Symptom
Engine starts then stalls immediately
The engine fires and runs for a second or two, then stops. A distinctive pattern rather than a general starting complaint: it means combustion is achievable, so fuel and spark are broadly present, and something is actively shutting the engine down afterwards. Immobiliser authorisation failing is the classic cause, since the module allows the engine to start before deciding the key was not valid.
Also described as: starts and dies, fires then cuts out, runs for a second then stops, starts then stops immediately, catches then dies, روشن میشود و بلافاصله خاموش میشود, روشن میشه و میخوابه, arranca y se apaga, enciende y se apaga enseguida, arranca y se para al momento, تشتغل وتطفي فورا, تدور وتفصل مباشرة, تولع وتنطفي بسرعة
Some causes mean you should stop driving
4 of the 13 codes that produce this symptom indicate a fault where continuing to drive risks damage or is unsafe. If the symptom is sudden or severe, treat it as one of those until a scan says otherwise.
What this usually means
This is a much more specific finding than a general starting complaint, and its specificity is the good news. The engine fired, so fuel, compression and ignition were all present at that moment. Something then removed one of them, or actively shut the engine down — and the duration before it dies narrows which.
A consistent one to three seconds is the immobiliser's signature. German references name that window, and the mechanism explains why it is so repeatable: the module lets the engine start and then decides the key was not authorised. The tells are a security lamp behaving unusually during the attempt, and a spare key behaving differently. The usual causes are an ageing key transponder or a corroded reader coil at the ignition barrel — neither expensive, both frequently misdiagnosed as fuel faults because the engine so plainly gets fuel.
A stall at the moment the key springs back from crank to run is a different fault entirely, and it is electrical: the run position of the ignition switch, or a relay fed only during cranking, is not carrying over. On a diesel, the same pattern also fits a fuel shut-off solenoid that only holds while the starter is engaged.
Everything else is the engine failing to sustain idle rather than being shut down — a blocked idle air path, a seized idle control valve, a large unmetered air leak, or a fuel supply that can prime the rail but not keep it up. Russian and German workshop references both put throttle body deposits and idle control high on this list, and they are worth ruling out before anything is replaced, because both are cleaning jobs.
Working through it
| What you find | Likely cause | How to confirm it | What fixes it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Runs one to three seconds, every attempt, then dies cleanly | Immobiliser authorisation failing — the module permits the start and withdraws it | Watch the security or immobiliser lamp through the whole attempt, and try the spare key. Read immobiliser codes rather than engine ones. | Renew the key transponder, or repair the reader coil at the barrel, which corrodes. Re-learn the key afterwards. |
| Dies exactly as the key returns from crank to run | The run position is not carrying the supply — ignition switch contacts, or a relay energised only during cranking | Measure supply at the engine management and fuel pump feeds in the run position, not just in crank. The difference between the two positions is the whole test. | Renew the ignition switch contacts or the relay. On a diesel, check the fuel shut-off solenoid holds in the run position. |
| Runs while the throttle is held and dies the moment it is released | The idle air path is blocked or the idle control valve is seized, so the engine cannot hold its own idle | Inspect the throttle body and idle passage for carbon and check the valve moves freely. Compare live idle air control values against a known-good figure. | Clean the throttle body and idle passage; renew the valve if seized. Re-learn the throttle adaptation afterwards where the car requires it. |
| Idle hunts violently for a moment before it dies | A large unmetered air leak downstream of the meter, so the mixture is nothing like what the management believes | Smoke-test the induction between the meter and the head, including the brake servo hose and the crankcase ventilation path. Live fuel trim at the moment of stalling supports it. | Repair the leaking hose, gasket or servo. Re-check trims once it runs. |
| Diesel that fires and dies with a falling rail pressure reading | The high-pressure system cannot sustain pressure — air ingress, injector leak-off, or a failing pump | Watch live rail pressure through the start and stall. Measure injector leak-off across the set; a single bad injector holds the whole rail down. | Repair the air leak or the leaking injector, then the pump if pressure still will not hold. |
| Started happening after work on the engine or its wiring | A connector not remade, a sensor disturbed, or an earth left off | Retrace exactly what was touched before chasing anything else. Compare live sensor values against plausibility rather than against a fault code. | Remake the connection. This is the cheapest fault on the list and the one most often diagnosed last. |
-
Runs one to three seconds, every attempt, then dies cleanly
- Likely cause
- Immobiliser authorisation failing — the module permits the start and withdraws it
- How to confirm it
- Watch the security or immobiliser lamp through the whole attempt, and try the spare key. Read immobiliser codes rather than engine ones.
- What fixes it
- Renew the key transponder, or repair the reader coil at the barrel, which corrodes. Re-learn the key afterwards.
-
Dies exactly as the key returns from crank to run
- Likely cause
- The run position is not carrying the supply — ignition switch contacts, or a relay energised only during cranking
- How to confirm it
- Measure supply at the engine management and fuel pump feeds in the run position, not just in crank. The difference between the two positions is the whole test.
- What fixes it
- Renew the ignition switch contacts or the relay. On a diesel, check the fuel shut-off solenoid holds in the run position.
-
Runs while the throttle is held and dies the moment it is released
- Likely cause
- The idle air path is blocked or the idle control valve is seized, so the engine cannot hold its own idle
- How to confirm it
- Inspect the throttle body and idle passage for carbon and check the valve moves freely. Compare live idle air control values against a known-good figure.
- What fixes it
- Clean the throttle body and idle passage; renew the valve if seized. Re-learn the throttle adaptation afterwards where the car requires it.
-
Idle hunts violently for a moment before it dies
- Likely cause
- A large unmetered air leak downstream of the meter, so the mixture is nothing like what the management believes
- How to confirm it
- Smoke-test the induction between the meter and the head, including the brake servo hose and the crankcase ventilation path. Live fuel trim at the moment of stalling supports it.
- What fixes it
- Repair the leaking hose, gasket or servo. Re-check trims once it runs.
-
Diesel that fires and dies with a falling rail pressure reading
- Likely cause
- The high-pressure system cannot sustain pressure — air ingress, injector leak-off, or a failing pump
- How to confirm it
- Watch live rail pressure through the start and stall. Measure injector leak-off across the set; a single bad injector holds the whole rail down.
- What fixes it
- Repair the air leak or the leaking injector, then the pump if pressure still will not hold.
-
Started happening after work on the engine or its wiring
- Likely cause
- A connector not remade, a sensor disturbed, or an earth left off
- How to confirm it
- Retrace exactly what was touched before chasing anything else. Compare live sensor values against plausibility rather than against a fault code.
- What fixes it
- Remake the connection. This is the cheapest fault on the list and the one most often diagnosed last.
Codes that produce this symptom (13)
Listed with the codes that most typically present this way first — the likeliest place to start.
- P0513 Incorrect Immobiliser Key Typical of this code Stop driving High
- P2533 Ignition Switch On/Start Position Circuit Typical of this code High
- P2534 Ignition Switch On/Start Position Circuit Low Typical of this code High
- P2535 Ignition Switch On/Start Position Circuit High Typical of this code High
- P2552 Throttle/Fuel Inhibit A Circuit Typical of this code High
- P2553 Throttle/Fuel Inhibit A Circuit Range/Performance Typical of this code High
- U0167 Lost Communication With Vehicle Immobiliser Control Module Typical of this code Stop driving High
- U0326 Software Incompatibility With Vehicle Immobiliser Control Module Typical of this code Stop driving High
- U0426 Invalid Data Received From Vehicle Immobiliser Control Module Typical of this code High
- P00C6 Fuel Rail Pressure Too Low - Engine Cranking Bank 1 High
- P0633 Immobiliser Key Not Programmed — Engine Control Module Stop driving High
- P2554 Throttle/Fuel Inhibit A Circuit Low High
- P2687 Fuel Supply Heater Control Circuit/Open Moderate
Information, not instruction
CarGeek is a reference, not a service manual. Its pages are written from public sources and from what other people have found, never from a manufacturer's own service information, so they can be wrong or incomplete for your particular vehicle. Some of what they describe carries real risk: high voltage, fuel under pressure, stored energy, hot and moving parts.
Have anything you intend to act on checked by a trained person against the manufacturer's own procedure for your vehicle. Nothing here replaces that procedure.
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