cx stalls while backing up a icy driveway

[joe427]

Very weird situation.
The CX stalled while in reverse trying to go up a friend's driveway. While wheels are spinning a bit from some ice, she stalls.
Not only was it weird it stalled with the engine idiot light on, I still had power steering and about 5-6 seconds later, it started on its own. WTF?
I haven't driven it since but will shortly.

 

[GP 2004]

I believe power steering is electric.

 

[MikeM.]

That's cool the car will re-start itself if it stalls. I think you're the first person to report that.

 

[piotrek91]

Very weird situation indeed.
My guess about your stall, is that the traction control system kicked in and reduced engine torque at the same exact time that your wheels found some traction. I know that in forward gear the skyactiv AT locks up the torque converter at very low speeds.. maybe it also locks it up in reverse?

Say you were spinning your wheels at 3MPH in reverse.. but barely moving.. the torque converter locked up.. and then 1 wheel found traction.. so the TCS engaged.. and then another wheel found traction. The reduced torque output of the engine due to the TCS, combined with the possibly locked up torque converted could cause a stall.

There is a lot of corner cases to consider in the transmission/tcs/awd programming, and I think that the events must have lined up just right to cause a problem. I doubt that you'll be able to reproduce this stall again

There nothing weird about the check engine light being on, or power steering still working after a stall. This is the one case where the "check engine" light literally means "check engine".

btw.. the 2.0L in my manual cx-5 is very hard to stall. You really have to try to stop the motor. I imagine the 2.5L in your 2015 is even more resistant to stalling.

 

[piotrek91]

That's cool the car will re-start itself if it stalls. I think you're the first person to report that.

I really hope that he shifted into park or at least N before it restarted itself! If not that could lead to some dangerous situations!

The 6MT model does not restart itself after a stall btw.

 

[joe427]

Drove 40 miles home later in the day with any issues.
Just a very weird sequence of events I've never experienced and I've been driving for a long time.
I now remember putting the CX in neutral and rolling down the driveway when I saw the engine light and hit the start button and it didn't start but started about 3-4 seconds later on it's own.
First experience with electric steering with a stalled vehicle.Because of the steering still working, it took me a couple of seconds to realize it stalled and saw the engine idiot light.

Very interesting post, piotrek.

Thanks all.

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[Kedis82ZE8]

First experience with electric steering with a stalled vehicle.Because of the steering still working, it took me a couple of seconds to realize it stalled and saw the engine idiot light.

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I assume the electric power steering is similar in some ways to the one on my ATVs and thus no maintenance. Nice to have one less fluid to maintain in the lifetime of the vehicle.

 

[MikeM.]

I assume the electric power steering is similar in some ways to the one on my ATVs and thus no maintenance. Nice to have one less fluid to maintain in the lifetime of the vehicle.

I love the CX-5's electric steering. It feels almost as direct as a very good manual rack and pinion on the open road but there is no need to strong arm it while parking.

 

[Mysterio]

Very weird situation.
The CX stalled while in reverse trying to go up a friend's driveway. While wheels are spinning a bit from some ice, she stalls.
Not only was it weird it stalled with the engine idiot light on, I still had power steering and about 5-6 seconds later, it started on its own. WTF?
I haven't driven it since but will shortly.

I just had this happen to me two days ago for the first time! The CX-5 stalled, while backing into my garage and the check engine light came on. I was able to restart the car without any problems and drove it around the block. The weather was mild and the ground was dry. I hope this is not a recurring event. I'm taking the car into the dealer this weekend to see if there any codes that were stored...while its under warranty. Has this happened to anybody else? I'm worried as this is only a 2.5yr old car!

 

[piotrek91]

The weather was mild and the ground was dry.

Well.. there goes my theory about the TCS causing the stall.