Hi all, thanks for such an awesome forum. Sorry this is long, I wanted to provide as much info as possible. I've been reading for a while, actually since before I bought my wife a CRD, so you folks get some of the credit and blame! We bought ours at the end of July as a demo with 3500 miles on it. At 5500 miles my wife called me freaking out because she was in heavy traffic, had stopped at a traffic light, and now it wouldn't move. I was nearby, so I flew over. She got out, I got in, she was right, it would idle very rough and barely move no matter how far you pushed the accelerator. I nursed to a parking lot and just parked it and left as we were in a hurry. Called roadside the next morning, met him there and tried to start it, it ran like nothing happened. I told the dealer the symptoms, they called back and asked if the check engine light had come on, it never did. They replaced the EGR valve and re-flashed the computer, everything fine, until... I was out of town, same thing happened to my wife again, she nursed it home and parked it. When I got home, it started right up, had a check engine light, drove normal till 1/2 to 2/3 throttle when it would lose power and eventually stall. If I shift to neutral while still coasting, turn the key off and the re-start, everything is back the way it was before the power loss and stall, seems to run normal unless pushed, and check engine light is on. I couldn't get any codes to display, Dropped it at the dealer, the next day they call me and say "there was an EVAP code from a loose gas cap, it's all set". I say "I'm not trying to hurt antone's feelings, but a loose gas cap will not cause loss of power and stalling". He says "you're right, mind if I drive it home with a scan tool on it", I say ok, he calls today and says everything is normal right now. Any advice is apreciated. My wife is losing confidence fast, please help!!!

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'05 CRD Limited: 174k mi Euro Torque Converter, EHM, ORM, Racor fuel filter, Original Rocker Arms, Amsoil everywhere
'98 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins 24 valve extended cab short bed
'01 Jinma 4wd diesel tractor

When this type of engine won't take fuel and stalls, looking for the obvious stuff is as important as the techie with the data reader. Start by asking the basic questions: Are you getting air? Do you have a Charged Air leak? Are you getting fuel? Do you have a fuel/suction leak? Does the toggle the key trick work to retrieve the codes? This problem could be as simple as a loose hose clamp.

Also FYI: a loose fuel cap won't even cause a code on a CRD. The system does not pressureize like a gasser and actually needs venting for fuel suction to work. Your tech should know better than BS you like that.

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2005 Liberty Sport CRD, Lt Khaki, sunroof

Thankful to now be an EX-CRD owner.

Thanks for the reply. I did a visual inspection, nothing amiss. I tried toggling for codes and couldn't get any to display. I read another post where after a re-flash a couple of people could no longer toggle for codes. Wtih the overhead trip computer do codes still show up on the odometer, or do they show up on the display? Now that I have the vehicle back after no repairs except cleared codes, I realize it was in limp home mode. Does anyone know exactly what will cause limp home mode? One idiot at the dealer said only trans faults can cause it, but I can't believe anything they tell me. Thanks again, Bill

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'05 CRD Limited: 174k mi Euro Torque Converter, EHM, ORM, Racor fuel filter, Original Rocker Arms, Amsoil everywhere
'98 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins 24 valve extended cab short bed
'01 Jinma 4wd diesel tractor

Back in the late 80's MANY Ford cars used to have problems like this, where the engine was starving for "something" and idling rough and stalling. Turning it off and re-starting cured the problem indefinetly, but it always happened again w/o any set time-frame and w/o any warning signs or lights. Turns out it was the actual ignition switch where the key is placed to start the car. Try - just for kicks - gently jiggling the key around next time this happens to see if there is a problem with the contacts in the switch - Ford ended up replacing a large # of those ignitions under a recall.

My brother had one - and it would buck and cough and wheeze and gasp at around 50 mph and higher and at idle it sounded like the motor was only running on 3, instead of 4, cylinders. Got recalled for the ignition.

Also, there could be a problem with the security transponder system too. I had a Sebring that, every couple of months, I would have to reprogram the keys because after turning it off , the security light would come on the next time i tried to start it ....

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'05 CRD, Midnight Blue. Every option. Nice ride, idles like a garbage truck

Both electronic diesel engines and electronic transmissions are prone to sensor glitches. Both will also have their own "limp" modes. Quickest way to tell the difference is most electronic transmissions will limit you to the lowest 2 or 3 gears. Most electronic diesels will "power down" the engine and sometimes done progressively (full power to 80% to 60% to 40%, etc). If the ECM or TCM reads a bad signal (one that is outside it's parameters) it will give you a CEL (and log it) and react however the computer is preprogrammed to respond to the incident. Many of these sensors are reading resistance (such as a potentiometer) and simple voltage spike, pinched wiring harness, induced voltage, RF interference, heat/cold, etc.. can cause a CEL. Always remember, if it happens the first thing to do is pull-over to a safe area and "reboot" the computers by shutting off the engine, waiting a few seconds and restarting.

You should also be aware that Detroit Diesel software divides CEL codes into "active" and "historic" logs. Many times the failure situation will go inactive and the CEL goes away but the computer has it logged. It is also possible to configure the software to hide some logged codes so they can not be read unless you have a higher security access (such as the dealer or OEM). Complicating this is the problem with the Jeep system loosing the data link and not being able to read many codes (F31 recall). Personal opinion is DC knew they had electronic compatability issues and the whole F31 thing was an intentional cover-up, they just got caught.

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2005 Liberty Sport CRD, Lt Khaki, sunroof

Thankful to now be an EX-CRD owner.

Back in the late 80's MANY Ford cars used to have problems like this, where the engine was starving for "something" and idling rough and stalling. Turning it off and re-starting cured the problem indefinetly, but it always happened again w/o any set time-frame and w/o any warning signs or lights.[/quote]

Sounds like it might have something to do with windows

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06.5 Jetta TDI PKG 2 - Silver/Anth

Probably closer to the truth than we think. The last Detroit Diesel ECM I had open had an Intel 386 chip plugged into the board and was told the programing was DOS based. That has been a few years and the source of the information was about as reliable as reading Edmund forum.

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2005 Liberty Sport CRD, Lt Khaki, sunroof

Thankful to now be an EX-CRD owner.

It is important to note, for everyone who experiences ANYTHING like this, that beyond the question of the cause of the problem, for safety's sake, the immediate "get me the hell out of traffic" response on the driver's part, is to turn the engine off, then restart. This resets the computer and will probably allow you at least temporary driveability long enough to get out of harm's way.

IMHO it is one thing for the programmers to set up a routine to make it very clear to the driver that something bad has happened and expert assistance in fixing the problem is in order, and quite another for the vehicle to suddenly become unresponsive in traffic because the fuel cap is loose, or some sensor has recorded an odd event.

What is worse is that when this happens, you are suddenly driving a sled, and a slow one at that, and cannot get it out of the dangerous behavior without switching off, a sometimes even more dangerous event.

I have no idea what the designers of modern vehicles were smoking when they thought that one up. I quite understand if an engine is seriously not capable of making much power, but if the "error" is temporary, or minor, the darn thing has no business collapsing completely on you, as they all seem to do nowadays.

The mfr does this to prevent damage. Not saying I agree with it, but it saves them money on warranty work by putting the vehicle into "safe mode". This of it like your computer when you are having problems with it, you can go into a safe mode which allows the computer to run but it runs in a low performance mode without all the drivers and devices loaded. The same is true here, when the vehicle senses there is a problem, it switches to a safe mode or limp mode which allows the vehicle to be driven safely to a shop without damaging equipment.

VW has this on their TDI, but it doesn't apply to the transmission like it appears to do on ours. So on the VW, the car is just really slow until you cut it off for a while and then restart. On our vehicles it also throws the tranny into 2nd gear which is very dangerous IMO. Could this have something to do with the fact that the ECM and TCM are piggy-backed?

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06.5 Jetta TDI PKG 2 - Silver/Anth

Will it shift down to second gear no matter how fast you are going? HI OD straight to 2nd would be rough.

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It may be that your only purpose in life is to serve as a warning to others.

06 CRD Sport
Built 5/11/06
Jeep Green
Rocklizard diff cover
V6 Airbox

As far as I know yes, this is why people are filing NHTSA reports on this. Imagine if you are doing 75-80 and it does this. Has the potential to cause a serious accident. Luckily mine has been great so far with 2700 miles on the clock....knocking on wood.

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06.5 Jetta TDI PKG 2 - Silver/Anth

Forgot to mention, commercial buses are equipped with a momentary-on style "override" switch. Each time you push the switch gives you 20 seconds of run time to get it to the shoulder (how thoughtful of Detroit Diesel for this feature).

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2005 Liberty Sport CRD, Lt Khaki, sunroof

Thankful to now be an EX-CRD owner.

No joke, Iv'e seen Allison's do this and split wide open (from output shaft to bellhousing).

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2005 Liberty Sport CRD, Lt Khaki, sunroof

Thankful to now be an EX-CRD owner.