Since I had my timing belt changed on my 2002 Hyundai Elantra often stalls. The car has an Automatic transmission and it was originally only on lights in city driving but now it seems to be happening even when driving at constant speeds. The car was brought back the day after the timing belt and front cradle was changed and after them changing the Throttle sensor and "reparing" the wiring harness the issue has actually gotten worse. the car has less than 83,000 km on it.

Any suggustion's would be of benefit as it seems like the techs here have no idea what the issue could be.

Oh and I guess another question would be how much is involved in replacing the timing belt, and front cradle. I am under the impression the engine would have to be dropped to do either of the above, but according to the local techs neither require the engine to be moved and therefore nothing else would have been disturbed to replace the above mentioned parts. The "front cradle" was as listed on a previous work order (march)

Note from Hyundai from Work Order [April 17, 09]
hook up scanner found fault code p0139--[b1s1]also frt flex leaking; erace & road test & found engine stalling --- [p0121 --tps-- range /perf. replace & recheck; engine repeatedly cut out [take apart fuse box; wiring harness-under rad etc. ; repair loose connection at main relay, tweak main relay terminals; road test ok; cust to use & report.

The work done on the previous day... [April 16, 09]
Replace frt subframe assy., necessary to cut frame in several spots to gain access to nuts in sub & chassis [spinning in retainers] also necessary to remove bumper cover to gain access to nut.
*****************
replace timing belt

 

Yes, the timing belt is changed with the motor in.

I don't understand, what is the "front cradle"? Is the motor mount?

If the car stalls, there should be some trouble codes. Did the mechanic check for trouble codes?

My guess is you don't have too many lights in St. Johns, so it must be pretty bad.

 

bump'd as post updated original msg

 

Oh, you had the rusting subframe assembly. It's a really bad problem, probably there will be a recall in the US, as people will be driving along and the control arm will break. Happens a lot in high salted roads. You need to look underneath the car and see if there is more dangerous rust.

P0131 - Leaking flex pipe. They fixed that.

P0121 - TPS:

A code P0121 may mean that one or more of the following has happened:

* TPS has intermittent open or short internally
* Harness is rubbing and causing an open or short in the wiring
* Bad connection at the TPS
* Bad PCM (less likely)
* Water or corrosion in connector or sensor

My suggestion is you have the trouble codes scanned again, see what it says now. If you still get the P0121, then they still owe you some service, since the diagnosis was incorrect. Since you have severe winters/salt air up there, I would suspect a corroded connection.

 

Also, it says the cut the frame to get to rusted, spinning retainers. Not a good thing, but necessary. This will increase likelihood of rust. You need to treat the underneath of the car if you intend on keeping it.

 

I like the suggestions, and it appears I have to head back to the local Hyundai service center again on Monday morning. So rescan and hope for the best. So would you think the sensor would have been disturbed during the replacement of the cross member, timing belt or just a fluke that it occured now?

 

It's not related to the crossmember replacement. It's probably not related to the timing belt either. There should still be a trouble code. That's not right that the dealer would tell you "they have no idea". They're Hyundai techs, for Pete's sake.

 

On second thought, it's possible they disturbed something when they did the timing belt or replaced the crossmember. For example, they damaged a wiring harness or a wire inadvertently. Or they loosened an already corroded connection. The possibilities are infinite.

 

Good news is they are still working on my car, and gave me a loaner til they figure out the issue.
Bad news, when I picked up the loaner my car is out in the parking lot not inside the garage which makes me kinda wonder if they did actually work on it? benefit of doubt i guess.

Here's to the issue being resolved and me trading in on a new car Hyundai again of course

 

This is I hope my last update to this post, the car was givin back to me on Friday afternoon as "fixed". Since electrical issues with cars are such a pain, i decided I was gong to trade in the Elantra on a Elantra Touring. The Elantra worked well, with the exception of some rough idle at times, up until post apprisal for trade. Once the deal was done, just awaiting financing the car began to give issues again. Stalled 4 times in the past 48 hours, and not doing a lot of driving, nor am i driving it hard. But automatics should not stall

Anyhow, I hope everything goes well with the trade in, and I hope everything with the Elantra Touring works out well as well

Thanks for your info here folks and who knows I maybe posting in the Elantra Touring section in a few years down the road..