i never asked. if maybe a fuel regulator that allows more fuel flow would help. so if anyone knows. DO TELL

jpf

I had GM products with a similar problem. It turned out to be the solenoid switch in the torque convertor of the transmission. The torque convertor allows your transmission to lock up and get better gas mileage. When you decelerate it should release, but if it doesn't your car will stall when you come to a stop. For the GM cars, it was a $250 fix. I would take the car to a transmission shop to have the torque convertor checked out. Good luck.

troubldtrav

I noticed you had the same problem as me and you said you took your car to the machanic, i was wondering if you fixed your car and if so then what was the problem.

raptorrydr

I am having to what sounds to be the same problems that you guys are having... My car starts when it wants too and when it does not it is not throwing a spark at all.. I have put a new battery in a camshaft sensor, crankshaft sensor and a coil pack and it is still not starting all the time I dont even want to drive it anywhere and be stuck. Does anyone know or found out what the problem may be?? :sick:

rickit38

99 with 80k...well maintained....about 2 weeks ago I am idling and the thing shuts off and won't restart....about 5 minutes later we are good to go and we're off....last weekend warming the thing up and dies again never to start since...never over heated or run out of oil etc. No warning lights ever triggered or anything...shop did a "dry compression test" and said it was low...did a "wet compression" test came back great. Car never made any noises or anything just pretty much quit...help!!!!!!!
Thanks,
rick

raptorrydr

I just figured out what mine was doing!! It is the ASD relay (ASD- automatic shut down relay) I had my wife try and start it as I was tapping on it with a screwdriver and it started right up so now I am going to change the relay out... If you are looking for where it is, it is under the hood when you are standing in front of the car all the way up on the right hand side (in front of the steering wheel) there are 3 little black boxes (about 1 in by 1 in) mounted on the frame try and do that FIRST if that did not work maybe change out your camshaft sensor and you crankshaft sensor too that has a lot to do with the spark!! are you getting any spark?? Well let me know when you tried that and I will try to help you out more (tap the relay first).. Good luck.. I will check back later today..

rickit38

Thanks alot! That is worth a try...I won't be back to the car until tomorrow but I will start giving this a try.Thanks again, I really apreaciate it!

rickit38

Now I am being told there was no codes and that the timing marks were al lined up....??????????There was also spark on all 6 plugs....FOR SALE!!!!!!!!! :lemon:

celicel

PLEASE HELP!!!!! I have a 95 avenger ES coupe and i have one hell of a problem. I first noticed some electrical issues around 70000 miles. I would pull up to say a gas station and have my headlights beaming on the wall. I noticed the headlights were flickering some along with my dome light. Well one day it just decided to stall and not start again. I had the distributor cap and ECM replaced, and it worked again for a couple months with no problems. Well, one day i was going down the highway and it decided to stall and not start again. I've had a new battery put in and numerous diagnostic tests. I took my car to the dodge dealership for this diagnostic testing and they first told me it was my ECM (computer). Well as you read earlier I had just had that ECM replaced. They then said they would take the part back if it didn't work so i had it done. That was not the problem. They then told me they did some more research and it was the distributor ($1300). They said they would not take this part back after installing it so i did not have it done because i recently had the distributor cap replaced. Is there a big difference between the two? My avenger has been sitting now for over 6 months and won't turn over nor do i have any lights working (no battery power) now i know the battery may have drained over the 6 months but if anyone has any advice on this it would be greatly appreciated. I have spent over 800 dollars in diagnostic testing alone for them to tell me absolutely nothing. PLEASE HELP!!!!

rickit38

Problem figured out and solved....This motor suffered from a ring collapse...they used chrome rings that fail around 80k miles. Solution? Traded in the car last weekend! :sick: :lemon:

ace1389

I bought this car about 3-4 months ago. At first it stalled when I was driving like once a week or so then it stalled and would not start right away. It got worse as time went on till it stalled and wouldn’t start for about an hour and the service engine light stayed on. I ran a diagnostic test and it said that the camshaft censor needed replacing; I replaced the distributor (255.00). Then when I tried to start it there was nothing no turnover nothing. I bought a new battery it started and ran fine for about 10 minuets then stalled and I had to get it towed to a dealership they said nothing was wrong and sent me on my way. I drove the car home and later that night it stalled on me again. Now it is sitting in my driveway and I am going to get rid of the Dodge POS car. All in all so far I have only spent about 450.00 on repairs I say only because of the post I have read of people that have spent thousands. I do not want to spend another dime on this car it is a money pit and very on safe it will start and I can drive it but I fear to take it too far and have it stall once again and have to pay for another tow. :mad: :sick: :lemon:

raptorrydr

Hey did you check the automatic shutdown relay? That would be the one under the hood right on the fire wall, right behind the steering wheel? that is what my problem was. that costed me 50 bucks.. I have had my avenger since the begining of 98 and really no problems on it just normal maintenance.

raptorrydr

Read the last couple of post they help out alot...

avenger1972

I have a 1996 Dodge Avenger that used to turn off every so often. I was not able to turn on the car till after waiting for 30 minutes. The last time I was driving the car and it turned off while I was waiting for the red light to change. I was able to turn it on after waiting 30-40 minutes, the car turned off after a few minutes and did not turn back on. The ignition coil has been checked and is working properly. I found that there is not spark coming or going to the spark plugs, from what I read in this forum. The crank sensor could be the problem, can anyone tell me where it is located and what it looks like or help me with suggestions. I don't know what to do!!!!!

avenger1972

I found out where the crankshaft position sensor is located and replaced it. The spark plugs have spark, but car wont start. I replaced the automatic shutdown relay, igniton module and ignition coil to be on the safe side. The car will not start. Can anyone give me any other suggestions, I'm loosing my mind.

natashavee

Ok I have about 125,000 miles on the car and I've had little problems here and there, but I've fixed them. So now I'm driving from Yuma, AZ to San Diego, CA. I get 100 miles out of Yuma and I'm going up a hill and my check engine light and my brake light flash on and I get to the shoulder and stop and the car has basically already shut off. I replaced the fuel filter and the old one was pretty dirty. There was no smoke from the vehical and all the fluids were fine. The problem is now I can't get my car to turn over and I'm not getting a spark from the spark plugs when I test them. I've also checked the voltage to everything and seriously I should name my care mystery because I can't figure out why it wont turn on. So now I am here and asking all you Dodge Avenger fans for advice about what I should do besides just getting rid of it. If you have had this problem please let me know what you think I should do :confuse:

bigcphd209

i have a 1995 dodge avenger with a 2.5 v6 and the promblem im having is my car overheated a few days ago and no it wont start. the car cranks but has no spark i checked all fuses and relays and they seem to be working fine. i see people on the fourm have the same problem which leads to the crankshaft sensor and i was wondering if anyone knew a way to check to see if it is the sensor that needs to be replaced .

100dlravenger

i just bought a 95 avenger v6 se/es? for $100 dollars and the old man that sold the car to me told me that he NEVER cared for the car just put gas and drove it (but the car sound great)but i thought hey for a hundred bucks it's worth it.i paid for a complete tune up engine flush,brakes
it runs beautiful,then.when i pulled into the driveway it just stalled on me.checked the spark on the spark plugs and there wasnt any,so i thought the timing went.i called up a friend of mines and he told me it might be the "ASD RELAY" can someone offer some advice on where i can find this relay for a cheaper price then the rip off dealer? i can purchase online if nessary.also some advice if anyone has had this problem and if the relay might be the reason that it has stalled for no reason.

natashavee

Have you checked to see what the computer says is wrong with the car? If you don't know you can check the codes thru the check engine light. Also if you don't already own a manual you should buy one, they can be really helpful. If you want to check it you need a oscilloscope. Also if you pull it out there is suppose to be a piece of paper on the tip before you put it back in. When my car did the same thing I replaced the crank sensor and that wasn't the problem, I also replaced the spark plug cables and still no spark. It ended up being the cam sensor and mine is part of my distributor. I replaced it and it fired right up. Well I hope this is helpful. Good luck.

natashavee

I finally fixed the problem and I replaced my distributor which has my cam sensor on it. It started right up. Good luck to everyone else.

mathewsj

I have a '99 Avenger 2.5 (V6) with about 54K miles on it. I had ran a non-manufactured diagnostic test on it and nothing came up. But i can't get it to start up. I know that it is fuel related because once fuel was sprayed into the carberator it started up just fine but then shut back off seconds later. When i first noticed the problem i was able to get it to start and i let it run on idle for about 20 minutes. But after that it started to die out. Does anyone have an idea as to what can be the problem?
Also where is the inertia shut off switch located?

natashavee

Maybe if you think it has something to do with the fuel, then you should start with replacing the fuel filter. The check engine light hasn't come on at all?

mathewsj

I will try that today. No the check engine light does not come on. Thanks

dcbolsby98

i have been having the same problem with mine it seems to run fine untill you get it warmed up and let off the gas it wants to quit, give it 30 min. and it fires up. need some advise please

dcbolsby98

my car does the same thing and i was wondering if you fixed your problem because it sounds alot like the problem i have been having

dcbolsby98

i own a 1998 avenger it is a v6 2.5 liter and when you are driving along after it gets warm when you take your foot off the gas it stalls out and wont start for another 10-20 minutes
i took a spark plug and checked for spark but had none has new
pcm, camshaft sensor, and new injectors, need some advice

robwhit

i HAVE HAD A 96 AVENGER V6 SE WITH GOOD LUCK FOR 5 YEARS EXCEPT LATELY IT WANTS TO HESITATE EVERY TIME I GIVE IT GAS. ONCE IT IS ROLLING IT HAS POWER AND IS NORMAL. iT IDLES WELL BUT CHOKES WHEN FIRST GAS IS APPLIED. HOPE SOMEONE CAN GIVE HELP. THANKS (SORRY THIS HAPPENS TO BE IN CAPS)

robwhit

I am getting a dogging of my engine whenever I first give it gas but when on the road or highway it runs well and has pep. Just recently it has developed a miss when driving-I have done a total tune-up as well as put in new disributor crank sensor. Any ideas what might be wrong? also starts up a bit slow.
For 1st 6 months after all the repairs done (which were done about a yr ago) the car ran GREAT.

ginoa

have a problem starting,unfortunately cant afford mechanic rgt now.engine turns over,will fire up for a second and die or will chug for a few secs and die or if i press gas peddal dies immediatly.
any help totally appreciated
can anyone tell me where fuel pump is and fuel pressure regulator. thankyou in advance for any help

robwhit

The fuel pump and regulator are just infront of fuel tank on passanger side. Should buy a "Clinton manual" at Walmart for this car. It is very handy and relatively cheap!!
Should take a compression test on the cylinders to be sure timing belt has not jumped some teeth . It should read about 170 to 185 pounds pressure dry. Wet would be 10 more pounds. How many miles on engine as I had to replace the whole distributor on my car,from Discount Murrays(cheapest source). Also the crank case sensor could be malfunctioning which is down below the battery and goes into crankcase. Goodluck

countrygurl1

sounds to me like it is the 02 sensor... common problem in cars that people never change and are supposed to be changed after so many miles if your engine light is on you can check your codes and look it up in the haynes manual improves the fuel efficiency and the stumbling upon acceleration there are usually 2 an upstream and a downstream commonly it is the upstream

myangel

Have a 1995 avenger 4 cyl. 2.0. Have had these starting stalling problems for almost a year. Replaced coil pack, plugs, wires. Still, would start when it wanted, and would shut off when it wanted. I tried tapping on the ASD relay (automatic shutdown relay) and it started right up. (This is responsible for shutting your fuel pump down) Went and bought the $13.00 part and car starts now, but it seems the idle is low when driving, and still wants to die when I come to a stop. Hate to get rid of car, as I have rebuilt the entire front end, new tires, brakes, oh yea, did I mention this is a new but used engine I also put in 2 years ago!! 86000 miles!! Help, Girl in need of advice!!

myangel

Did you check the fuses under the hood?

kepps

Hey, I HAve a 98 dodge avenger, i bought it used, and some guy decided to put a new engine in it, i tuner engine, and when i first got the car, it was alright, but a month later, it sucks butt! but, my mom spent 836$ on this vehicle and i waited 3 days for Midads to get done, we get it back, i didnt even drive out of the drive way b4 it stalled, it died right there, and the manager urged my mom b4 saying," I dont want your son to go out that driveway and the car stalls." but IT STALLS! :mad: it keeps stalling, someone please who had the same problem, please tell me what you did to fix urs.....thanks....

myangel

Does this car just shut down whenever it feels? Does it stsrt back up right away or no? I bought my daughter a 1995 Avenger, and for a year we couldnt figure out why it would just shut off whenever it feels like. And it generally wouldnt stsrt back up right away, but days later it would! Even the Dodge dealers didnt know anything. So I found on another forum someone with the same problem! It was something called the "ASD" relay. (automatic shut down relay) (these shut down your gas supply for safety) It is located under the hood, driver side, on the firewall, near the top. Easy to get to. There are 2 of these small relays, and they only cost $13.00!!! Try going under the hood with a screwdriver. Use the butt end of it and tap on both of these relays when your car shuts down again. If it is these relays, your car "WILL" start back up! We bought these relays and after 6 months it is doing it again though. BUT, it still stsrts back up when she taps on these. But, like you, this was a new engine also!!! It is a minor fix. Let me know if this works!!

kvarilek

Hey guys. I have a 98 ES with the 2.5 liter engine. My car turns over but it won't fire up. I have had this happen before and after turning my car off and going through the gears and putting it back into park it started back up. I figured it was just not engaged in park. This time it won't start. It just keeps turning over, at one point it tried starting but died right away. Now it won't do anything other than turn over. Any ideas for me? I appreciate it!

irish280red

Ok people i just bought a 95 2.0 avenger for 500$. the car has the same problems with it not wanting to stay running,i new this when i got it.I just like the car, so im going from front to back on it to get it running right.I will post my finding on the problem's as i go.will take some time, i got a 79 280zx im getting back on the road at the same time.
(GAME ON)

myangel

I can tell you now that part of your problem is the "ASD" (automatic shutdown relay). It is located on the driver side, on the firewall. They are two small black square boxes. If the vehicle kills, or is not starting up right now, go out with a screwdriver, and tap on these relays. Your car should start. These relays are only $12.00 at your local DODGE DEALER. Auto parts stores DO NOT carry these, only your dodge dealer. Dont know why. They are a cheap fix, but not whats causing these to short out or "SHUT DOWN". There must be a short in the wiring somewhere that we havn't been able to find, no one, even your dodge dealer seem to be able to pinpoint this. I bought my daughter this same car, 95 Avenger 2.0 about 4 years ago. This started about 2 years ago, and just figured this out a year ago. Replacing them, the car is just fine and starts and stays running properly for about 6-8 months, then starts acting up again. She just gets out of her car, and taps on these. and is on her way again! Good-Luck!

batchelor357

my avenger has 123,000.miles on it i bought new in 96.have had no problems with it untill now.it will run fine and with no worning will shut off,but will start back up.and sometimes it dies and when i try and start it back up it will fire up and die amedeitly.last time it did this it took about 10 trys befor it fired up and ran fine.its been doing this for a while.i have replaced the fuel filters and pump.still keep dieing on me does any one have any ansers for me?