2005 Vibe stalling.

[oppy1984]

Ok new hear and need some help. I have a 2005 Vibe w/ auto trans and last month I hit a deer at 65 mph on the left front of the car. (Here is a slide show of the pictures: http://s59.photobucket.com/alb...b.pbw) I had it taken to the shop (Sterling Autobody) and they did the repairs, or so I thought, there were several things still wrong with the car. I will explain that further on.I drove to work 8 days after getting my car back and up to that point the car was running fine, then when I put the car in park at work the engine stalled and the lights all went out. I restarted the car and then put it into gear and as soon as I hit reverse it staled again, I did this three times with revving the engine in park before trying to shift gears thinking it was bad gas. After a few co workers came and took a look we found that the idle was low and then by revving the engine from 700 to 800 rpm that it was at to 1200 to 1400 rmp I was able to shift gears and that was how I got it home.I took it to my mechanic and he run every test he could and found nothing wrong, but he did find that the repair shop that fixed the Vibe after my accident had left three wires unhooked at the fuse block, the connection to the engine from the air intake to the engine was left very loose, and a brillo pad from the paint shop was left jammed in-between the air cleaner box and the frame. My mechanic fixed all of this and thought that the air intake being loose was the problem since it could let in more air then was going past the mass air sensor there by giving the wrong fuel/air ratio. I drove it all day and it seemed fine then when I got in to go to work that night it stalled when I put it into gear.I took it back to my mechanic the next day and after some more work they found that there was battery acid in the engine compartment from when the battery cracked from my accident. They cleaned it all off and then found that it had gotten into some of the sensors, so they spent all day cleaning each sensors but said that the acid had corroded them so there was no guaranty that it would work. And sure enough it stalled when I back out of their parking lot. They were closing so I go it home and I will be taking it back in Monday morning, but the next step is replacing both sensors and each one costs $385.00 so if anyone had any suggestions I would be greatly appreciative.Thanks.P.S. Sorry this is so long.

[keithvibe]

Let me be the first to Welcome you. Sorry about your accident.The intake being lose wouldn't cause it to stall out.If anything it would have caused a CEL from the mass air flow sensor, but you didn't mention that. If you could take a photo of the sensors in question that the battery acid got on would help indicate what could be causing the issue.First thing I would do which i am sure has been done because the battery was cracked would be to disconnect the battery for about 10mins and alow the computer to relearn over the period of three start/stop cycles.Again if you could post a photo of what wires were left unhooked would be helpful in helping you get your car back running correctly.If they missed something as simple as a cracked battery in the repair of your car I would suggest that you take it to a second shop for a second look at it. Are you getting any CEL's (check engine light)?If so what are the codes?I would think if you are stalling out it would be throwing a code You could try and find the sensors at a junk yard.You could also try if you know a buddy that owns another vibe, matrix, corolla, or celica switching said sensors to see if things clear up.

[joatmon]

If the rest of the damage repair was paid for by your insurance company, then then they should cover the continuing problems, since these issues resulted from the accident them as well.

[VivaVibe]

Recommendations already given are good. I think a thorough engine and mechanical check is needed. Even beyond the obvious accident related items. Perhaps a crimped fuel line somewhere? It is entirely possible that the stalling issue has nothing to do with the accident, and just happened to appear shortly afterward.I don't think an autobody shop should be liable for engine problems. Their job is to fix body damage, not mechanical issues. Of course they should have alerted you to the cracked battery, if they noticed it. There should have been a follow-up visit immediately following the body repair to be certain there weren't any other issues from the accident.Anyway, I hope your issues are resolved soon. Welcome to GV! I'm sure you'll find lots of advice and friendly folks.

[oppy1984]

First of all thanks, now then no there has not been a CEL. I will try to get a picture of the sensors if you want but I found the paperwork from my mechanic and the sensors in question are the Park-Neutral Switch & the Vehicle Speed Sensor.The start and stop cycle has been done, but again it was done by my mechanic, I don’t know if the repair shop did it also. As for the wires that were left unhooked they have been back up but I will ask the mechanic which ones they were tomorrow when I go in. And on the cracked battery thing it was the auto body shop that missed the acid from the cracked battery, and my mechanic who found it.I’ll have them look for a crimped fuel line just in case but it’s running fine while driving it’s just stalling when I shift. But again I will have them take a look who knows that could be it.And by the way on the issue of repair shops not being liable for engine work, the work on engines too, so yes I think they are liable, but that’s why I’m going to talk to my insurance agent tomorrow also.Thanks again.

[oppy1984]

I apologize for taking some long to get back to you all, I’m a self employed driver (the main reason I got the Vibe) and once I got the Vibe back I’ve been working none stop and taking care a some family matters.After being threatened by Allstate with criminal charges and having to threaten to sue to get my car fixed Sterling took my care back and sent it out to a local dealership to be fixed. They replace both the Park-Neutral Switch and the Vehicle Speed Sensor, and replaced the mass air flow sensor. I called the dealership to find this out since Sterling wouldn’t even let me look at the paper work let alone get a copy for my records. The dealership said that the mass air flow sensor was the problem; it had never been changed and had gotten crushed in the accident.So the car has been running great, thank for all your help and I hope I can get on here more often now that things are slowing down for me.