Ok so my car is getting scary to drive. It has died many times under red lights. For a while it was doing fine, but yesterday it did it again. I had got stuck in construction going about 5 mph for a good 8 minutes and it jerked on me once, then got stuck under a long red light. It turned green and I pushed the pedal but it didn’t go. No lights had come on showing any issues. I had to turn it off and restart it again then gun it pretty hard to get it going. It doesn’t like to go slow at all, and creeps up hills. I’m not sure what’s wrong. I definitly don’t have any money to fix it if it’s a big issue. The car is old. It’s a 1999 Malibu. If anyone can help me figure out what’s wrong that would be great.
Without knowing the maintenance history it is hard to tell. You could have a dirty fuel filter, may need new plugs and wires, air filter could be dirty
Automatic transmission? Is so that may be the problem. Have you checked the fluid level and condition (bad fluid will smell burnt)? When was the last the fluid was replaced and filter cleaned? (Notice I did not say flushed, which you should avoid.)
Any connections with the weather, like high temperatures or humidity or rain?
Do follow up with SteveRB's suggestions.