At Wit's End!
#1
11-03-2009, 02:13 PM
At Wit's End!
Hello Readers,
Ok, back story of the problem...
I bought 2000 300m in 2003 with 71k miles, car ran great until '07 when my husband started driving it (may or may not be his fault but I feel better when I say it
) I only ever used synthetic oil and 89 grade gas, hubby didn't. Anyway the first and worse time it stalled was in the middle of rush hour in a major interchange right in front of a semi with my 1 year old in the back. It was stop and go and all of a sudden it just stalled I let it sit for a couple of minutes and it got me about 1/4 of mile a few yards from the exit (nuts!), AAA made it and said it overheated and that it was "normal" in a CA summer in rush hour...
2nd time my husband was driving it and said that everything electric in the car shut off, it was as if it was turned off, yet he managed to drive 10 miles all the way home, he said the pedals locked at one point but was able to drive it (call me stupid, but for a brief instant, the word "haunted" came to mind
)
We took it to the dealership and were told it needed a new computer so we paid about $650 to have it "replaced" and the problems went away for a few months. (we were told this year by 2 independent mechanics that the computer was ORIGINAL and had never been replaced, its too late to go to the dealership since this happened fall of 2007, so I'm out that cash
Later, whenever we decelerated and the RPMs went below 1 the car would stall and not want to start back up, we know this car has fuel relay issues so we replaced it but it didn't help. We took it to a mechanic who said the pedal locking was a transmission problem, we took it to AAMCO and were told transmission was cracked and repairs would cost between $700 - $7,000
(how's that for vague? as if an extra 0 literally meant 0).
Earlier this year I took it to mechanic# I lost count, and he kept it for 4 months trying to figure out the problem he said he tried 2 different computers to see what the codes would read but they were different and the car would stay on for a couple of hours and then when it was shut off cooled and they attempted to restart it wouldn't, they dropped the fuel tank and the fuel pump was in order. I lost my patience after 4 months and took it to this last mechanic who after 3 weeks said that we should replace the computer and that there was a 50% chance that it would fix the problem or at least give proper codes to fix the problem(s).
Today....the car won't stay on for more than a few blocks, a little smoke comes out white and stinky but not a lot. It sits in the garage looking sad and useless and pissing me off every time I see it.
At this point I'm hanging on by a spider's silk thread. I have no idea what to do, this is a safety issue. I mean I really like the car it's beautiful, comfortable and most importantly PAID OFF and I'd like to keep it for a couple of more years, but I'm not sure if it's worth it to spend another $600 or more for 50% on a new ecm on a discontinued car. The worst part is that because of these codes it won't pass smog so I can't even sell it for a fair price, I wouldn't even be able to buy another 300m!
I would really appreciate it some advice or direction, I've gone everywhere with this car, from transmission to battery to ecm, and I really am losing hope but I can't afford to get into payments for another car and I doubt this one would be taken as a trade-in as is.
Thanks for your patience and reaching the end.
Jo.
Ok, back story of the problem...
I bought 2000 300m in 2003 with 71k miles, car ran great until '07 when my husband started driving it (may or may not be his fault but I feel better when I say it
) I only ever used synthetic oil and 89 grade gas, hubby didn't. Anyway the first and worse time it stalled was in the middle of rush hour in a major interchange right in front of a semi with my 1 year old in the back. It was stop and go and all of a sudden it just stalled I let it sit for a couple of minutes and it got me about 1/4 of mile a few yards from the exit (nuts!), AAA made it and said it overheated and that it was "normal" in a CA summer in rush hour...2nd time my husband was driving it and said that everything electric in the car shut off, it was as if it was turned off, yet he managed to drive 10 miles all the way home, he said the pedals locked at one point but was able to drive it (call me stupid, but for a brief instant, the word "haunted" came to mind
)We took it to the dealership and were told it needed a new computer so we paid about $650 to have it "replaced" and the problems went away for a few months. (we were told this year by 2 independent mechanics that the computer was ORIGINAL and had never been replaced, its too late to go to the dealership since this happened fall of 2007, so I'm out that cash
Later, whenever we decelerated and the RPMs went below 1 the car would stall and not want to start back up, we know this car has fuel relay issues so we replaced it but it didn't help. We took it to a mechanic who said the pedal locking was a transmission problem, we took it to AAMCO and were told transmission was cracked and repairs would cost between $700 - $7,000
(how's that for vague? as if an extra 0 literally meant 0).Earlier this year I took it to mechanic# I lost count, and he kept it for 4 months trying to figure out the problem he said he tried 2 different computers to see what the codes would read but they were different and the car would stay on for a couple of hours and then when it was shut off cooled and they attempted to restart it wouldn't, they dropped the fuel tank and the fuel pump was in order. I lost my patience after 4 months and took it to this last mechanic who after 3 weeks said that we should replace the computer and that there was a 50% chance that it would fix the problem or at least give proper codes to fix the problem(s).
Today....the car won't stay on for more than a few blocks, a little smoke comes out white and stinky but not a lot. It sits in the garage looking sad and useless and pissing me off every time I see it.
At this point I'm hanging on by a spider's silk thread. I have no idea what to do, this is a safety issue. I mean I really like the car it's beautiful, comfortable and most importantly PAID OFF and I'd like to keep it for a couple of more years, but I'm not sure if it's worth it to spend another $600 or more for 50% on a new ecm on a discontinued car. The worst part is that because of these codes it won't pass smog so I can't even sell it for a fair price, I wouldn't even be able to buy another 300m!
I would really appreciate it some advice or direction, I've gone everywhere with this car, from transmission to battery to ecm, and I really am losing hope but I can't afford to get into payments for another car and I doubt this one would be taken as a trade-in as is.
Thanks for your patience and reaching the end.
Jo.
#2
11-03-2009, 05:47 PM
Hello Readers,
Ok, back story of the problem...
I bought 2000 300m in 2003 with 71k miles, car ran great until '07 when my husband started driving it (may or may not be his fault but I feel better when I say it) I only ever used synthetic oil and 89 grade gas, hubby didn't. Anyway the first and worse time it stalled was in the middle of rush hour in a major interchange right in front of a semi with my 1 year old in the back. It was stop and go and all of a sudden it just stalled I let it sit for a couple of minutes and it got me about 1/4 of mile a few yards from the exit (nuts!), AAA made it and said it overheated and that it was "normal" in a CA summer in rush hour...
2nd time my husband was driving it and said that everything electric in the car shut off, it was as if it was turned off, yet he managed to drive 10 miles all the way home, he said the pedals locked at one point but was able to drive it (call me stupid, but for a brief instant, the word "haunted" came to mind)
We took it to the dealership and were told it needed a new computer so we paid about $650 to have it "replaced" and the problems went away for a few months. (we were told this year by 2 independent mechanics that the computer was ORIGINAL and had never been replaced, its too late to go to the dealership since this happened fall of 2007, so I'm out that cash
Later, whenever we decelerated and the RPMs went below 1 the car would stall and not want to start back up, we know this car has fuel relay issues so we replaced it but it didn't help. We took it to a mechanic who said the pedal locking was a transmission problem, we took it to AAMCO and were told transmission was cracked and repairs would cost between $700 - $7,000(how's that for vague? as if an extra 0 literally meant 0).
Earlier this year I took it to mechanic# I lost count, and he kept it for 4 months trying to figure out the problem he said he tried 2 different computers to see what the codes would read but they were different and the car would stay on for a couple of hours and then when it was shut off cooled and they attempted to restart it wouldn't, they dropped the fuel tank and the fuel pump was in order. I lost my patience after 4 months and took it to this last mechanic who after 3 weeks said that we should replace the computer and that there was a 50% chance that it would fix the problem or at least give proper codes to fix the problem(s).
Today....the car won't stay on for more than a few blocks, a little smoke comes out white and stinky but not a lot. It sits in the garage looking sad and useless and pissing me off every time I see it.
At this point I'm hanging on by a spider's silk thread. I have no idea what to do, this is a safety issue. I mean I really like the car it's beautiful, comfortable and most importantly PAID OFF and I'd like to keep it for a couple of more years, but I'm not sure if it's worth it to spend another $600 or more for 50% on a new ecm on a discontinued car. The worst part is that because of these codes it won't pass smog so I can't even sell it for a fair price, I wouldn't even be able to buy another 300m!
I would really appreciate it some advice or direction, I've gone everywhere with this car, from transmission to battery to ecm, and I really am losing hope but I can't afford to get into payments for another car and I doubt this one would be taken as a trade-in as is.
Thanks for your patience and reaching the end.
Jo.
Ok, back story of the problem...
I bought 2000 300m in 2003 with 71k miles, car ran great until '07 when my husband started driving it (may or may not be his fault but I feel better when I say it
) I only ever used synthetic oil and 89 grade gas, hubby didn't. Anyway the first and worse time it stalled was in the middle of rush hour in a major interchange right in front of a semi with my 1 year old in the back. It was stop and go and all of a sudden it just stalled I let it sit for a couple of minutes and it got me about 1/4 of mile a few yards from the exit (nuts!), AAA made it and said it overheated and that it was "normal" in a CA summer in rush hour...2nd time my husband was driving it and said that everything electric in the car shut off, it was as if it was turned off, yet he managed to drive 10 miles all the way home, he said the pedals locked at one point but was able to drive it (call me stupid, but for a brief instant, the word "haunted" came to mind
)We took it to the dealership and were told it needed a new computer so we paid about $650 to have it "replaced" and the problems went away for a few months. (we were told this year by 2 independent mechanics that the computer was ORIGINAL and had never been replaced, its too late to go to the dealership since this happened fall of 2007, so I'm out that cash
Later, whenever we decelerated and the RPMs went below 1 the car would stall and not want to start back up, we know this car has fuel relay issues so we replaced it but it didn't help. We took it to a mechanic who said the pedal locking was a transmission problem, we took it to AAMCO and were told transmission was cracked and repairs would cost between $700 - $7,000
(how's that for vague? as if an extra 0 literally meant 0).Earlier this year I took it to mechanic# I lost count, and he kept it for 4 months trying to figure out the problem he said he tried 2 different computers to see what the codes would read but they were different and the car would stay on for a couple of hours and then when it was shut off cooled and they attempted to restart it wouldn't, they dropped the fuel tank and the fuel pump was in order. I lost my patience after 4 months and took it to this last mechanic who after 3 weeks said that we should replace the computer and that there was a 50% chance that it would fix the problem or at least give proper codes to fix the problem(s).
Today....the car won't stay on for more than a few blocks, a little smoke comes out white and stinky but not a lot. It sits in the garage looking sad and useless and pissing me off every time I see it.
At this point I'm hanging on by a spider's silk thread. I have no idea what to do, this is a safety issue. I mean I really like the car it's beautiful, comfortable and most importantly PAID OFF and I'd like to keep it for a couple of more years, but I'm not sure if it's worth it to spend another $600 or more for 50% on a new ecm on a discontinued car. The worst part is that because of these codes it won't pass smog so I can't even sell it for a fair price, I wouldn't even be able to buy another 300m!
I would really appreciate it some advice or direction, I've gone everywhere with this car, from transmission to battery to ecm, and I really am losing hope but I can't afford to get into payments for another car and I doubt this one would be taken as a trade-in as is.
Thanks for your patience and reaching the end.
Jo.
option one, find someone that actually knows how to fix a car and willing to take on the challenge. after all, it's a mechanical device, it's always repairable... even if that means replaceing every part.
option 2. do what my good friend Eddie Campos did in 1971 http://tvnews.vanderbilt.edu/program.pl?ID=219136
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