Brakes - Fuel-economy :: 1998 Chevrolet Prizm - Loses Acceleration While Driving?
Aug 10, 2015
While driving my 1998 Chevy Prizm, my car lost the ability to accelerate but the car never lost power. I managed to pull over and let the car run for a bit before trying to accelerate again..the car only got up to 30 mph and wouldn't go any faster.....after a couple of hours the car run okay. What could be going on? I got new spark plugs, oil change, and an idle air control valve........
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When using the active cruise control, the acceleration is heavily influenced by the driving mode, with as you could expect eco being more relaxed and power going full steam ahead whenever possible.
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I drive a '98 Chevrolet Prizm with 205K miles on it. It drives perfectly fine except in heavy rain/snow. In those cases, I've noticed that as soon as I drive through a big puddle (i.e., get the undercarriage wet, it seems), my car won't accelerate above 35 or 40 mph. If I attempt to push it faster, the engine (?) makes a terrible roaring sound, frankly like it's going to die on me. Interestingly, if I pull over, turn off the car, let it "dry out" for a couple of minutes, and then restart it, it drives fine once again (assuming, of course, that I don't hit anymore wet patches).
I first noticed this problem about 2 years ago during the winter when, on one occasion, it had just snowed heavily and I drove through a particularly sludgy patch on the highway. Since then, I've only had the problem recur a few times, typically during monsoon-like rains. However, more recently, I've noticed the problem wanting to occur even during medium-to-heavy rains. The car will start making growling noises in those wet conditions; however, if I keep pushing the car at highway speeds, eventually the sound goes away rather than crescendo-ing to the really scary roaring noise. I'm going to hazard a guess that by continuing to drive my car at highway speeds, even when it starts growling, it dries out whatever part is getting wet and thus getting "irritated".
In sum, it sounds like my car is becoming more sensitive to and/or more exposed to moisture.
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the car has 180,000 and last month i noticed a slight hum during acceleration. the car also has a slight whine when the weather is cold. i checked the serpentine belt, and it's good. Could it be the power steering fluid? Is this normal or am I a knob?
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I have a Chevy Prizm 1998 and I drive about 250 miles a week. Recently I started going through a quart of oil in 2 weeks. My engine sounds good. I am religious about changing my oil and filter every 3,000 miles and I check my oil every time I fill up my gas tank. There is no blue smoke and no oil spots on the garage. Could it possibly be a small leak that only occurs while I am driving or a am I dreaming?
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The ABS light on my Chevy Prizm 98 comes on when I start the car and then turns off in a few seconds. The last few days the light does not go off the entire time the car is running. The light does not flash it just stays on. It's never done this before. Does this mean I have an issue with my brakes? I replaced the front brakes last year but I'm fearing/dreading rear brake replacement. I have no signs that they need to be replaced but am wondering if the ABS light is telling me I'm reaching the rear brake replacement day.
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Check engine light emissions evap system code comes up when the system is scanned what could be problem? 1998 chevrolet prizm...
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I have a 1998 Chevrolet Prizm that will not fast idle when it is started in cold weather the first thing in morning. what could be the problem?
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i have done mechanic work most of my life and can't figure out whats happening with this car. it'll idle fine but when u give it fuel it's like it cuts out. have changed fuel pump,timing,and checked most sensors?! 2000 chevy prizm twin cam toyota motor same as corolla.
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I have a Chevrolet Prizm 1998 and the heat and cooling system only works on the highest setting which is actually the fan setting. When I have it on any of the other settings such as low or med nothing comes out, it doesn't work. I can hear it click on but nothing comes out. So when I'm driving depending on the weather I have the heat or cold air blasting out of the fan until it gets annoying and I turn it off. I've checked the fuses and they're good. I have not checked the relays because I'm not sure how to do that. I haven't taken it to a shop because I'm poor and don't have a trustworthy mechanic and it works just not on low or med. Should I have this looked at? I don't want to be causing any damage but it seems like it could be something simple.
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I own a '90 Honda Accord and it constantly shakes, has poor acceleration and seems to use too much gas. I thought it was the catalytic converter and I installed a high flow cat. The fuel pump went out so I had that replaced. It shakes less since replacing the cat but I still see the gas gauge go down too low when I press on the gas and the car will stall and stop as I get to "E" when normally I was able to drive many miles past "E". Any guesses? I'm wondering if I need to replace the fuel pressure regulator.
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I have a 2001 Suburban, 5.3 liter, 2 wheel drive, automatic transmission. I often take 250 to 600 mile trips and track my MPG between gas fill ups/rest stops about every 2-3 hours. I use cruise control and maintain the same speed as much as possible on each trip.What happens is my MPG varies from 16.8 to an all time best, 24 MPG between fill ups. What could be causing this?
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Our 2010 Prius just had the brake booster recall done and I also installed new pads and rotors. The car now has issues with the front brakes dragging excessively causing lack of power and poor fuel economy. There are no codes and everything else checks out okay, the brakes function fine. Is there anything on these cars that would cause brake drag after a new brake install? I just want to ensure there isn't something I can do before I bring it to the Toyota dealer.
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I have a 2002 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS with about 151,000 miles on it. And it's an auto. I recently took it to about 5.3K rpms on a stretch and it occurred to me that I might be pushing the engine a little too hard. My oil was all fine, and the engine was plenty warm, I had been driving for about 10 minutes but still. I also don't do this too much maybe like 1-2 times/month but I sort of get paranoid about these things.
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I have a 1998 Honda Civic LX that was converted from automatic to 5 speed. It hesitates while I drive, only sometimes. Normally it does it when I am pulling off from a stopped position or when turning the corner and then accelerating. I will have my foot on the gas, but it won't gain speed unless I hold in the clutch and rev up the engine then it will pick up speed and go fine. Then sometimes it also hiccups while driving without accelerating, I can feel the car jerk a few times and start to loose power.
I will need to down shift to third, or most often 2nd gear and rev it again to gain power and to pick back up speed. Things done to it since i bought it only a few months ago by the person (who is a mechanic) I bought it from: oil change, fuel filter changed, Lucas gas treatment added (by me), new exhaust system installed, starter replaced. I am nervous that it may be rear-ended, or t-boned in heavy traffic. Should i have the fuel filter checked?
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Today leaving work my 2009 Mazda Tribute suddenly lost all acceleration after pulling out of the parking lot. Didn't die but was running like it was about to. Pressing the gas pedal had no effect at all. When I turned the car off and started it again, it did start -- with trouble but it started. It ran OK for a few miles but suddenly lost acceleration again. Same thing. The car ran but the gas pedal had no effect. Shutting off and restarting got it going. In the 30 mile trip home it did it a total of 3 times. Each time shutting off and restarting. When I was able to accelerate, it seemed to accelerate OK, but at the same time felt weak and .... laggy. That last part could just be in my head though. Just wondering where to start to fix this.
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1998 discovery. Replaced fuel pump, crank shaft sensor, battery is good, had tune -up. Driving on highway and car just loses engine power, still have radio, lights, etc. Pull over and start it right back up. Drive about 15 minutes more and it happens again. Starts again. Then it does it again, but now won't start. Clicking sound in dash on passenger side. I leave it sit for 2 days. Starts right up, then rpms start revving then stops and dies. I have had every diagnostic known run, no codes coming up. I have had local mechanic keep it for days to drive it. He is also at a loss. I am REALLY tired of replacing random parts to no avail. Not to mention the $$ I have spent.
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My manual 98 Honda civic hatchback has 435,000 miles. But for the past 5 months, it has had a reoccurring problem: it loses power at unpredictable times while I'm driving. The gas stops responding and the check engine and battery lights come on. Have to pull over, turn the car off and usually have to wait on the side of the road 5 minutes before it will start again. Lately, it can take as long as 15 minutes. Sometimes, it will restart immediately or after only two minutes.
So far, trying to get at this problem, the car has gotten: new battery, new alternator, new spark plugs, new coil, new distributer, new ignition switch, diagnostic testing (that indicated the coil [replaced] and the catalytic converter). There does not seem to be any consistent environment that goes along with the car turning off while driving. It happens regardless of how full the gas tank is and regardless of the weather.It's pretty bad to be going 70 on the highway and suddenly have to throw on the flashers and pull over... especially when there is no shoulder because of winter weather. What this is? Or is the car just old and tired?
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I have a 95 chevy silverado. 305 with an automatic transmission. I was driving down the street at about 30mph when the power went out on me.
The engine stayed on and all lights stayed on. I could rev the engine but the truck wouldn't move.
I then had a friend tow to my house and i let it sit overnight trying to decide what to do next.
The next day I went out and started it and it and was able to drive it again for a short distance at low speed and then it did the same thing again.
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Every time I turn the car on, the "from start" fuel economy reading resets to 15l/100k. After driving for a while it goes down to 4l/100k but then resets back to 15 once the car is turned off. Is there any way to get it to stay at what it finished at?
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While most of the emphasis I've seen on improving fuel economy seems to focus on warming the car up quickly in cool/cold weather, I seem to be experiencing significant mpg drops at the other end of the spectrum.
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