2001 Ford Taurus acceleration problems

When you drive normally averything is fine, but if you want to accelerate fast, it begins to “stutter”. In the span of a second, the car will feel like its hitting the gas and then the brake 3 or 4 times. It won’t go any faster, but if you let go of the gas and slowly press it down it will continue like normal. No codes showed up, unsure of what to do, any help is greatly appreciated!!

When was the last time that the fuel filter was replaced?

Could be a lot of things. A failing fuel pump,bad gasoline,dirty fuel injectors are common causes.

1 Like

Unsure, how would i check?

With no diagnostic codes, going to take some tests & experimenting. A fuel pressure test configured so the gauge can be observed while driving might provide a clue. Likewise monitoring the battery voltage while driving. And the intake manifold vacuum. Testing the calibration of the throttle position sensor makes sense. EGR problems could cause this. See if it makes any difference if you push the throttle all the way to the floor vs not quite all the way. The EGR is supposed to automatically turn off when it is all the way to the floor. A faulty cat is another possibility. A shop with the proper scan tool could take a look at the pre- and post- o2 sensor signals, might indicate the cat was on the way out. Bypassing the cat (as a test only) is another idea. A fuel trim measurement might be useful too.

3 Likes

If you have owned the car since it was new, then the way to do it would be to check your maintenance invoices, which I would hope that you have retained. Checking the invoices for services at the 30k, 60k, and 90k intervals would be a really good idea.

If you bought the car as a used car, then there is probably no way to check, and in that case I would advise replacing the fuel filter.

Okay, thank you. I will get that done asap