Hey guys
I have a 02 es300 with 155k and i'm running into a problem. It started happening yesterday, i was on my way home and stopped at a signal light and the car turned off, I crank the motor it starts and cuts off when i let my foot off the gas pedal and the car is throwing smoke.
Please helpp

 

How does it run otherwise? I assume that the check engine light is not lit, or is it? Is the power/ acceleration normal?

Even if the check engine light is not lite, check for codes.

If the car is running well otherwise, clean the throttle blade and idle air control valve. If the car is not running well, how long has it been since you have done a tuneup?

What color is the smoke?

 

the car runs fine but right when i stop at a signal light it cuts off, engine check light is not on, throwing white smoke sometimes, engine oil is fine. last service was done at 90k thats what the previous owner told me, i only had it for 2 months. so clean the iac valve and throttle?
should i check the spark plugs is it going to help or the coils?
Thanks

 

Is the white smoke only at startup from cold? If so you can ignore it.
Oil is fine, that's good, are you loosing any coolant?
I would still recomend checking for any stored codes, even with the check engine light off, you could have a stored code.
When it does idle, what is the rpm?

Finally, yes, go ahead and clean the throttle and idle air control. It sounds the idle control is sticking. Also give the engine a visual inspection for loose hoses, or anything else visible.

 

yes, it's throwing white smoke on startup. it idles at 400 sometimes 200 and most of the time it cuts off.
i'm going to clean the iac and the throttle and check for any stored codes. will let you know
Thanks a lot

 

White smoke ona cold start is probably just condensation, a little blue smoke is normally the valve stem seal (very common on these cars). Nothing to worry about until it gets bad.

Idle speed is too low, should be around 800 or so. Normally cleaning the iac and throttle blade will fix this.

 

hopefully it's not coolant. the white smoke, does it smell sweet...

 

Try cleaning the TB and check the PCV. Maybe it's time to replace it. As for white smoke, if it only happens in cold morning, it's completely normal. GL!

 

white smoke and 400 rpm aint normal

 

Hey george i found a major vacuum leak the intake hose had a huge hole in it. i replaced it and the car was stil acting up. cleaned the TB and it was fine but when i drove the car for 20 or 30 miles the engine check light came back on. took it to the autozone and it's coming up with p0430 error " catalyst efficiency below threshold "

 

yeah you may have killed the cat through improper A:F or the 02 sensors are just worn out. proceed in your diagnosis of those things

 

Now the check engine light came back on? But it wasn't on before, or has this been going on for awhile. Several things can cause a p0430 code, but right now I am not sure what state the car is in.

 

it was on before but the error kept saying bad MAF and when i replace the intake hose and cleaned the throttle it came on with dp0430. i'm in houston, tx

 

Actually, by the state the car was in, I meant the condition of it, not the location of the car. But anyways. First you had a issue with the MAF, do you remember what that code was? Then the car was having issues idling/stalling. What type of time frame are we talking about? Was it awhile back,(ie a couple weeks or so). Or was it just recently, (a day or two) it is important to find out any related history on the car, because the two issues can very well be related. The way you wrote your initial post sounded like the car was running fine, and then started with a idle problem, but now it sounds like there could be more to the problem. What was the leak in the intake? were the hoses brittle and started cracking?

 

I've had this car for almost 2 months but from day one it felt funny because there was a lil shake in the car when idle and the engine check light was on. The previous owner told me that it one of the 02 sensors so i kept driving the car till last week it started messing up on me. i took it to autozone and it came up with 7 different errors and one of them was 430, but the rest were due to the bad MAF. so after i replaced the intake hose cleaned the throttle the check engione light appeared again and it was p0430. What should i do?
people at autozone are telling me to drop fuel system cleaner in my car.