2012 V6 Pony Dies Intermittently

List your mods.

No engine mods. I believe the dealership added an alarm system.

Bad gas ??? Pour a bottle of Seafoam in the tank.

Shane 2012 Pony said:

No engine mods. I believe the dealership added an alarm system.

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Any mods that aren't attached by double-sided tape are relevant.

Seconding the possibility of bad gas, but this is running off of very little information.

Shane 2012 Pony said:

No engine mods. I believe the dealership added an alarm system.

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Aftermarket alarms can be a big pain sometimes. It would be worth checking that out to make sure it is working properly.

I had thought about the possibility of bad gas. after sitting for a few minutes, it would start again. Now, it will start, run rough for about 20-45 seconds and die. there is an odd exhaust smell... possibly non-combusted fuel. I will get some seafoam tomorrow and try it. It looks to me like it has to either be fuel or computer related.

I have not modified anything, other than some striping and decklid panel... nothing that makes the car do anything but look different.

Also, intermittently, the service advancetrac message and lights would come on, about once a month for the past 4-5 months. Other than that, the car has run excellent.

Sounds like really bad fuel, but as a second possibility, wasn't there an issue with a wire shorting under the rear seat that was causing intermittent shutdowns on some 11-12's?

OK You said the dealer could not reproduce it... and that they can get no codes.
But it now sounds like you are saying it happens every time you try to run it... back to the dealer it would go IMHO.

If they are not able to get any codes even after seeing "intermittently, the service advancetrac message and lights would come on, about once a month for the past 4-5 months" then the only thing I can think of is somehow it's losing power to the ECU and thus cuts out and then has no power to set a code...

Also note: DO NOT PUT ADDITIVES IN YOUR FUEL read your warranty they "can" blame anything you add if there is any issue with fuel delivery.

Some good advice here. Besides taking it back to the dealership don't tell them if you've put additives in your tank. You might try just going to a Shell, Chevron, or 76 station and top off with some Premium gas.

From my experience that sounds like a loose connection some where. or possibly a animal chewed some wires. I would start at the battery and check connections on as many wires as I could see. and look for chew marks.

Thank you all for your input. I think we can rule out bad fuel. The car does not start at all now. It just turns and turns. It will go on a tow truck in the morning to the dealership. It now seems that fuel isn't even getting to the engine. (bad fuel pump or clogged filter maybe?) all lights and electrical seem to be working fine.

Good luck, it will be much easier to diagnose now that its really dead.

If the alarm system has a KILL feature, that's where I would start.

My money is on the alarm.

The alarm wouldn't make it run rough

What's your voltage? A computer running in emergency mode might run rich, and fail to leave a code?

When I was young I bought a minivan for $500... found out a LOT about cars!

Once a neg. battery cable got loose on me and the car died for no reason, then restarted fine, only to die again. Might be worth it to check physical connections of underhood components, ESPECIALLY where the alarm work was done.

Good luck!!!!:yelpleased:

Shane 2012 Pony said:

I have a 2012 3.7 Pony. Yesterday the engine died out of the blue on the freeway. Upon trying to re-start, the starter would run for a few seconds and stop. The same thing happened today on a surface street at about 30 mph. The dealer can't find any codes and could not reproduce the situation. Does anyone have any ideas about this problem?

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Shane 2012 Pony said:

I had thought about the possibility of bad gas. after sitting for a few minutes, it would start again. Now, it will start, run rough for about 20-45 seconds and die. there is an odd exhaust smell... possibly non-combusted fuel. I will get some seafoam tomorrow and try it. It looks to me like it has to either be fuel or computer related.
I have not modified anything, other than some striping and decklid panel... nothing that makes the car do anything but look different.
Also, intermittently, the service advancetrac message and lights would come on, about once a month for the past 4-5 months. Other than that, the car has run excellent.

Click to expand...

Hello Shane 2012 Pony,

Welcome to the forum! My name is Deysha with Ford Service. Please, make another appointment with your dealer as soon as possible. Also, PM me with your VIN, dealer, mileage, full name, and best daytime number so I can escalate this to the customer service manager for your area.

Deysha