car jerks while driving + loss of power
02-14-2005, 06:23 PM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 539
car jerks while driving + loss of power
I started driving my car this afternoon and started to notice that it would jerk back and forth like if it was in first gear, while going thru the gears. It usaully happens between 2000-3500 and also at low rpms while i might be in fith and give the car some gas. This jerking has totally killed the threal of driving the max. I have also noticed a great loss of power. My guess is that one or more of my coil packs have gone out any suggestions???? How much are coil packs a peice??? What ever the case is my parents arent gonig to be happy to hear the news 
02-14-2005, 06:37 PM
#2
Is the check engine light on? If so, pull the codes and find out exactly what's wrong with the car. When I had the same problem (about 3 days ago), I went to Autozone and they gave me a free OBD II check. They told me exactly which cylinders were misfiring so I just replaced the coil packs in those (about $70 per coil pack) and it was running back to normal.
02-14-2005, 07:12 PM
#3
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 539
check engine light hasent come on i was waiting for it to come on but it didnt. Hopfully one of the front coils are bad instead of the rear. Do you have a link to where i could buy one or could i just pick one up from advance or autozone.
02-14-2005, 08:58 PM
#7
Member
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 47
check your spark plugs first before you spend money on coil packs. I had the same problem few days ago. Check engine light went on and it gave me code 0201 ( igniton coil). I replaced spark plugs and check engine light is off now and car drives normal without jerking or lost power.
02-15-2005, 01:27 PM
#12
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 539
so how do i know if its a bad fuel injector or not ??......... I just went over to advance and they siad that they could pull codes but they dont know which codes they are pulling i have my haynes manual with me now should i go back and have them pull codes even tho the check engine light is not on ???
02-15-2005, 01:50 PM
#14
Member
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Ontario, CA
Posts: 178
Same thing was happening to me back in December. All I did was change out the old fuel filter with a 300ZX one....Also changed the oil and ran premium gas. After the fuel filter was changed I noticed the jerking go away the first time I drove it. And it hasn't jerked since...I've also been running premium gas since then.
02-15-2005, 03:26 PM
#15
mm it could be a bunch of things... if it is the fuel injector, i had mine brought to a professional... i dont know much about how to check the fuel injectors but i know that they did a compression test to see if fuel was getting in my engine and my car was good
tho.
02-17-2005, 10:12 AM
#21
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 199
Originally Posted by max prodigy
from what ive heard bosch plugs suck in our cars. stick to ngks.
02-17-2005, 01:38 PM
#24
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 539
i took the car to the local nissan dealer and they said they couldnt find anything wrong with my ignition coils. They said it could be my rear o2 sensor. How much for one of those and how hard is it to change. The guy also said that there was no need to change my knock sensor because he said that they dont go bad. If i get a new one he said the code would still show up. if the engine knocks at all. Which I dont really believe.
02-19-2005, 05:23 AM
#30
Originally Posted by enjoyincubus504
my spark plugs were fine to... the fuel injectors were covering them with oil
03-04-2005, 08:24 AM
#31
Donating Maxima.org Member
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 5
I've been having the same problems for like a year now. I got two O2 sensor codes but that never solves the problem or makes the check engine light go off. You can check your fuel injectors with a long screw driver just put the metal end on the injector and your ear on the plastic end and you should hear a fluttering or ticking that is the valve opening and closing.
03-04-2005, 12:32 PM
#32
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 539
the jerking has for the most part died off there is a ocassional stuttering every now and then but nothing like before. After i get my cv boot replaced ill invest in to some o2 sensors to see if that hopfully helped.
03-04-2005, 12:41 PM
#33
I'm having a very similar problem. My car would jerk and kick when stopped at a red light. I replaced all 6 plugs with NGK Iridium IX ones and it seems to have gotten a little worse. Now it kicks and stutters at 1-2K RPM sometimes, and jerks constantly when stopped at a light. When it starts jerking I notice my RPMs drop from ~700 to almost 450/500. So far it hasn't stalled yet though. Is this a coil pack problem? Will autozone do the check-up for free?
03-06-2005, 02:45 PM
#34
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 199
Originally Posted by MaDMvD
I'm having a very similar problem. My car would jerk and kick when stopped at a red light. I replaced all 6 plugs with NGK Iridium IX ones and it seems to have gotten a little worse. Now it kicks and stutters at 1-2K RPM sometimes, and jerks constantly when stopped at a light. When it starts jerking I notice my RPMs drop from ~700 to almost 450/500. So far it hasn't stalled yet though. Is this a coil pack problem? Will autozone do the check-up for free?
03-07-2005, 03:05 PM
#35
Member
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 76
I have the exact same problem and can't figure it out. I have checked the resistance on all my coils and they all read fine. If you find an answer, please share it with us.
Could it really be the fuel filter? On my car, it only "bumps" and jerks when warmed up, and stopped at idle. Under acceleration or at a constant speed, it runs fine. But at soon as you're stopped at a red light, it misses/bumps like crazy (but never dies).
Could it really be the fuel filter? On my car, it only "bumps" and jerks when warmed up, and stopped at idle. Under acceleration or at a constant speed, it runs fine. But at soon as you're stopped at a red light, it misses/bumps like crazy (but never dies).
03-08-2005, 06:11 AM
#36
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2001
Posts: 260
Try the fuel filter
The o2 sensors could be part of the problem, but without a CEL I would try and replace your fuel filter.
I replaced mine with a 300zx filter a while ago. I had the following symptoms:
Erratic and low idle speed
Jerky acceleration
Hesitation and what seemed like a loss of power
When I removed the fuel filter I blew through it and the gas that came out was cloudy and brown...nasty. It was also noticeably more difficult to pass air through the old filter.
The new filter smoothed out my idle and raised the RPMs. No more jerky acceleration, no more hesitation or power loss.
It's a cheap part, so I would start with that. There is a writeup on how to replace it in the 60k maintenance page.
I replaced mine with a 300zx filter a while ago. I had the following symptoms:
Erratic and low idle speed
Jerky acceleration
Hesitation and what seemed like a loss of power
When I removed the fuel filter I blew through it and the gas that came out was cloudy and brown...nasty. It was also noticeably more difficult to pass air through the old filter.
The new filter smoothed out my idle and raised the RPMs. No more jerky acceleration, no more hesitation or power loss.
It's a cheap part, so I would start with that. There is a writeup on how to replace it in the 60k maintenance page.
03-09-2005, 07:31 PM
#37
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 199
Originally Posted by maxima4me
The o2 sensors could be part of the problem, but without a CEL I would try and replace your fuel filter.
I replaced mine with a 300zx filter a while ago. I had the following symptoms:
Erratic and low idle speed
Jerky acceleration
Hesitation and what seemed like a loss of power
When I removed the fuel filter I blew through it and the gas that came out was cloudy and brown...nasty. It was also noticeably more difficult to pass air through the old filter.
The new filter smoothed out my idle and raised the RPMs. No more jerky acceleration, no more hesitation or power loss.
It's a cheap part, so I would start with that. There is a writeup on how to replace it in the 60k maintenance page.
I replaced mine with a 300zx filter a while ago. I had the following symptoms:
Erratic and low idle speed
Jerky acceleration
Hesitation and what seemed like a loss of power
When I removed the fuel filter I blew through it and the gas that came out was cloudy and brown...nasty. It was also noticeably more difficult to pass air through the old filter.
The new filter smoothed out my idle and raised the RPMs. No more jerky acceleration, no more hesitation or power loss.
It's a cheap part, so I would start with that. There is a writeup on how to replace it in the 60k maintenance page.
i ave high idle rpms.
jerky acceleration before i hit 25000 rpm.
and rpm jump up and down when shifting any gear...
any feed back will be greatly appreciate it.
03-09-2005, 08:04 PM
#38
Not the fuel filter
I changed out my fuel filter with a brand spankin' new 300ZX fuel filter, and it still does it. Not as much, but it's still very noticeable. Haven't checked coils yet, since I don't have anything to measure them with..
03-09-2005, 10:10 PM
#39
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 255
someone said somthing about measuring the resistance of the coils... how? could anyone point me to a write-up?
BTW, the car takes off like a mad beast when it's still cool. but then as it warms up it starts to hesitate.
Nate
BTW, the car takes off like a mad beast when it's still cool. but then as it warms up it starts to hesitate.
Nate
03-09-2005, 10:38 PM
#40
Senior Member
iTrader: (15)
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: NY (somewhere between Queens & BK)
Posts: 2,122
Originally Posted by 90stanza
i took the car to the local nissan dealer and they said they couldnt find anything wrong with my ignition coils. They said it could be my rear o2 sensor. How much for one of those and how hard is it to change. The guy also said that there was no need to change my knock sensor because he said that they dont go bad. If i get a new one he said the code would still show up. if the engine knocks at all. Which I dont really believe.
