Surging/bucking in 1st/2nd gear

[bmw5002]

Another thing I don't know if its normal with 5 speed rollas, is when im at very low revs in like 1st or 2nd gear, sometimes the car will just start bucking back and forth and i either have to accelerate or clutch it to stop it. If i idle along in 1st gear its fine, but i think it usually happens when i decelerate in 1st and 2nd, it will start to do that sometimes. My friends 5 speed ford focus is buttery smooth compared to my rolla in low revs. Like when i let my foot off the accelerator abruptly in 1st or 2nd, i lurch forward as the car decelerates extremely sharply at first. Its reall annoying. I could be just motoring around a parking lot looking for a space, and the car starts bucking like a bull. My friend's focus has none of these problems. Is this normal for older fwd corollas? Its definitely not the engine, nothing is wrong with that. No backfiring or anything. It would seem to me that it has to do with the drivetrain and some excessive clearance somewhere. Like something is too loose. So instead of being directly coupled to the motor, there is some slack in the drivetrain if you can understand what i mean.

[fredk]

clean the throttle body out and look for broken motor mounts, and by the way, your corolla will wear out alot of focuses

[REN69]

My old civic used to have this problem.. it was the fuel filter.. it was so clogged that fuel was spurting rather than flowing normal.. hence the "bucking like a bull" feel.

My GTS also had this problem.. I assumed my filter was done.. but the problem went away after I went for my emission test and had to replace the Catalytic converter because it was so clogged.

[bmw5002]

Will i really smoke his focus with a stock 4a-fe? I havent raced him yet but im planning on it. You know I used to think toyotas were just an economy car before i had one. But what i get from my rolla really does surpise me. And other people too. Now everyone whos driven with me says my car is "sick" and they never expected it to haul as much as it does for a little car. I can pull some pretty crazy shit with my e-brake too. THis one girl refuses to ride with me because my driving scares her.

My somewhat tame flame for the day:
O yea and I just have to say that there are people out there who really can't drive. The cops should be bothering them for their completely oblivious driving, not people like me who like to have a little fun here and there. Im always alert to the road and i consider myself a very good driver, but not a "safe" driver. I mean i don't blow stop signs or anything like that, I just go a little fast sometimes, which isn't really so bad when the conditions allow. And i do the occasional e-brake skid around corners. Yesterday I almost hit someone. Some person had all black clothes on and was in the middle of the road at night. A bad driver would be on their cell phone and eating and writing something down on their palm pilot at the same time and would've creamed the person. But my alertness, "expert" driving skills and my willingness to double-yellow line allowed me avoid hitting the person. I haven't had any cop trouble lately and lets keep it that way. My friend with the focus has been pulled over 5 times so far within a couple weeks of getting his license. I had that same problem also. I guess we all tend to go too crazy when we first get on the road and do some stupid things. I am just thankful I havent had any more cop trouble. However, I still owe my rents $300 towing charges for getting my rolla stuck in the mud offroad

[toyotaspeed90]

ok.... actually i'm gonna go another route... i read your car has 190,000 on it.... there's a very good chance that your engine/transmission mounts are worn out... when you go from on throttle to off throttle the engine will normally move a little bit in the mount.... if the mounts are bad or worn, then the engine will move quite a bit more, and yes, you will feel it in the drivers seat..... to an extent, mine does this as well but i'm too lazy to fix my mounts (plus they aren't that cheap)

[NRM]

Originally Posted by bmw5002

My somewhat tame flame for the day:
O yea and I just have to say that there are people out there who really can't drive. The cops should be bothering them for their completely oblivious driving, not people like me who like to have a little fun here and there. Im always alert to the road and i consider myself a very good driver, but not a "safe" driver. I mean i don't blow stop signs or anything like that, I just go a little fast sometimes, which isn't really so bad when the conditions allow. And i do the occasional e-brake skid around corners. Yesterday I almost hit someone. Some person had all black clothes on and was in the middle of the road at night. A bad driver would be on their cell phone and eating and writing something down on their palm pilot at the same time and would've creamed the person. But my alertness, "expert" driving skills and my willingness to double-yellow line allowed me avoid hitting the person. I haven't had any cop trouble lately and lets keep it that way. My friend with the focus has been pulled over 5 times so far within a couple weeks of getting his license. I had that same problem also. I guess we all tend to go too crazy when we first get on the road and do some stupid things. I am just thankful I havent had any more cop trouble. However, I still owe my rents $300 towing charges for getting my rolla stuck in the mud offroad

Jeez, you must think you're Jesus or something. Look at the way you talk about yourself. Even Nascar drivers don't do ebrake skidding around residential public corners. How are you a good driver, but not a safe driver? Quit kidding yourself. You shouldn't just be having this concern about yourself and trouble with the law, you should have some concern for the mother driving her kids home in a van when you ram right into them. There is a reason why you should want to be a "safe" driver. And it's not just not having any fun.

It's okay to lose your life on the street, you chose to risk it. But to risk the lives of innocent people and still think you're any better than the people who talk on cell phones and whatever is just crazy. It's easy to compare yourself to those people. But try comparing yourself to a safe driver who follows the road rules and cares about the safety of others.

Save it for the track and quit comparing yourself to people who are worse than you, just because it's so easy. And then you can go brag to some elementary schoolers about your "EXPERT" driving skills because you EBRAKE around corners.

There's my rant for the day.

[fredk]

lets all just be careful

[bmw5002]

woah. little harsh there. was the point that i shouldnt enjoy myself on the road? i havent been in any trouble with the law lately and thats good. and why even talk about crashing into kids in a van, god forbid. thats just terrible. i would never but the safety of others in danger with my driving. do you really think i do all this when theres other cars on the road?! jeez i might be crazy but im not that stupid. when theres other cars on the road i slow down to within limits and i am careful. and i can personally testify to almost being hit head-on by an oblivious cellphone user. i was going down a residential street when a woman on her cell phone in a jeep drove onto my side of the road and was heading straight for me. she would have easily crushed me and my rolla with her jeep had i not blared my horn to get her attention. can you honestly say someone like this is not more dangerous than someone who is alert to the road and occasionally has some fun when there are no other cars on the road? god forbid, would it be worse for me to get hurt on my own, or have me and the lady on the phone slam into each other head on? And would think most people on this board dont exactly drive like moms and grandmas on the road. we like to probe the depths of our cars and see what they can do. i beleive in driving to get around and driving as a sport. i have overstaffed and overpaid police in my town that have nothing better to do but sit around and give tickets for the most bullshit things. this was the basis of my story. it just ticks me off the way the cops in my town treat us.

[NRM]

Well, I can testify to being hit by a guy who thought he was an "EXPERT" driver. Read your post, all you could flame about is how the other people are more dangerous than YOU, because you say that your ALERTNESS, "EXPERT" DRIVING SKILLS, and WILLINGNESS TO DO STUFF THAT NORMAL DRIVERS WOULDN'T DO save the day. Well ya know what, if you ever hit somebody, God forbid, is your explanation good enough to anybody?

It has nothing to do with driving like a grandma. But to compare yourself to other unsafe drivers and saying you are a better unsafe driver because you drive on public roads like you're on a race track is just crazy. Do you think that these cell phone users WANT to be dangerous? Like they WANT to risk their lives and the lives of others? What makes you so special? If you really cared, you wouldn't be doing what you do, and you wouldn't have ALMOST hit someone the other night, regardless of what they were wearing, especially since you had to use EXPERT techniques to save them and you.

I have friends who died because they thought like you. I know people who were killed by people like you. I have had friends kill other friends because they thought like you. And all you can do is think you're better than these OTHER unsafe drivers.

Yes, I'm being harsh. You said you are a "VERY GOOD DRIVER," but not a "SAFE DRIVER." What's more important?

Driving is a sport. On the track. Street racing, driving dangerous speeds, and doing racetrack techniques on public roads is just dangerous. Even the dumbest driver could admit to that. And once again you try comparing yourself to someone who was worse than you at driving. So you're less dangerous than a dangerous driver. Good job buddy, but you're still dangerous and risking more lives than none.

I want to quit seeing people die for being so damn stupid and then backing up their stupidity by presenting people even more stupid than them. I'm just tired of all the deaths and all the callousness. As you said, you ended up in the mud off road. Obviously it was unintentional. But maybe your next unintentional thing you do might kill somebody.

[fredk]

[bmw5002]

Ok i admit i was wrong in calling it "expert" skills. and i was focusing on myself too much. and i would have almost hit the person any way you put it. a person in the middle of the road is a person in the middle of the road. my dad almost hit a drugged out girl in black in the middle of the road at night a couple years ago, and hes a DAD, meaning hes one of those safe and sane drivers. was he driving fast or messing around? no. its called limited visibility. and unfortunatly i dont have stadium lights on top of my car. if someone is in black in the road at night and they get killed, because the driver couldn't see them till 20 feet away, theres NOTHING you could have done about it. no matter if your a "safe" driver or not. and guess what. any 2000 pound mass moving anything above 5 miles per hour is dangerous. theres no getting around that. every time you get on the road, its a risk to your life. but you choose to take it. in germany and other european countries drivers licences are much harder to get than here in the US. in the US, any dumb schmuck can get a license my driving nice and slow along a course, signalling, staying on the correct side of the road, and parallel parking. people in german that drive are good at what they do. because not just anyone can obtain a licence. and because of this germany has the AUTOBAHN, where germans drive AS FAST AS THEY WANT. and does germany or the US have more traffic fatalities? no, the US has a couple million more. there is a difference between a driver that can handle his car and a driver that just sucks at driving, period. ive been driving my car long enough to know how it handles and this way i know what i can safely do and what i cant. all im saying is being aware of the road is a necessity that some don't abide by.

my post was just supposed to be a little story. i was happy i had avoided a potential accident. it wasn't meant to be a flame war. now lets leave it at that. and im sorry about all your friends. that must really hurt to have known so many people that have died in car accidents. i guess i cant really see it from your point of view because i never personally knew anyone who was killed in a car accident.

[NRM]

I'm sorry, I didn't disagree that there is no such thing as "limited visibility." And I didn't bring up the Germans or dumb schmucks. And now you're just going around the topic I brought up.

But forget all that, do you think what you do is safe or unsafe? I shouldn't even have to ask this, you said it yourself, it IS "UNSAFE." You said you are a very good unsafe driver. So any way you put it... you're danger on the road. Yes, it is true that you risk getting in a car no matter what circumstance. But who is more at risk? A person driving like you say you do or someone who actually follows the road rules? Gimme a break man, you can handle your car, but you can't handle this fact? You are an unsafe driver.

You may not be able to see it from my view, but I'm sure you can imagine it. Imagine your world tumbling down on you because you actually killed somebody. People die everyday, bad decisions, bad choices, bad luck. I also lost my brother to a car accident when I was younger, so I'm just asking you to think about the lives of others here. Instead of your post including EVERYTHING about you and how you can do this and how you can do that and how you're better than this and better than that. Driving isn't something to be cocky about, especially when you're on a road full of civilians. I just want you to think about it.

You say you only do it when the road allows you to do so, but how can you be so sure without those stadium lights that you speak of? You aren't and you can't be. Limit some risks please and just consider it. You don't have to change anything you do because some guy on a forum, but it's a waste of time seeing young lives being lost because of people who think like you.

[cobrajet25]

I drive for a living, and I HATE guys who think like this guy does. I see them everyday. Rarely a month goes by that I don't have to take evasive action to avoid a collision with some little "Fast and the Furious" disciple who just put that really cool 5-inch chrome muffler on the back of his mom's old hand-me-down Accord, and now has to race around at twice the speed limit so his car makes all the Jeff Gordon noises that he gets off on. Contrary to what you may think, the roads are not made for "fun"...yours OR mine. If you want to have fun going fast, find a rollercoaster or a racetrack. Just because the state has given you a license to drive does not mean that you know how (no matter how proud of yourself you are)...it just means that you have the basic skills necessary to get out on the road and LEARN HOW. Too many people think that because they have a license and know how to row a five-speed gearbox without stalling the engine they don't have anything else to learn. Roads are not out there for your entertainment. Watch where you are going and stop with the squirrelly e-braker bullshit before you kill somebody. You are not impressing anyone here. Regards, Aaron

[89rolla]

mine does sumthing like that in 1st and 2nd gears...right after i shift and start going it feels like iam going over lots of little speed bumps..i dunno if its my clutch slipping or the tranny????