A few days ago on the freeway at 70mph, my 2014 town and country just stopped. I didn't notice at first because I was blasting some rock and roll, but traffic ahead was slowing and when I hit the brake pedal, no brakes! Well a little mushy brakes. Luckily I was able to drift to the shoulder and I had my obd with me. The dash was lit up like Christmas. I had a laundry list of codes. I tried resetting but it would not. It did restart but rpms were maxed at 2000 if I revved it. So I called for a tow. But while I waited, I got the car to start and rev over 2000 again and I cancelled the tow. Moments later as I tried to pull away, it was apparent I had no power steering. And I smelled burned rubber. So...I convinced myself that I had a blown serpentine, even though I could not get a clear view of the belt or pulleys in the glare of the light I was in. So I recalled for the tow, thinking I had a simple belt change to do. I already had a new belt in my possession so the next day I jack it up and take the tire off and oh oh...the serpentine is on and the car started right up with no codes and everything seeming normal!!!. So now I'm really freaked out because I have no idea why the car died on the freeway. I spent the next two days doing close to home experiment driving and it was doing great, no issues. But today, on surface streets, it died 4 times, each time I instantly restarted and drove a few more miles. At home, I have a hill and when I tried to go up the hill, it refused and died repeatedly. I now have it on level flat driveway and not sure what is going on. The obd sees 13.9 volts running. The battery has 12.5 sitting still and drops to 10.5 on cranking. Help please.

 

"I had a laundry list of codes. I tried resetting but it would not."
did you keep a copy of the codes or write them down if not then no one online can really do much of anything. And you made who ever looks at it that much harder because you not only erase codes you also erase any data that the computer has about the issue.

 

no, I did not write them all down. It was about 20 codes. Most pending. It starts with a catalytic below threshold code which is what trips the cel. I will write them all down next time, but it was everything..Misfires, timing,throttle position.....and so on. I'm wondering if the catalytic can throw the car into limp? Also, why was I able to start it and have rpms, but no power steering or air conditioner? That's when I thought it was the belt, but the belt was in tact. I put a new one on anyway and I exercised all the pulleys and idler to make sure they were free and not grinding. They were all ok.

 

they would be pending because it just happened. you going to need to have a professional take a look at it

 

I'm still looking for input from others who have experienced intermittent shutdowns. I drove the van a couple weeks after the initial episode without incident but it did die on me a couple times close to home and each time I was able to restart and get home. Then drive it some more without issues. Today, it reared up again and shut down while driving. only code was a powertrain 1618. And a red lightning bolt on the dash. The ebrake has been lit for a year even with ebrake off. Today I called for a tow again and by the time he arrived I was able to start and drive the car onto the flatbed.
Internet is loaded with others having same unexplained issue. some say it is the throttle body sensor, some say shift switch, others say just change the battery. If I take this van to a repair shop, it will be costly and without guarantee they can actually pinpoint the gremlin that is causing this. I'm tempted to change the battery since its the easiest to do. My OBD is reading 14 v at the control module when running. Sometimes 13.9

My oil pressure drops to 25 psi when warm at idle. Could low oil pressure trow the van into limp? 218,000 miles on the van and just put new tires on. It's a commuter and daily driver around town. Can't afford to go finance a newer vehicle.

 

p1618 is 5v reverence signal erratic. they send the 5v to cam crank sensors which would cause the engine to shut down you will still need a professional to look at this using a DVOM and good scanner to see if you have a wire issue or PCM issue