Q: Car stalls when stopped, steering wheel locks up
My car sporadically stalls. It used to happen before but rarely. Now it seems to be happening with an increasing frequency. Usually, while I'm at the traffic light, the car would stall. I would be able to start it up immediately. When the car stalls, the steering wheel gets locked for some reason. The car also jerks while I'm driving at higher speeds, like on a highhway. It keeps running though. I took it to a shop but I wasn't given an answer or a solution as to why this happens. The check engine light doesn't come on at all. This happened a lot of times during last week. Again at the shop, they told me that cleaning the throttle would solve the issue. I guess I need another opinion. Do you have any advice what else I should check?
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Yes, this is a common problem with CX-9. Carbon deposits can build in the throttle body causing a restriction in airflow and reaction time of the throttle plate causing stalling with no Check Engine Light or no diagnostic trouble codes.
The throttle body should be inspected for carbon buildup and cleaned if there are deposits. Fault codes should be read out also to ensure there are no other underlying issues, and then a throttle relearn procedure should be executed after the throttle body is cleaned. You may want to enlist the help of a mechanic, such as one from YourMechanic, to clean the throttle body and pinpoint and repair the cause of the stalling issue.
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