I have a 2002 lancer. Here is my problem which has been occurring for the past 4 years:
Transmission? When in stop and go traffic it feels like it is reving very high. Sometimes it feels like it gets stuck in a gear because it doesn?t accelerate at the moment the gas is being pushed and then it thrusts forward. When stopped completely the rpm varies between the 1 and 2. When stopped in traffic, when the brake is applied, sometimes you can feel the car wanting to thrust forward, and you have to hold your foot on the brake very firmly/hard. Maybe twice in the past 2 or 3 years, it has thrust forwarded while I thought i had my foot on the brake, but maybe I just needed to push super harder thna I was. When put in park it the rpm is usually at the 2 maybe 3, so when put in park it suddenly feels like the gear is very high… When the car is turned off, it shakes and seems like it was thrown out of gear. The engine always feels very very warm after all this happens.
I have mentioned this to a couple of mechanics, but they never take it seriously, and thus never find a problem. When they drive it, it does not exhibit the problem, because it only happens in stop and go traffic, and or when it has been running/driven around for a long time.
It sounds to me like you have a problem with the Idle Air Control and/or the Mass Airflow Sensor. Cleaning these parts may resolve the problem, or you may need to replace them.
Is your Check Engine Light on, by chance?
It sounds like your engine has a major issue, possibly a vacuum leak, or a sensor giving bad information to the computer, that is causing the issue you are dealing with.
You need to find a better mechanic to bring your car to.
BC.