I have a 97 SE auto and i have noticed that under heavy acceleration or load the car will act a little funny. Engine speeds does not seem to increase steadily in the 3500-5500 RPM range. It is hard to describe what it does but it is not a rough jerking, more of just an unsteady acceleration. My first thought was the transmission was slipping but then one day i threw a code and turned out to be a misfire. Could a slipping transmission cause a misfire? This has happen a couple of times but only threw the code once. Anyone else have this issue or have any advice? Transmission fluid is nice and red and at a good level.

 

A slipping transmission will make the fluid overheat. And poor acceleration can be caused by a misfire. So why was your car misfiring?

 

"Could a slipping transmission cause a misfire?"
No.

Solve the misfire first.

3,800-5,500 rpm is the sweet range for the VQ30DE. It should run like a champ through that.

 

I don't know why I had the misfire code, it only happened once. I know to get the engine light it must misfire 3 times but I've been watching the pending code and haven't seen any misfires, even after I see the acceleration issues.

 

replace all 6 spark plugs first. If problem persist, then one or more coils are gone.

 

Check the freeze data for the code. check compression and spark too.