Scary incident with "cranking sensor"

[Kenwood]

I have a 2002 STS with 40,000M...last week I was driving along and the engine stopped suddenly, without warning...I was able to restart the car without any problem---but a couple days later it happened again---luckily, I was on a quiet street both times or I would have probably caused a wreck...
Took the car to my dealer and they diagnosed a "faulty cranking sensor"
and were able to correct the problem (so far)...But this left me a bit shaken
and am wondering, how many other "sensors" are on this car that could cause the same thing to happen again... Comments appreciated.
KW

 

[MAC1]

Your experience is not unique. My brother had the same problem with a 92 Buick Park Avenue. At least you found a mechanic that was able to diagnose the problem quickly. The mechanic at the Buick dealer improperly diagnosed and replaced the ignition spark coils, which cost about $450. I trust this will be the first and last time you will have to deal with the crankshaft sensor.

 

[kissedvfd]

Crank sensor, ECM, ignition module, ignition coil, bad ground, bad connection, electrical induction, rogue electron. Any could cause a shut down and restart condition. Yes!, it is scarey! Good auto tech to locate it first try! Sometimes the problem is difficult to find because it's intermitant and can't be douplicated when you're looking for it and sometimes a bad part/condition will cause a mafunction elsewhere. Electronics are great! when they work.

 

[ALBUNDY]

Well that happened to me twice. Turned out to be a loose battery cable. Everytime I hit a bump the car just died.

 

[holgatelbi]

On third set of crank sensors.

I had a set put in under warranty with 19,000 mi on the 2000 Seville SLS. It was a stalling issue. This time the car would stall if going slow or just miss a beat if at highway speed.

Diagnosed at Caddy dealer ($55) as bad crank sensor, again!! $440 repair estimate. Contacted Cadillac & they would not even consider a goodwill warranty replacement. Got them replaced by a local garage (I suppied the OEM parts #213-1578 & 1579) for $235 total including the sensors & diagnoses.

The old ones that came out seem to be the original design, so I don't know if they lied about being replaced at 19,000 mi. or they didn't use the updated sensors. Seems odd that I have to put in crank sensors more often than change brake pads. Oh well, that's what I get for buying a USA car.

 

[kissedvfd]

It's funny when people complain about 'The Big Three' and say or imply that non-US autos are so much better. I've had nothing but trouble out of the imports and great results out of the US autos. I've worked on a lot of cars, trucks, and bikes as an auto tech. The imports that I've owned have nearly always worn out and/or fallen apart and the US cars, trucks, and bikes just seem to keep going.

 

[mhinchley]

It's funny when people complain about 'The Big Three' and say or imply that non-US autos are so much better. I've had nothing but trouble out of the imports and great results out of the US autos. I've worked on a lot of cars, trucks, and bikes as an auto tech. The imports that I've owned have nearly always worn out and/or fallen apart and the US cars, trucks, and bikes just seem to keep going.

Well except Toyota.............they are the most dependable bar none, especially for a cheap car.

 

[kissedvfd]

I had a Toyota Celica a long time ago; the engine wore out at about 80k.

My brother had a 4x4 Toyota truck about 10 years ago, the body fell apart before the engine started leaking oil out through the head gasket and the transfer case came apart.

A friend of mine had a Toyota Tercel, the interior and body and suspension fell apart long before the engine gave up.

I've worked on several others that just flat out disgusted me!

We did test drive a Lexus before we bought the STS. It was very nice, but I felt like I was sitting in a coffee can.

I know a lot of people like them, but my experiences have soured me to Toyota too.

Sorry Kenwood, we got off subject! I won't reply to this subject in this thread again.