Mission NOT Accomplished: The 2003 Surge (and Lurch....and stall out)

Maintenance/Repairs
1

I have a 2003 Jeep Wrangler (4 cylinder) that seems to be having a fuel problem… about a month ago, it started lurching, having a hard time starting, it would lose power on drives and once or twice it has stalled on me while I’m driving on the freeway. I’ve had to restart my car going 60 mph… if I feel it lurching or surging, I have been able to keep the car going by shifting into a lower gear or taking my foot off the gas. I just took it into the dealership and spent 1300 to get it diagnosed and fixed. I got a new timing belt, and a whole bunch of other stuff and on the way out, it stalled at the first stop light. Although it seems to be running better, it obviously didn’t fix the issue. I took it right back and now they are going to have me bring it back on Monday to 'try to figure it out’. Where should I tell them to look? P.S. I think the car salesman who work there were trying to out creep each other - I’ve never been so assaulted with teeth and overly loud and sales-guy-y talk in all my life! YIKES!

Oh, and - I had to get a short fixed from the ignition key (I was able to pull the key out while the car was running) and they fixed it. But now, I can’t get any reception on my radio…

2

You should not tell a mechanic where to look. That’s their job, although I have to wonder about the mechanics at your Jeep dealership.

Did you tell them about the stalling problem when you took it in? If so, they should have “tried to figure it out” while it was there, not now.

You’re assuming the stalling is a fuel problem. Maybe it is, but maybe it isn’t. I wonder about the ignition switch. It, too, could be causing the engine to stall.

When did the radio reception problem start?

3

Ask your friends if they know a good independent mechanic and avoid the dealership.