HELP - Crazy thing just happened on the freeway!!!

[08Hemi]

OK I just had a very crazy and scary thing happen on the freeway. I was going b/t 65-70mph, very minimal throttle, just cruising. Then with no warning my car shut off! WTF????????:slapfight:

JEEP shutting off on freeway = FTMFL

So my stereo stayed on, but the dash went dark, and I had no power steering. Luckily I was able to get over to the shoulder and put it in park. I opened the hood, everything was normal. I had no check engine lights or warning notifications, so I started my JEEP back up...went and got pizza and did not have any other problems (drove 25 miles and two re-starts after the incident).

Anyone had this happen to them??? I think 08HEMIJEEP has had similar issues, but to date I do not think they have fixed or even determine what the problem is. Any help is greatly appreciated!!!!!!

[jeeppro]

check your battery cables

[Robert Palmer]

Hit your knee on the key? If not, maybe it is a bad Camshaft Sensor.

[HEMIBeast]

Or a Ground. That is odd bro. Must of scared the ish out of you. That happens everyday with my daily driver honda but im use to it now. Different though...

[chefalan23]

damn these things have some crazy electrical problems

[Dylans3960ccs]

^^ isn't chrysler amazying :D

[08Hemi]

I do not think i hit my knee on the key, but I guess I COULD have....although I am pretty sure I was not making any kind of movement by the key

All cables are in order, I have not done anything to the elec system since my stereo install over a month ago. Weird thing was, the stereo stayed on. So it was like when you shut your car off when you park and turn off the car (stereo stays on till you open the door), so i guess the more I talk about it maybe I did hit my knee on the key! BUT I had read about other people doing this and based on the position of my seat, it would be very hard to hit it with my knee. AND I just went out to the car and tried to turn it off with my knee and I couldn't do it...and i have never done it in the 10 months I have owned it

I hope I just shut it off on accident, but if not everyone be aware this could happen, and hopefully you will be a little more prepared...I know I am now!!

[Dylans3960ccs]

Mabey your jeep is bannishing you to the slow lane . . . :lol:

[Robert Palmer]

Dylan he is looking for serious help, not your senseless remarks. This is a serious problem that can get somebody killed.

[08Hemi]

I can't find that code or description in the manual. Do you think this a serious problem with my JEEP? What does it like more about the slow lane vs fast lane??


HAHA



Yeah Dylan I appreciate your humor but I need some serious time here

[Dylans3960ccs]

Dylan he is looking for serious help, not your senseless remarks. This is a serious problem that can get somebody killed.

life's too short to be a drama queen. :)

[Robert Palmer]

life's too short to be a drama queen. :)

Yeah but remarks like that get old after a while.

[Dylans3960ccs]

What does it like more about the slow lane vs fast lane??
Yeah Dylan I appreciate your humor but I need some serious time here

IDK just closer to the sholder :rolleyes:

I'll but out now. ;)

[s10eater]

Hit your knee on the key?
i'm thinking joe got this one right.

i used to always do this, thinkng there is something wrong with the jeep.
i didn't even notice that i was hitting the key. (its engineered in a bad spot)

next time it happens pay close attention to how you are moving in the drivers seat.

now when i do it i just turn the key back to on (not start) and it comes back to life.

[08Hemi]

so if it is my knee (which I went back in the vehicle and did a test run to try and shut it off with my knee, and I am 98% sure I could not have done it with my knee) I am able to turn the key clock-wise while I am going 65 in drive? my first thought was to do thins but I was not sure if this would hurt the car. Is it bad for the car to shut off while in operation? or are there no adverse effects?

It really is scary if I did NOT turn it off with my knee, b/c that means my baby has a mind of her own!!!

[blackpepper]

I shut mine off with my knee and I got a code "high speed shut-off" or something like that.. if it doesn't happen again, blame the patella.

[RedRocker]

I believe Jeep fixed the "knee problem" in the '08s, so I doubt this was the issue.

[chefalan23]

look at my problem with hitting the memory seat button with my knee while making right turns. i thought for sure there was a problem with my jeep but my was just my fatass bumping the button. not discrediting you but its worth looking into.

[DAVY27]

wow..good thing your are ok B-rad.

[Chaoul1]

Did have power to the brakes meaning was is easy to slow down like as if the car was on or was it harder than normal? No Power-Steering huh?

[heehawbus]

what about the alternator? i know its an 08 ut it could be a faulty one. i had my 99s alternator crap out and it sorta did the same thing. just kinda flickered off for a second, radio stayed on.

[White WK Swagga]

Brad you have the smart key right? The black plastic fob looking thing? Maybe the signal got inturupted or something. I'd change the bat in it just in case.

[White WK Swagga]

Also if you have other keys on your key ring it may cause it to not rest properly in the socket.

[08Hemi]

no it was super hard to brake as well! there was no flickering, and it started right back up after I came to a stop it fired right up...drove it for about 20 miles today with the stereo on loud and hard on the throttle and no issues so I have no clue what happened. Thanks for your help guys and I will keep you posted with any other findings or experiences (hope not)!

thanks Nate...so if the bat dies in the key it could cause the car to shut off? And i dont have any other keys....I like just having the sleek JEEP key all by itself!!!

[White WK Swagga]

I don't think if the bat dies it'll kill the car like that. You just won't be able to use the RKE. but you never know. LOL

[Robert Palmer]

I don't think if the bat dies it'll kill the car like that. You just won't be able to use the RKE. but you never know. LOL

These are Jeeps, so anything is possible. lol

[kudah]

car dies while driving ~ shift into N and restart

possibly you have a problem with the ignition. Wireless control module decided the key was off. If it happens again I would take it to the dealer and see if there are any codes in the system for loss of communication... such a code may not turn on the check engine light b/c it goes away when you restart.

[jeeppro]

check the recalls

[Escape]

Find a friend with a scan tool or an auto parts store and look in these three code areas.

Active
Stored
Pending

You can have codes and faults that do not cause the CEL to come on!

Most likely you have this code PO 688 Auto Shutdown.

If you brake torque it alot you will get this code P 2299 Brake and gas incompatible...lol, gotta love this drive by wire crap!

Here are the 4 codes for your O2 sensors

PO 135
PO 141
PO 155
PO 161

I just installed both front (pre-cat) O2's and 1 was bad from the factory right out of the package...The jeep didn't like that at all...so now it has 1 new and 1 old till Monday atleast.

Check the codes and let us know.
Escape

[JeePphilly]

that happened to me before and it was due to a short... didn't properly seal the wires and killed the engine while on the highway, and started back on on it's own lol. I guess just double check your wiring again to make sure you don't have a short somewhere. Good luck!

[08HEMIJEEP]

OK OK lets get some shit straightened out here. My JEEP does the same thing. When mine dies it dies, no hitting the key, loose wire or bad computer. There is something seriously wrong with these things. When mine dies just the motor dies. The dash and everything inside the vehicle still work. When it stalls i have to park it turn the key off and than open the door. After all that she will start back up.

[B.P.O.D]

damn bro thats nuts!!! good hear you're ok

[White WK Swagga]

It's that the HEMI's are being beat on too much and the jeep blacks out. I call it the Tina Turner/Rihanna syndrome. LOL J/K

[08Hemi]

Haha ROTMFL!!! Smack my bitch up!

I really appreciate the help guys and I hope this was a one time occurrence. If it happens again I am going to take her in to the dealer. So does the shifting into neutral and starting it back up work? I can't hurt anything by doing that??? If that works at least I will be able to make it a little safer for me and those onthe road!!!

[08HEMIJEEP]

When it stalls can you start it right back up???

[08Hemi]

Only happened once. Scared the shit out me and my passenger. I went over to the side of the road immediately, popped the hood and checked it out. Everything was fine then it started right back up. Next time I will try neutral and try restarting. I have driven 300 miles and 10x restarts and no issues so I am hoping it was a fluke. If it happens again I am taking her to the dealer!!!

[bambi_bandit]

Could it be due to this?

http://www.wkjeeps.com/recalls/recall_h03.pdf

[jeepnjeep]

I cannot understand how anyone could possibly hit the key with their knee. I am 6'2" my son is 6'4" my daughter and wife are around 5'7". None of us has ever hit the key with out knees. I have tried to hit the key with my knee and cannot when I'm in anything near a decent driving position.
As for your problem, it happened to me once just as I was accelerating away from a toll booth. I have the 4.7, not the Hemi. It just shut off. I put it in neutral, started it and all's OK since. This was about 2 years ago. Never happened again. Jeeps is weird critters.

[pkang21]

Hit your knee on the key? If not, maybe it is a bad Camshaft Sensor.

did that before scared the poop out of me in traffic.

[AcidCold]

My jeep did that once due to me removing the battery the day before and not securing the negative correctly.

[Denny boy]

I hit the key in my buddies 90 civic. its a manual and when we are beating on it trying to race other hondas my knee kits the key if m not careful how far im moving my feet. even if the seats all the way back it still feels liek im driving a go cart

[ducks unlimited]

check this out i had this problem!

Safety Recall H03: Front
Control Module
Date: 2/2008
Potential number of vehicles affected: N/A
Model year(s): 2008 (Grand Cherokee and Commander models built from December 4, 2007 through December 11, 2007)
Owner notification start date: February 2008
Defect: The Front Control Module (FCM) on about 1,300 of the above vehicles may have been manufactured incorrectly. This could cause the vehicle’s engine to stall or not start and/or cause the windshield wipers to become inoperative. Engine stalling or inoperative wipers could cause a crash without warning.
Solution: The Front Control Module build date code must be inspected on all vehicles. Those vehicles that have Front Control Modules with a Julian date code of 337, 338, or 339 must have the FCM replaced and the new module configured to the vehicle. Copy of Recall H-03-08 (http://www.wkjeeps.com/recalls/recall_h03.pdf) (PDF format)

[erleep]

it is the cam knock sencer i had the same thing happen to me about three months ago not hard to fix and its cheep depending on the year and type of jeep you have

[DrkSpawn]

I do not think i hit my knee on the key, but I guess I COULD have....although I am pretty sure I was not making any kind of movement by the key


I had some thing similar happen to me a couple of months ago. Jeep started fine then I started driving and it was like the car would not get any gas when pressing the pedal down. Then when turning the steering wheel to the right it was like there was no power steering. The engine light came on as well. It turned out to be a bad ignition switch. The dealer said it was like it was getting stuck between the accessory and on position. I've had no more problems since they replaced it though. :confused:

[Chris]

Well sad to say I think this is the same thing that happened to me today. I was on my way to work and out of nowhere the gauge needles went down, no more power steering and it was hard to brake as well.. WTF!!! managed to pull off, turned her off and back on and away I went, no more problems today.

[08Hemi]

Scary chit huh? Did your stereo stay on? It freaked me out...glad you are ok too!

[B.P.O.D]

wow thats nuts, that this keeps happening! chris has a 3.7 too not a hemi!

[Chris]

Scary chit huh? Did your stereo stay on? It freaked me out...glad you are ok too!

Yeah freaked me out, I was only going 40 on a res. street but the jeep slowed down pretty quick, thankfully I was able to get her to turn off the main street, thats when I felt the hard brakes as well. Radio and dash lights / HID's everything stayed on.

Drove all over today and not a single issue, I will be calling the dealer next week to see wtf they can do, or if they have even heard of this issue as well.

And yea as Irf mentioned, I guess im the first 3.7 to have this happen? Mines an 06 as well, very strange!

[DAVY27]

son of a B*TCH...same thing happened to me today. radio and fogs was on. was going 5mph? lol due to traffic. radio went off and went back on and fogs was starting to flicker. pulled into a McDonalds lot and right there the engine turned off!! WTF. pop the hood and wiggle the battery cables and turned it back on.would've been some scary sh*t if it was on the freeway! FTMFL

[Megatron]

^ wowzers!

[DAVY27]

yea, one min you're listening to Kelly Clarkson and head bopping and then you're wondering WHAT THE F*CK? just kidding.......i wasnt head bopping :) LOL.

[DAVY27]

i hope it's the battery cables. was loose? (i hope) and managed to tighten em up a bit.

[Black Ops Auto Works]

That's happened to me it was the battery. The terminal was on but I could move it a little. After tightening it down it still happened so I bought a new Battery and the problem was solved.

[dcjeepgc]

Not too familiar with WK's yet but having a mechanic check out all the grounds and starter connections would be a good first step and would at least eliminate the simplest and, in my mechanical experience, most likely cause of such an intermitent power loss situation.

[08Hemi]

that crazy Davy! glad you are ok...this is such a weird problem!

to date this problem has not shown itself again...which I am very glad for! thanks for the info and if it does ever happen again I will be telling them to check grounds/starter connections.

[yousmellfunnytoo]

Happened to me about a month ago, driving 45 down a road by my parents house, put it in neutral, coasted to a stop, started up again.... Hasnt happened again.

Very wierd electrical gremins. And I don't think its a battery thing. I had just tightened the terminals 30 minutes before it happened

[05quadratrac]

i've had it happen a few times too but mostly when I was driving slow or stopping, most of the time I had no idea it stalled till I went to turn or give it gas and realized I had no power steering or throttle response. The power would stay on so the radio would keep playing which is why most of the time I had no idea I stalled at first.

[Rich]

I'm on Jeep number 4 in 15 years. The only time they've ever stalled while driving was Cam position sensor. I would think a short somewhere would happen more frequently.