Do you know why car jerks when accelerating? As a general rule of the car lease, when the operation of something is unknown, some problem occurs is a headache. Especially if that thing is a car, with which we travel every day to work and, how can we expect, it is a real nuisance to stay in the middle of the road.
However, most breakdowns usually give specific notices before leaving us lying on the road. Knowing where they come from and why they come from, can make the difference between standing in an inappropriate place or, on the contrary, arriving on time at the workshop and that everything is quickly resolved.
Car jerks when accelerating reasons
One of the most annoying symptoms and that generates more uncertainty to drivers are the typical pulls when we drive. They are a nuisance. They make driving very uncomfortable. Also, they put us in tension by not knowing what is happening. Luckily, it may be very little, but it should not be missed and remedied.
Listening, observing and diagnosing will give us many of the answers before even arriving at the workshop. With the cars we drive today, loaded with technology and for which concrete equipment is required to diagnose the breakdown, it is best to avoid significant evils is to go to our trusted workshop as soon as possible. It does not mean that we cannot do anything on our own to know what happens and even to solve it. Do you know the steps of car wrapping? It is essential for car users.
Having a proper diagnosis leads to a better resolution of the fault, so instead of shivering, we can and should do some things. Nobody knows the car better than us and taking into account that upon arrival at the workshop the mechanic will ask us questions, we should listen and observe our car to have the answers.
Knowing when car jerks
The trip can be due to multiple reasons and the urgent need to understand what happens to the car. It causes restlessness and an inconvenience when driving is not recommended for our safety or those around us.
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We can include the possible causes in two main groups. On the one hand, power problems and the other hand the unexpected electrical issues But different sections can be very important to solve the problem:
- When does it happen? Cold? Hot?
- Does it happen when changing gears?
- At what speed or at what rate does it happen?
- Does it happen with some fuel in particular?
- When did it start happening?
- Does it happen when I connect the air conditioner or another car system?
- Does it happen more when I accelerate or when I’m holding back?
- Is it associated with any noise?
- Are there jerks when the car is idling?
How to fix car jerks when accelerating
Knowing how to answer these questions will be very useful when we arrive at the workshop. This is essential information since as we have said before, nobody knows your car better than its owner and can know, for example, that noises are healthy and have always been there and which have not. Of course, some notices can be reflected on our dashboard, but to understand them, you will need to connect the famous machine which is nothing more than a computer with an OBD port and a special program.
Check fuel supply
The basis of the operation of a combustion engine is that the mixture of fuel and air is optimal, efficient combustion occurs and that after burning, the gases can be easily expelled. To better understand the idea, it is important to know that the feed is the supply of fuel from the tank to the engine and that the breath. To name it in some way, focus on the circulation of air to the engine (intake) and the Smoke produced after burning the fuel (exhaust).
Clean the circuits and small particles
That is why cleaning in a circuit, designed to hundredths of a millimeter, is an indispensable requirement. Most of the problems caused by vehicle power are due to problems related to the dirt in the circuit. Small particles clog the ducts and prevent the circulation of fuel efficiently, which does not reach the injection system (carburation in very old models), produces small pulls. It is also possible that dirty fuel arrives, causing poor combustion.
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Stay away from dirt
The supply system incorporates several filters for the fuel, to prevent the engine from getting dirty. If these filters are not replaced when appropriate (each manufacturer reports on it in the manuals of their cars), it does not allow a free circulation of fuel or does so, but with dirt. Do not prolong its useful life and change them whenever necessary.
Check the injectors
Injectors are usually one of the main sources of pulls, but some products and additives can help in cleaning. They are thrown into the fuel tank, next to it and every certain number of kilometers, helping to keep the circuit clean. They are not miraculous products and should not be abused, but they help. However, if the pulls are still present, it is best to go to the workshop and that a mechanic, with knowledge and experience of many other similar occasions, can find the problem and solve it.
Clean air filter
The air filter is an element that many drivers forget because really, its maintenance is minimal. As a general rule, when we go to the workshop to perform the relevant periodic review, it is usually changed to a new one. However, the air filter is another source of pulls, because the air that enters from the outside towards the engine, passes yes or yes through it. If it is dirty, the air does not circulate normally and the engine lacks oxygen to perform optimal combustion, which in some cases produces pulls.
Its revision is not usually complicated. They are in a plastic box with snap fasteners, which when removing the cover completely exposes the filter, it is not even necessary to remove it. Normally they are made of paper. Its clear and whitish hue is seen when they are new and can become almost black when they are very, very dirty. If the air filter does not look like paper, pulling it comes out and we can go to buy another one that is cheap (between 10 and 50 euros, depending on brand and type of filter). Placing it is simple. They have a position and if it is not put in that position. It does not completely enter the box and the lid does not close.
Check the exhaust system
If burned gases are not expelled well, this may be due to obstructions in the exhaust system, although it is not the most common. Other reasons cause problems in the expulsion of smoke from combustion. Different sensors can give erroneous readings and cause pulls. In this system, the catalyst plays a very important role, although before pulling, it usually has other problems.
When the fuel does not burn properly, in very extreme cases, it ends up reaching the exhaust system and will burn when it reaches the catalyst. This will cause excessive overheating, even causing the ceramic substrate to melt. But this would be a very extreme case because the catalyst is designed to work at temperatures above 700 degrees.
Gas recirculation or EGR
Pulls together with problems at startup, increased fuel consumption, excess fumes and lack of power, among others. They are symptoms of failures in the famous EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) valve. The function is to make part of the gases recirculate that leave by the escape towards the admission. It opens a circuit through which part of the combustion smoke is put back into the engine to burn again.
This valve is exposed to very high temperatures, accumulation of dirt by charcoal and oil. It gives rise to a very common problem that is the accumulation of dirt due to the carbon and soot that contain the exhaust gases. It is producing a crust that prevents the valve from opening properly and narrowing the conduit where the gases pass. The problem usually occurs by circulating almost always in the city and especially at low revolutions. Anyway, before going to the workshop, we can try to remedy ourselves.
If we believe that the valve is dirty, we can drive at high revolutions by the highway so that the valve reaches a very high temperature that causes a kind of pyrolysis. In this way, part of the embedded dirt will burn. This also helps to ‘regenerate’ the catalyst.
Electrical issues
The truth is that failures due to electrical failures do not usually warn so much. The car stops and does not even allow us to “enjoy” the symptom of the pulls. Electrical failures create more headaches because they are often complicated to find, and can range from spark plug failures (which are very simple to replace) or wiring to coil problems. If your car has more than one coil and one of them is broken, the car will stumble. In case you only have one coil, it won’t even start.
Everything is much more complicated. It becomes more expensive when problems occur that have to do with the electronic control unit or other more complex systems. It requires a more thorough analysis and diagnosis, although it can also be a sensor that is giving an erroneous reading (half of the time occurs) or that a connection is in poor condition.
A very common problem
There are certain components, whether due to the passing of the years and the kilometers or due to their misuse. It can cause some problems than another. Sometimes the solution is very fast, sometimes not so much.
For example, in older cars, the throttle cable can be a source of pull. Today when we step on the accelerator, we send a signal to a device called a potentiometer which sends an electrical signal to a valve which is what we act by acting on the pedal. This regulates only in the air passage and operating errors in it can cause pulls.
Finally,
The pulls can also come from problems in the gearbox. A breakdown in this element can be tremendously expensive, even if it is a simple joint since it requires a lot of labor. The pulls caused by the gearbox do not have their origin in it but in the clutch. Excessive wear of the clutch can cause car jerks when accelerating and It creates vibrations, problems changing the relationship and until the car does not move from the site.
