Why is my car anemic?

[Saint Nick]

Aside from the fact that it is a Cavalier...

In the middle of my commute this morning, I noticed that my Cavalier is more anemic than usual. After about halfway to my destination, I noticed that when I pressed on the gas, the car sort of hesitated and then would go. I put it in neutral and revved the engine after I parked, and it felt fine. However, when it is in gear, it hesitates, then goes.

It was a lot colder than usual this morning (below zero) -- could that have had any affect on it? I drove it from a cold start, and didn't give it any time to warm up. I'm just going to take it to the mechanic if it keeps acting up, but any ideas? Hopefully it won't cost an arm and a leg as I plan to buy a house soon :|

 

[phucheneh]

Is it an engine problem or a transmission problem?

A lot of people will describe their engine as 'lacking power' when what they're really experiencing is a lack of downshifting in an auto trans. You may know better than this; I don't mean to seem condescending (I say that, but people never believe me ). But it is a REALLY common thing to encounter with those who aren't terribly car-savvy.

Essentially, I just need to ask: what RPM range are you at when trying to accelerate? 'Cause that 2.2L (assuming that's what it is) isn't going have any ass behind it until ~3k or so, and will keep pulling harder up to redline. The four speed it's mated to, however, has a shift strategy that will often have you cruising at ~2k or so. It will do next to nothing if you open the throttle all the way up and it doesn't downshift.

 

[Saint Nick]

I guess the best way to describe it, would to say that it feels like the clutch is engaging and disengaging very rapid. Seriously, it lasts for a second then the car gets going. That statement probably will make you car guys laugh, but that is what it "feels" like. Once it grabs the clutch it has no problem accelerating. When I was parked, and idling, I revved my engine in neutral and didn't notice the same hesitation/hiccuping.

It is the Z24 model, and has the 2.4L engine, however I'm sure your point still stands. I typically shift around 2500 RPM, and usually never get out of fourth gear on the city streets, I don't think I got out of third this morning since traffic was so slow.

It only started doing this in the middle of my commute. I didn't feel this when I was getting out of my garage and my neighborhood.

I should have specified my car is a manual transmission.

 

[Zivic]

slipping clutch?

 

[manimal]

how long since plugs/tuneup?

Has Idle changed?

Cel?

 

[Saint Nick]

Hmm, I'm not sure on the last time the plugs were changed, or when it was tuned up. I had some somewhat major repair on it last year where work was done on the clutch. There was a bearing that was making horrible squealing sounds at idle. They replaced that and the clutch, and it ran like a million bucks after that.

I don't think it's been tuned up ever. I should probably have them do that. It has 116k on it, afterall. Idle hasn't changed at all. The place I take it always does an inspection, so I guess I've always assumed all was well.

Not sure what Cel means.

I'll have to report how it drives on the way home.

 

[jlee]

CEL is check engine light. If you have 116k miles on the original plugs, that may certainly be contributing to power loss.

 

[phucheneh]

Well then...throw out the stuff about an auto trans. Heh.

When you say it feels like the clutch is slipping, what's happening to engine RPM? Is the RPM increasing without the vehicle speed increasing? Slipping clutch should be the easiest thing to rule out. Use fifth gear, floor it, and see if it slips. The highest gear is the most likely to slip because torque is not being multiplied within the trans as in low gears; essentially, the engine has to work harder and the drive wheels (and everything linked to them) will do more to 'fight' the acceleration of the flywheel.

Aside from that, it's somewhat unusual to have an engine that severely lacks power without having some other obvious symptoms- misfiring, smoking, ect.

I'm not terribly familiar with the 2.4L since the vast majority of those cars had the 2.2. They have a reputation for being...a little quirky, but I can't think of any specifics. All I remember is that they're DOHC and pretty plain-jane; no variable valve timing or anything like that to deal with. Basically, if the engine is not missing on one or more cylinders (indicative of a fuel or ignition problem, or a blown head gasket), the problem would have to be something that could effect all cylinders equally; and that range of problems is fairly narrow. Especially if this came about pretty suddenly.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

Hmm, I'm not sure on the last time the plugs were changed, or when it was tuned up. I had some somewhat major repair on it last year where work was done on the clutch. There was a bearing that was making horrible squealing sounds at idle. They replaced that and the clutch, and it ran like a million bucks after that.

I don't think it's been tuned up ever. I should probably have them do that. It has 116k on it, afterall. Idle hasn't changed at all. The place I take it always does an inspection, so I guess I've always assumed all was well.

Not sure what Cel means.

I'll have to report how it drives on the way home.

Yes, definitely do a tune up first.

Plugs, wires, dist cap/rotor if applicable, PCV valve, air filter, fuel filter.

 

[Saint Nick]

Well, I'm going to take it in for a tune-up anyways, but I couldn't get the problem to reproduce between last night and this morning. Car has been running great. Not sure what happened yesterday morning... Thanks for the help everyone

 

[manimal]

Good call. Let us know how it goes. Ask them what plugs they are going to use

 

[vertika]

Aside from the fact that it is a Cavalier...

In the middle of my commute this morning, I noticed that my Cavalier is more anemic than usual. After about halfway to my destination, I noticed that when I pressed on the gas, the car sort of hesitated and then would go. I put it in neutral and revved the engine after I parked, and it felt fine. However, when it is in gear, it hesitates, then goes.

It was a lot colder than usual this morning (below zero) -- could that have had any affect on it? I drove it from a cold start, and didn't give it any time to warm up. I'm just going to take it to the mechanic if it keeps acting up, but any ideas? Hopefully it won't cost an arm and a leg as I plan to buy a house soon :|

Hey
there can be the reason of engine vibration in a car, it may be sparkplugs or correcting other spark or compression-related issue. mostly Engine problems are often due to a bad fuel mix, lack of compression, so you should use good Engine Oil Filter. may be because of Overheating of the Car so you can make it cool by water also.