My daughters car jerks periodically at highway speed. She's been told her transmission is OK and she's not concerned about the car. My wife is very concerned! It has never stalled, and seems to run fine, then a little rough [unless I imagine that] and then jerk, jerk, jerk, and then fine again. She drives an '07 Ford Focus.
View 3 RepliesMy van just started to have this issue today with jerking real hard like its dropping a couple of gears while going between 50-60mph. It is a 2000 with the flex fuel 3.3L 4 speed auto.When this happens the spedo will go from 55mph to 40 instantly while keeping a steady speed and it feels like the tranny is going to rip right out. This will happen every 5 to 10 min but go back to normal driving after 3 sec and has not popped any codes. It runs like a top and all fluids are at the correct levels. I have to commute 50 miles a day to work so i really need to figure this out!!!
View 1 RepliesI drive 07'es350 and I have felt jerks while driving usually when accelerating or slowing down from speed. Did check with dealer before for transmission after analysis by technician he said it is perfect, recently read on internet and saw fuel filter can be an issue but when called the dealer he said filter is in gas tank and it is lifelong. Not sure what kind of diagnosis I should do to find the issue.
View 13 RepliesHave a 2007 F250 6.0 diesel with the standard issues including misfire at highway speed. Assume the bulletproof kit also cures the stiction problem? in reviewing the threads and looking at the vendors, references are made to fixing the oil cooler issue, egr issue, etc., but no one addresses stiction issue directly.
View 10 Replies07 f250 has a shimmy from the rear at highway speed. Has new tires is worse with a load. What am I missing here?
View 3 RepliesI have a 2007 f350 scsb with the 6.0 that has 131k miles on it... I bought it in December at 125k and since I first got it I've noticed a lot of steering play at highway speeds only... Basically 60 mph and up... I have a hard time switching lanes and passing because it's very unpredictable just how the truck will behave... It feels like the steering is loose but also slightly delayed and when I make slight adjustments it feels like the truck overcorrects itself... Could this be a steering box issue? A power steering issue?
View 7 RepliesI am wondering where I might find the approximate rpms for being in 5th and 6th at 70 miles and hour. I am wondering if it is shifting into 6th as the mileage is significantly lower than the AVG shown in the display.
View 6 RepliesI got a 1997 Ford Ranger 2.5L that randomly jerks on the highway and I can't figure out what the problem is. This morning I had a 3 hour drive and it was fine on the first hour and then the last 2 hours it will randomly jerk on the highway and then be find for a little bit and then do it again. I don't know what the issue is? I did scan my car this morning and did have two code P0141 and P0113 not sure if these would have anything to do with it or not. Also my speedometer is hit or miss when it works, other than that everything else is fine on the car no check engine light or anything like that.
View 6 RepliesOur FWD Santa Fe Limited had a very noticeable vibration that started around 60mph. Oddly, the vibration will sometimes come and go while cruising at a constant speed on the highway. We went about 30k miles before we had time to get it into the shop.
I asked them to rotate and balance the tires and the vibration was noticeably reduced...initially. Now it's back!
The car has ~65k miles. All 4 Kumho tires match and I believe are original from the factory. I have kept all tires inflated properly.
Our car has the optional 18" wheels. Is it common for these to bend? What else could be the cause here?
My 2008 Ford Focus SE hesitates at highway speeds, seems to decelerate and accelerate, sometimes more, sometime less and sometime not at all. dosn't seem to affect the acceleration.
View 1 RepliesI got off the highway today and was at a very long light, but enough time to feel my car making slight jerking movements and i saw the car raise a little over an inch.
View 8 RepliesSince I got my car back from the dealership after changing the rear shock this summer, I can feel a vibration in the car at highway speed. After the shock were replaced the car steering wheel was out of balance and pulling one side. After they attempt to align the car about 5 times it got a little bit better. Then I found out that they had an accident with my car and tried to hide it: [URL] ....
I suspect the tie rod may have been damaged so that could explain the steering issue. It also seems to have gotten worse over time. I'm trying to figure out the possible cause, if directly related to the tie rod damage or indirectly as if the tie rod damage could have caused uneven tire wear and then causing the vibration over time. I've attached some pictures, the 2 first are from the front passenger side, the 2 last from the front driver side. My tire are the Michelin pilot and this thread seems to suggest those tire might be hard to align properly: [URL] ....
I'm due for my winter tire change soon and see if thing gets better, I'll get them balanced too. I'll check at the same time for control arms/shock damage. But still, I would like some feedback and see if those tread wear are normal and hopefully get to the root of the problem (the outer edge on the tire in the back are much less damaged).
We have an '03 Santa Fe (2.4L). We are the original owners.
About 18 months ago, one of our Ignition Coils cracked and caused a misfire when then engine was under load. I replaced the coil, wires, and plugs myself at that time.
Since that time, we have experienced intermittent engine jerking while at highway speeds. There does not seem to be any pattern, and it does not happen every time we drive it.
I took it to the dealer who diagnosed a valve cover leak. They replaced the gasket, one ignition coil, wires and plugs. The problem still happened intermittently after that. I brought it back to the dealer, who diagnosed a valve guide/seat leak. Oil is getting into the cylinder and fouling the plug they say.
I could not afford the fix (and was very dissatisfied by the service I received) so the dealer recommended to change the plugs every 3 - 5K miles to get me through. I was told this on 03/31/09 (125695 miles). I replaced the plugs, wires, and BOTH coils again at that time.
Last week @ 130K miles the engine jerked again. I replaced all four plugs again Sunday morning, but the ones that I pulled were NOT look oil fouled. I showed them to a mechanic friend and the guy at the auto parts store. Both agreed that the spark plugs looked almost new. Sunday evening, while driving on the freeway, the car jerked again!
Since this happened again SO soon after changing the plugs, I really have a hard time believing the valve guide diagnosis. Some possibilities I have seen/heard:
- Crank position sensor or camshaft sensor (This was replaced at 78K miles along with the all of the belts)
- Clogged fuel filter
- Bad O2 sensor
- Vacuum leak from the hose that is between the throttle body and the engine casing
- The dealer's valve seat suggestion
2002 Ford Focus SE Mileage: 140000
Symptoms: When turning right, especially at low speed while braking, it makes this rapid clicking noise, disappears once you let go of the brake.
In the past when it made this kind of noise, usually goes away after I made sure the brake pads clips are securely clipped around the caliper, but it's not working this time. No noise while braking going forward or turning left. Seems to be worse at lower speed and any right turn can bring on the noise, does not have to be a full-lock turn.
So far what I've done: Made sure the brake pads clips are secured (horribly designed), lug nuts are torqued at correct spec, no obvious broken linkage, bar, arm, coil, or CV boots under quick inspection.
I have a really weird issue with my 2003 Ford Focus. Manual transmission, just over 50,000 miles. I've been noticing a stumble or hesitation (like the engine is cutting out) at steady speed, but ONLY when it is snowy out, more if it's windy as well. I don't recall that this happens if it's rainy or foggy. All maintenance is performed as specified, to include air filter changes.
View 9 RepliesI have a 2009 Ford Focus and have been having a problem with the brakes. When I hit the brakes at any speed there is a feeling of pulsing as I slow down. It is proportional to the speed I am going. It feels like there is an unevenness to the rotor or brake drum that makes one spot on either of those hit the brake pad/shoe more severely than the rest of the pad/shoe and thus I slow down more during that one spot. Maybe the best way to describe the feeling is like this: While the brake pedal is pressed down it feels like I am slowly pulsing the pedal even though the pedal is steadily pressed down. This pulsing feeling slows down as I slow down until I stop. What might cause this?
View 3 RepliesWe have a brand new 2013 Ford Focus, a little over 2500 miles. We drove the vehicle to NYC, starting the trip with over 500 miles. During stop-n-go driving the following conditions are experienced: - car in drive but stopped, engine idles at 750rpm- car moving at crawl speed, less than 5mph, and RPM between 750 to 2100, engine acts as if it will stall (IT IS AN AUTOMATIC TRANS); when this happens there's an obvious shudder - again almost as if the car will stall out- cannot determine what gear its in, but probably first, second, or maybe third, but no higher
We took the car back to the dealer, but they acted as if this was a normal, if not, non existent issue; they were very dismissive.
When I'm driving at Highway speeds, if I let go of the accelerator to coast and then reapply the accelerator, I get a jerking, bucking sensation. It's only at high speeds over 60 mph or so. I'm only coasting for a second or two, not long at all. Otherwise the transmission works well.
View 8 RepliesI have a 2000 Ford Focus ZTS with about 135,000 miles on it with a fume problem. Once it's warm, I'm noticing what smells like exhaust fumes in the cabin when stopped or at low speed (not at highway speed.) It runs perfectly otherwise. I took it in a few months ago (before I noticed the correlation with engine temp), and the mechanic could not replicate the problem, and he said there was no exhaust leak, I now suspect this is because he only tested it cold.
View 4 RepliesFord Focus 2004 manual 150K miles. Most days the car runs fine. Other days it will start and run until it warms up, then stumbles or hesitates at speed. When this happens the headlights and dash lights are also flickering. Sometimes i hear a clicking sound behind dash, left side. I have the sure cure: turn the heater fan to high. This works every time. When the engine is hesitating, i turn the fan to 4-high, the engine smooths out. Turn the fan down, engine again hesitates. Hesitates at 3, worse at 2, worst at 1. It seems to need the extra load.
But after few minutes of high heater fan, the alternator light comes on. I flick the heater switch down, endure the hesitation for a few seconds, the alternator light goes out, engine still hesitating, flick the fan to high, engine smooths out. A few months ago i could get it to fun smoothly with the fan on 3, didn't need 4-high. Now seems to need 4.On the days when it is always running smoothly, the heater fan can be on any speed, the alternator light does not come on.
Next few days or even weeks the engine will run smoothly, no hesitation, with the fan on or off or any setting.
The car has been to three shops in past year, one of them a major Ford dealer, who kept it two weeks. The problem has been diagnosed as battery (replaced), Battery connections (checked), plugs (replaced), fuel pump controller (replaced), fuel pump (replaced - ouch!), alternator (replaced twice - ouch twice), grounds (checked). Every time they "fix" something the car runs ok for a week or so.OBD shows P2004 (intake manifold runner stuck) but all agree it can't be the problem.
There have been a few times when i flicked the heater fan to high that all the dash lights died, fan went off, headlights off, turn signals didnt' work, but the engine ran smoothly. Not so good on the highway at night!There have been a few time, not recently, when the car wouldn't start. No dome lights, no dash lights with key turned to ON, no clicking or starter with key turned to START. It acted as if my battery was missing. The cure was to turn the headlights on. All normal after that.
I have a 1997 Oldsmobile 88 (174K miles, owned only by my father-in-law and then me) with which I am experiencing a hesitation problem from time to time at highway speed. My mechanic has taken the car on several highway test drives throughout the last two days, and he has been unable to reproduce the problem. Furthermore, he has done a full diagnostic test and found no problems with the fuel system, ignition system, or anything else.
Here are the conditions under which the problem occurs:
---Attempting to accelerate gradually at highway speed (usually from 50-60 mph), but WITHOUT pushing the gas pedal down so far as to cause the transmission to downshift
---Engine fully warmed up (temp gauge at 200 F or just below)
---Occurs more often when I have been driving for at least 1-2 hours
The condition is as follows:
---Car lurches/surges noticeably and does not accelerate
---Speedometer needle reflects the lurching by fluctuating up and down about 1 to 2 mph
---Accelerates well if I step down hard enough to cause the transmission to downshift, or stops surging if I lift off the gas pedal
---NO Check Engine light at any time
Some history on the car and corrective actions taken:
---June 2009: My mother-in-law was driving the car about 6 hours into our trip and it consistently hesitated between 50 and 55 mph with the Check Engine light on for the last 30 miles or so of our trip. The next day, we took the car to the dealer where my in-laws had their cars serviced (note the past tense here), where they told us that "there's probably something wrong inside the transmission" and suggested that we replace the transmission with a new one. This transmission is the second new one the car has had (replaced the first time at 95K miles), meaning that this transmission had less than 80K miles at the time. We took the car to a local shop at the referral of a friend, and this mechanic suggested we try flushing the transmission fluid and replacing the filter to see if that would fix the problem before we started talking about replacing the whole transmission. This worked, and we were glad that we did not have to get rid of the car. Did not notice any more problems with this for over a year.
---May 2010: Experienced engine misfire, had spark plug wires replaced. Problem solved.
---March 2011: First noticed my current problem. Had fuel filter replaced (it was probably a little overdue) and had the mechanics do a fuel system cleaning.
---April 2011: Problem still occurs.
---Had throttle body thoroughly cleaned, which fixed a slight sticking in the gas pedal.
---Replaced spark plugs myself. Car running more smoothly overall, but the hesitation still occurs.
---Inspected all three ignition coil packs myself. Top coil pack had some rust on the poles, which caused the resistance to measure as zero. Cleaned most of the rust off the poles, after which all three packs bench tested at 6.23 (with 20000 ohm setting on multimeter). Car runs even more smoothly overall, but hesitation persists.
At this point, my mechanic and I are both stumped as to what could be causing the hesitation problem. My only thought right now is to try replacing the one coil pack that had rust on it, since a pack with a fault I can see may have others inside that I can't see, and maybe something like this is flaking out on an intermittent basis.