engine stalls on steep hill off road

I went off roading today and tried to climb a short but steep hill and I was a little hesitant close to the top and slowed down and suddenly noticed that the engine stalled. My truck is automatic and I went up that hill in 4hi and on D. I tried it again in 4LO and 2 and it stalled again close to the top after i slowed down and stopped, it may have not stalled had I kept going, but I was a little extra careful. Any idea why the truck stalls and how to avoid it?
Thanks for your valuable advice.

 

I'm not sure how the fuel pick up is on these trucks, but maybe you were low on fuel and pushed all of the fuel away from the pick up......?

 

X2

 

I filled up just before going off road, tank was completely filled up. So it may be something else??

 

I doubt this would be it but when my car stalls (also an automatic) it's because the transmission can't engage the gear it needs since the clutch sticks and cuts the engine because the car starts rolling and it can't stop itself with its own power.

Seeing as you were already in gear, I'd wonder if you had a full enough tank of gas first.

 

Take it to the dealer. I went sat. and went up steep hills in 4HI no problem.

 

Incline was too much? These things only have a certain amount of incline they can take before they call it quits.

 

full tank? hmmmmm.....
did you notice anything different like the engine bogging down before it stalled

 

most likely it.... the fuel pump can only supply so much pressure....
Gravity may be a weak force but it's still a force downward

 

Seems you could have put enough load onto the motor that is just said F*** you I quit.

 

I noticed no bogging or any other strange noise, also, I did not put much strain on the engine IMHO, the truck appeared to be capable of more. My first guess was not enough fuel for the engine, but tank was full, truck is still under 10k miles and has been to the dealer 4 times for oil change, so it is well taken care off. I will take it to Dealer soon and address that issue.

 

yeah, maybe incline was too much, I have no idea what the degree of incline was.

 

I mean, that would be my first guess after a full tank. But you can always see what the dealer has to say.

 

Take it to the dealer.

Do you have VSC, hill ascent/descent stuff on your truck?

An Automatic should never stall going up a hill or driving anywhere for that matter especially if everything is functioning properly and there's plenty of gas.

Unless some of the VSC - hill descent/ascent features are kicking in and cutting off the ignition for some reason. That's absolutely retarded why it would do that on a hill....that's a safety issue right there.

 

No, I do not have VSC and hill features, I have to 08 model that did not come with those. I agree with you seeing a safety issue here. I also have a 2007 4runner which I will try on that hill next weekend and see if it also stalls. I will definitely take the Taco to the dealer though.

 

+1. I've been up a couple really steep climbs where all I see is the hood then sky and haven't had any stalling issues. I've even had it floored in reverse pulling another truck out of a ditch back onto the street and the motor gave it it's all in 4Hi Reverse without any tires moving, and eventually the broke free and I just peeled out a little... it never hesitated or stalled, just kind of clutched the trans a bit.

Try going up it in 4Lo 1st gear, real slow, note how it stalls and at what angle approximately. Nothing should stop you in 4Lo 1st except for a lack of traction.

 

Went to dealer today and they checked if the computer registered some code - nothing. Tried to reproduce the stalling -couldn't. Conclusion: Could not find any explanation for the stalling. So I guess I just take it as it is and try the same hill with the 4 runner and see what happens.

 

It didnt roll back on that hill did it? itll stall if you roll back a certain amount in the automatics

 

^^^^^ I was thinking the same thing.

 

x2 and in 4LO there is more strain/torque on the motor. You did it just fine in 4HI and you probably slowed down a little befoe the top like you did in 4LO, less torque on the motor so it didn't stall.