2003 Corolla Hiccup & Idle Problem - Toyota Corolla, Chevy Prizm (1998-2008)

Guest paisley999

I have a 2003 Corolla LE with 56K miles on it. Took it to the Toyota Service Dept because it was "hiccupping" at around 45 MPH after engine warmed up and would die coming to a stop afterwards. Their No.1 Tech has had this car for 6 weeks and cannot determine what is wrong. No codes or check engine lights, he swapped all sensors and ECM from a good Corolla and the car died after 20 mins of idle. Car was in minor accident 1.5 years ago so now he is saying it has to be a wiring harness problem ($1500 estimate) and they don't do this repair. Any ideas or similar situations? I have searched through the posts but could not find a comparable problem to this. Thanks for any help.

I would have put a data logger on it - drove around and see what the sensors say at those "hiccup" moments. Just a bit more detail to help flesh this out.

Is this a manual or automatic transmission?

Does it do this all the time, or some of time?

Always at the same speed/engine temp?

Details on prior damage - anything swapped or fixed under the hood, under the car, powertrain related?

Any unusual odors (gas smell, burning smell)?

sounds like the transmission isnt unlocking the torque converter clutch when you slow to a stop, the 'hiccuping' could be caused by the transmission hunting between 3rd and 4th.