My wife and I just got a 2002 eurovan, 132k miles, and drove it from the NW, though the parks and home to Austin.
Great trip until we were just east of Eden Tx (for real).
Cruising at 65-70, cruise ON, 3k rpm, engine temp steady at 190, tranny in D, going up a constant slope, about 75% to top, we got 2 loud ‘clunks’ in succession, followed by loss of power, ie no throttle response, and you could see rpm dropping quickly.
We had enough momentum to crest the hill, and battery light on, engine died.
We coasted to stop on shoulder.
No check engine light on. We tried to restart - no go.
We sat for a while and called AAA and arranged for towing.
After ~30min, we tried to restart , and it started right up, no check engine light.
After short drive on shoulder where all seemed ok, we proceeded, and van ran fine the remainder of trip to Austin.
A puzzle.
We had noticed a ‘clunk’ when we put car into D a couple of times when we were in Grand Canyon.
I’m still trying to understand engine and how it all works - I had air cooled VWs including transporter in 70’s- this is different beast.
Suggestions for potential causes, things to check much appreciated.
Charles