I have a 2012 Fiesta that I bought from a dealer and takes in and fixes R titled cars. This Fiesta had flood damage. I bought it with 6000 miles and it currently has about 23,000. Ive had this problem since I bought it but it has been bothering me lately and maybe getting worse. When I start it up (when its cold) it'll turn but it'll bog down immediately and act like its trying to stall on me, the RPMS are very low and its like its not getting any fuel. Sometimes it takes about 5-10 seconds for it to get going. It will not do this if the engine is warm, say I drive to the store and come back out 30 minutes later itll start fine. It's recently having problems when pulling out now, say if I'm at a stop light and it turns green itll bog down just a little when I hit the gas, and sometimes even whenever it shifts into second. I've dumped seafoam into it and seems to have no results.

Anyone have any ideas???

 

in most cases when a car has been in a flood it doesn't do anything but reek havoc with everything electronic. that being said unless the dealer had it totally redone with everything replaced there isn't much a person can do with or about it. the insurance company paid for that car once already. I hope that you got a really good deal on it and paid for the extended warenty. where I live, no insurance company will insure the vehicle that's been in a flood. Welcome to the sight and, sorry if there isn't anything that can be done with your car. but at this point other than replacing everything electronic including the wiring harness there isn't anything that can be done with it

 

Thanks for the welcome! I Know being a flood damage that a lot of things COULD be wrong with it, but I don't even know where to begin with this problem.


I guess what I'm asking is, if a car that HADNT been in a flood was doing this, what would some of the causes be?

 

could be a few things like low fuel pressure, a number of sensors could be faulty the pcm could be bad or shorting out. there way too much that could be wrong to list. bad fuel like water in the gas or drawing moisture in the fuel system. A question does the check engine light come on when you first start the car?

 

No the check engine has never come on.

 

Just about the best advise that I could give you is take the car back to the dealer and tell them to run a diagnostic check when it not been run any like first thing in the morning. and if they can't find the problem then ask if you could use it for a trade in on one that's not been in a flood. the only reason I say that is because most 2012 cars are still on the road and there aren't many spare parts lying around

 

There are many of these cars out there that can or cannot be sucessfully fixed. As with any problem, accurate diag is the key. Start with this:
Scan for codes. Go after them, and use just a little common sense. A cat. effieceny code will not cause this problem. However, a idle control problem could.
Since this is a cold blooded problem, monitor the data stream (if possible; maybe the tech is friendly?) when cold. Verify that the fuel pressure is present and at spec when the key is first turned on. Verifiy that the idle controller (IAC) is being commanded properly.
A good tech (not someone like me, whose done it for way too long) should be able to pick this out fairly quickly. It could be something like a sticking IAC valve or even a watersoaked PCM.
If necessary, the tech (God help him) could compare it to a known good car; there has to be something that shows uup.

 

Will a code be read by a scanner if the check engine light isn't on?
And is it difficult to replace the IAC valve or PCM?


Thank you.

 

Yes, it is possible to have a code stored even if the CEL isn't on. And this car uses the throttle body to control idle, so watch for a P24xx code (which would indicate this system). However, you can go to autozone to get the codes read (just write them down).
If there are no codes, then I would suggest taking it to a good garage or dealer. Be honest, and tell them it was a flood car; it can save you a lot of money.