I’ve had stalling problems this morning, 5 days after a difficult cold starting incident. I’m going to list all recent events, although there may be no connection.
In order: new battery, ticking vent fan, disturbing cold-start behavior, hesitations to stall. Outside temps have been kicking around 0ºF for days here.
Five days ago, cold-starting in 0ºF (with a brand-new battery replaced only a few days earlier*), I let the car idle for 4-5 minutes before heading out on a 5-hour drive. First thing I noticed was a ticking in the vent fan system, which still recurs. That’s presumably for another time*.
More importantly, perhaps 10 minutes out, I noticed white clouds coming out of the back of the car as I drove. I thought perhaps it was road salt getting kicked up, or normal vapor, but there was nothing like this visible with other cars. I also started to notice a burning-rubber kinda smell- a bit clutch-like, actually. Eventually the white exhaust stopped. The smell dissipated over a few days.
I pulled over at the next rest stop and noticed black soot around the exhaust. I wiped it off to see if it would continue. Oil level good. No idiot lights. Engine compartment appeared normal. Couldn’t isolate a source for the smell. The rest of the ride home was uneventful, with no more black soot. I called my indie and described all this and he seemed unfazed, welcomed me to come in but didn’t think it was necessary. The car drove normally from then out...
Then, this morning I experienced a string of 2-3 incidents of extreme hesitation leading to stalling. Eventually I was able to restart successfully and drive the 4 miles or so home without incident.
I haven’t had time to pull codes, but I will, and will post here. Meanwhile, I’m putting this out for input from the group. Thank you in advance!
*just being completist.