acceleration problem - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

moji · 10-23-2011, 05:43 AM

My corolla recently developed a problem, when moving from standstill the car has a difficult time accelerating and it starts to jerk making it difficult to drive in traffic. I usually have to rev/play with the clutch to prevent stalling but once i get the car moving the problem goes away. What do you guys think could be the problem? TPS?

Bitter · 10-23-2011, 08:19 AM

is the clutch slipping/stuttering or do you think the engine is misfiring? How does it feel if you let the clutch out slow in 2nd gear from a stop. it should creep forward smoothly then stall when fully engaged.

next, what happens if you try to accelerate hard in 3rd gear from about 15-20mph? it should bog but accelerate slowly.

Are the plugs/wires/cap/rotor original? how old is the clutch?

moji · 10-23-2011, 08:50 AM

I think its really in the engine and not the clutch.

I tried what you said, from a stop in 2nd gear it creeps, fully engaged it stalls. Same with what you said with the 3rd gear.

As for the age of the clutch i don't know. I never heard of it being replaced but we did get this car 2nd hand several years ago.

I do know the clutch master and secondary was replaced last year.

Bitter · 10-23-2011, 07:32 PM

Yea, sounds like the clutch is grabbing good. If it were slipping you'd be able to rev against it or feel it chatter.

Are the plugs/wires/cap/rotor original?

moji · 10-24-2011, 12:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bitter

Yea, sounds like the clutch is grabbing good. If it were slipping you'd be able to rev against it or feel it chatter.

Are the plugs/wires/cap/rotor original?

I can't say with certainty that those are original..they may have been replaced by the previous owner.

Bitter · 10-24-2011, 09:03 PM

Might not hurt to just replace all those, or at least thoroughly inspect them. Cap could have tracks or cracks causing issues under load, could be weak spots in the wires arcing out, or worn plugs not firing completely. Under load it's harder for the arc to jump the gap of the plug.

moji · 10-25-2011, 12:17 AM

the spark plugs were replaced when the car was tuned up a few months ago.

As for the others, damage to any of those will cause my stated problem? Its just starting from a stopped position that the car is having difficulty with, once shifted to second gear its as if there's no problem at all.

Bitter · 10-25-2011, 06:45 PM

what if you floor it in second and load the engine in the wrong gear?

moji · 10-26-2011, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bitter

what if you floor it in second and load the engine in the wrong gear?

sorry but what do you mean by load the engine in the wrong gear?

Bitter · 10-26-2011, 07:45 PM

say you try to accelerate hard in 2nd or 3rd gear from a 5-10mph roll, where normally you'd want to be in 1st gear. The engine if it's going to misfire, would misfire then under the abnormally high load.

moji · 10-30-2011, 12:15 PM

I did as you said and the engine doesn't seem to misfire. It just accelerates slowly while loading the engine in 2nd/3rd gear.

Its weird, lately its working fine at first then when i get to heavy traffic and when the day is really hot then the problem starts appearing again.

Bitter · 10-30-2011, 05:52 PM

It could be a coil failing, they tend to give weak spark when hot sometimes.

moji · 11-01-2011, 10:12 AM

Is there a way to test the coil? I am on a tight budget right now so i don't have the luxury of replacing the part if im not sure its the cause of the problem.