My trusty V7o Estate (53 plate) has covered 193000 miles and is a joy to drive. One recurring problem is that the engine will cut out after a period idling (in town traffic, for example). When that happens, the dashboard warning tells me that an engine service is required. Sometimes, the warning adds the word "Urgent".
To overcome the problem, all that seems to be needed is to turn the ignition off and on again. This can be pretty hair-raising for passengers, and disconcerting for me, as the car is almost impossible to steer when the engine has cut out!

Can anyone suggest a line of attack or (better yet) a cure?

On a recent long trip (to Scotland) the above fault didn't appear at all, but I got a warning that the "ABS/Anti-skid" system needed attention and was "temporarily out of action".

Otherwise, it is a super car and I want to keep it!

Best regards,

Chris K

 

Since you have a 2003 pushing 200,000 miles I'd suggest the basics first.
Any vacuum leaks?
Is the fuel filter old?
Is that pipe elbow which accumulates black gunk clean?

 

Dear Georgeandkira,

Thank you for your helpful suggestions. The fuel filter has been changed within the last year (and the problem existed before that) but I will ask our local man to check it out.
I will pass on the ideas of looking into vacuum leaks (any particular areas?)
And can you help me to identify the "pipe elbow that collects black gunk"? Where is that?
(As you can guess, I am not very familiar with the details, though I have owned and driven the car for 2 years!
Best regards,
Chris K

 

Have you had the car scanned for fault codes? Even if the CEL goes back off, there should be a stored fault code.

After that there are several different possibilties - you could have a fuel pressure issue (weak pump, worn relay, faulty pressure regulator or pressure sensor (you didn't note your model year), or you could have a voltage issue (ie regulator is heating up and your system voltage is dropping). Not sure if your model has an engine speed sensor or possibly another sensor acting up like the MAP so that's where scanning for fault codes is the key.

As to the ABS, warning, again you should be able to have the car scanned for any fault codes. Most common problems are with the wheel sensors or you could have the ABS controller board solder crack problem which can lead to intermittant faults.

Note that if your car does have a voltage issue, the car can exhibit an odd lot of errors which come about because the various computers error due to the voltage. One other poster came up with the idea of installing a small volt meter that plugs into the lighter outlet to capture when his alternator/voltage regulator went wonky.

 

Thank you, mt6127.
Yes, my local garage has scanned the on-board computer for fault codes, but I don't know (yet) what these showed up.
I will pass on your suggestions.
I suspect we are both a bot "out of our depth" (I know I am) in trying to understand what the fault codes mean and what the root cause might be, and we run the risk of changing all sorts of things to try and clear the problem
However, he is a good, trusted mechanic, and we are both learning as we go!
Kind regards,
Chris K

 

I have the same problem and it was diagnosed as a faulty throttle body that needs to be replaced.

 

Dear Bramm
Thank you for the idea. As it turned out, my local garage got it sorted in the end, after changing several parts including a high-pressure fuel pump.
Chris K