I have about 80K on my 5 speed baja, and recently, it has begun to stutter/hesitate/misfire, mostly going into and out of 2nd and 3rd gear. However, it also does this while in higher gears as I am losing RPMs, say while driving on an uphill section of an interstate.
I did the whole, put it in 4th gear and put the parking brake on, a trick I learned on car talk, and it stalled. Which I believe means the clutch is still OK.
Any thoughts?
Thanks
Roger
Does the Check Engine Light come on when this happens? If the engine is misfiring the light should come on.
Has the car been maintained according to the factory schedule that came with the owner’s manual? Spark plugs, fluid changes, etc?
As mcparadise suggests, the place to start is with basic maintenance items.
Since you are getting close to the 90k mark, I would suggest that you just go ahead and have the 90k maintenance done. This includes the replacement of every filter, every fluid, the spark plugs, and a few other items that I don’t recall right now.
If that does not help, then your mechanic will know that the problem is related to a mechanical or electronic problem, rather than a maintenance item. And, even if it doesn’t cure the current problem, at least you will be good to go with major maintenance for another 30k miles while your mechanic searches for a cure.
I haven’t changed my spark plugs, but i have maintained the rest of the fluids and what not. Thanks for the advice, I made an appointment with my dealer