My Lancer jerks at low rpms

[wanderlustindia]

Lately I have observed jerks when I in the third gear or fourth gear and at low speeds (30-40 kph). So much so that I have to downshift to pull the car ahead, else the jerks are very pronounced by then.

I suspect a problem with the old spark plugs (they have run 8k+ kms now). I am not doubting the ignition coil, though it could be the culprit as well.

Anybody with similar experience. Cause? Remedies?

[smsrini]

Originally Posted by wanderlustindia

Lately I have observed jerks when I in the third gear or fourth gear and at low speeds (30-40 kph). So much so that I have to downshift to pull the car ahead, else the jerks are very pronounced by then.

I suspect a problem with the old spark plugs (they have run 8k+ kms now). I am not doubting the ignition coil, though it could be the culprit as well.

Anybody with similar experience. Cause? Remedies?

Not sure of the cause. I had a petrol lancer till October'07 and when i faced this problem, the service center apparently cleaned /adjusted some
'stepper' motor to rectify the problem. Faced this twice, and both times the same issue.

edit: Other causes can be blocked injectors or dirt in the fuel lines.

[Thad E Ginathom]

For some cars, that would be a little too slow for a comfortable fourth, but you say 'lately', so it must have been ok before.

How long is it since you took the car for an out-of-city run? This is a great way of freeing-up an engine that is getting tired of city stuff!

Also, giving heavy acceleration, high revs in low gears, can also be the motor equivalent of those guys who start every day by coughing their lungs out. Clears the tubes

Just once in a while of course, unless you relish increasing your fuel bills.

<cross-posted with smsrini, who seems to have hard facts, as against my speculation!>

[wanderlustindia]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

For some cars, that would be a little too slow for a comfortable fourth, but you say 'lately', so it must have been ok before.

How long is it since you took the car for an out-of-city run? This is a great way of freeing-up an engine that is getting tired of city stuff!

Also, giving heavy acceleration, high revs in low gears, can also be the motor equivalent of those guys who start every day by coughing their lungs out. Clears the tubes

Just once in a while of course, unless you relish increasing your fuel bills.

<cross-posted with smsrini, who seems to have hard facts, as against my speculation!>

Thad,

Yes, it was running alright earlier with the 3rd and 4th gears and speeds as low at 30 kph. I did not find it jerky to warrant attention.

Its been a good 3-4 weeks since the car hasn't seen the highway. I plan to run it along the mumbai-pune e-way this week as I am heading to see my folks in Mumbai. Will see if at all things improve after coming back to Pune early next week.

Otherwise, a good idea is to visit the service center and isolate the problem and find a solution.

[wanderlustindia]

Originally Posted by smsrini

Not sure of the cause. I had a petrol lancer till October'07 and when i faced this problem, the service center apparently cleaned /adjusted some
'stepper' motor to rectify the problem. Faced this twice, and both times the same issue.

edit: Other causes can be blocked injectors or dirt in the fuel lines.

you are right, the injectors could be another reason. They have been not been cleaned for a while now.

I do not have any idea about the 'stepper' motor at all.

[silver_shadow]

Originally Posted by wanderlustindia

you are right, the injectors could be another reason. They have been not been cleaned for a while now.

I do not have any idea about the 'stepper' motor at all.

what is a *while*? the reason i ask is that my ikon is giving the same problem (in all gears) and it becomes very pronounced with the AC on. i have to rev her up a bit and if i get stuck behind a slow moving vehincle it can become a pain revving back up to overtake quick and in a timely way. so i'll be following this thread closely myself. she's done 49k km. her injectors haven't been cleaned to the best of my knowledge.

[bottle]

could be fuel also, i experienced this behaviour with some fuels. premium seems to be working fine so far

[GTO - Touring]

In line with Bottle here. I think it could be adulterated fuel, get another full tank (from some other pump) and run it for 100 kms. Then give us an update.

[wanderlustindia]

Originally Posted by silver_shadow

what is a *while*? the reason i ask is that my ikon is giving the same problem (in all gears) and it becomes very pronounced with the AC on. i have to rev her up a bit and if i get stuck behind a slow moving vehincle it can become a pain revving back up to overtake quick and in a timely way. so i'll be following this thread closely myself. she's done 49k km. her injectors haven't been cleaned to the best of my knowledge.

Sorry to be subjective in the post. IIRC, the injectors have not been cleaned for more than 10k kms, which is the running I have done since I bought the car used.

[wanderlustindia]

Thanks Bottle and GTO-Touring. I usually fill it up at the same pump regularly. But the last two refillings have been done by my wife at a different pump. Could well be the reason for the jerks. Will see after a refill from my preferred pump.

[n_aditya]

I faced the same issue few weeks back where the engine felt sluggish and used to jerk at RPM's between 1k and 1.5k. Got the spark plug's cleaned (not much visible deposits though), got the distributor cleaned and feels much better now. Need to get the injectors cleaned and the TB cleaned too.

My suggestion is get the injectors and the throttle body cleaned. Also check for worn out spark plugs and loose plug wires. It could be possible that not all cylinders are getting fired. If your engine is pinging or knocking then bad fuel is the culprit. How is the FE? Check the timing also. This should resolve the issue IMO.

[lancer_rit]

Wanderlustindia,
interesting coincidence. After I got my 50k servicing done, my Lancer also is giving some jerks in 2nd /3rd gear at low revs esp if I ease of the throttle. It does not happen all the time, but its not a one off problem...

In the servicing, I had told the service advisor that I felt the car to be a bit sluggish in low gears and he told me he will make the timing sequence more 'aggressive'. I plan to take it back to SM and get this checked as well...

Regards,

[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by lancer_rit

After I got my 50k servicing done, my Lancer also is giving some jerks in 2nd /3rd gear at low revs esp if I ease of the throttle.

Same symptoms observed by me too. Noticed this after the car was serviced around the 50k KMS mark.

Mandovi Motors charged INR 750/- for service but i doubt if they changed the spark plugs and cleaned the TB and injectors apart from other things.

However I got the plugs checked at a local garage and they were OK. Had the plugs and distributor cleaned and the car feels better. But slight jerks still exist and I will be gettin the injectors and TB cleaned soon.

Originally Posted by lancer_rit

he told me he will make the timing sequence more 'aggressive'.

I guess he has advanced the timing. Do you hear any pinging or knocking sound? If yes, then get the timing retarded or adjusted to normal settings.

[Rodeo]

I had same issue which never got resolved. I had diesel lancer. I complained about it everytime i gave to service but never recitified. They said lot of lancers hv this issue. Then later i got use to it. I had to press the clutch for a sec to stop it from jerking further.

[rks]

Originally Posted by wanderlustindia

I usually fill it up at the same pump regularly. But the last two refillings have been done by my wife at a different pump. Could well be the reason for the jerks.

I second the bad fuel theory. Maybe the filled fuel had a different octane rating and ECU needed some time to adjust.

After a service by Sanjay Hyundai, my Santro also started jerking at low speeds (~30 kmph or less) in second gear; no pronounced jerks in other gears. I also found some shuddering upon clutch release apparently because accelerator pedal was not responding instantly. Concentrated on my clutch release and gear shifting to drive without jerks/shuddering. After a while, I find that the car is back to normal; no jerking/shuddering now. Maybe the ECU needed some time to adjust. All the while the car had excellent pickup and top speed (I am using Speed 97).