having some car troubles

[snowy8171 1]

what up yall, well i had some car trouble today that came out of nowhere. i was driving to go get some food and when i was accelerating it would seem like my car would jerk forward kinda, or almost feel like it was shifting gears like a manual. mines a automatic. so the check engine light is now on and when i went to get back in my car like 2 hours later it seemed like it was harder for the car to start. Anyone have any idea of what might have happened. it started out of nowhere with the kinda jerking forward type action. all right thanks

[Vitacy 2]

Could be worn tires. If not then it sounds like you're transmission is startin to go cuz that happens with mine and my tranny is bad. Check you're transmission fluid, and does it seem sluggish going up inclines sometimes?

[snowy8171 1]

ya ill check my fluid and see. and no it seems fine going up inclines. if it is transmission does that happen out of nowhere because now the check engine light is on and it seems too not want to start as quick. everything was fine this morning

[snowy8171 1]

?

[SMpaintball78 58]

well it could be because ur transmission is low on fluid, or its slipping. usually if ur driving down the highway, u can feel the transmission jerking and it sounds like the engine is going from drive to neutral back and forth.

[altoncustomtech 773]

It can very easily be something other than the transmission. A common problem that causes a vehicle to buck and toss up the check engine light is a misfire due to bad plug wires or spark plugs. I don't know what kind of vehicle it is, but if it has a distributor the cap and rotor could be worn as well or a coil pack or the ICM (ignition control module) could be going. There's several things that it can be, a little extra info might help like the year make and model of the vehicle. Take it to Autozone or Advance Auto parts or one of those places that can put a code scanner on it for free and see what the code is. If it's a misfire code then it's definitely ignition system related, if not then it can help pinpoint the problem for sure.

[snowy8171 1]

Thanks its a 2002 toyota camry

[SMpaintball78 58]

Thanks its a 2002 toyota camry

hes right. there could be a thousand different things it could be . its hard to say since im not standing in front of ur car and could look at it lol. yes, take it to autozone or somewhere like that and have them run a scanner. then come back and tell us what it is. im intrested to know lol

[altoncustomtech 773]

Yep, I'd go get the trouble code(s) read and see what's up. There's no distributor, but there's still plug wires, spark plugs, an ICM and coil packs that can give misfires when going out. There's also the possibility it could be a throttle position sensor, EGR valve and numerous other sensors that can cause such a symptom. The code scanner is your friend, embrace it and it will guide you back to a well working vehicle, lol.

[snowy8171 1]

thanks guys. y aim taking it in right now and they are gunna call me to let me know whats going on. im just hoping its not a tranny problem

[Ohjay 116]

I do not think it has anything at all to do with the transmission or tires (not saying there's no way you don't have tranny problems, just that the transmission is not going to cause the car to not want to start). Sounds like an electrical or fuel problem for sure. You're either not getting spark to one or more cylinders, the spark is not strong enough to ignite the fuel properly or you are not getting fuel to the cylinders (usually a clogged fuel filter or bad fuel pump). These problems are all pretty easy to diagnose yourself with some time and a few hand tools.

[Shogen 325]

couldn't the serpentine belt also cause some jerkiness or possible issues starting if it is badly worn??? just throwing out an idea...

[SMpaintball78 58]

this is the reason i love my 65' mustang. its so simple to work on. it dont have all these sensors and shit to go wrong lol. but u need the sensors for power and fuel milage so then again.... haha. good luck on the car. i have been having simular problem with my truck. except i only get 14 miles to the gallon and its a 4.0 v6 engine....

[jonbearsmt 919]

seems like it could easily be a vacuum leak to me..

most all the other things that were named would give a pretty direct cause to one or the other...

1 vaccume leak can cause a FEW things to be affected,.. and out of the blue.

[snowy8171 1]

well it got checked out today at my shop and i need a new transmission. alllllllll bad

[shizzzon 461]

Curious as to what triggered the Check Engine light.. Did they ever tell you what code that was?

[topgun 262]

well it got checked out today at my shop and i need a new transmission. alllllllll bad

Get a second opinion. And get them to tell you what the check engine code was.

[jonbearsmt 919]

tranny would not cause a car to start up slowly.

[snowy8171 1]

tranny would not cause a car to start up slowly.

the not being able to start up wasnt the big problem because that seemed to stop. the main problem was it was jerking or slipping when i accelerated and the check engine light was on.

Edited July 14, 2011 by Ethan

[MECHMAN 8]

What codes were stored in your computer? Got to be careful, shops will sell a transmission rebuild when it can be a simple fix. The codes can tell a lot.

[Sir-Lancelot 216]

Do what they said Bro just to CYA.

I thought it sounded more like a fuel delivery problem personally.

[MECHMAN 8]

I have seen VSS failures that can cause those symptoms, TC lockup failures too. It can be a simple solenoid or sensor replacement to fix in many cases.

I have worked at far too many shops that just throw transmissions in every time there is a problem because too many "Master Techs" don't know how to properly diagnose simple transmission repairs.