Car lost power but later it was ok *confused*
Discussion
I have an old 2001 Matiz only about 80,000 km.
Today after driving about 20 km with AC on, I came to a stop to turn left and upon accelerating
I noticed the car lost power but I could hear the engine or fan revving higher when I pushed down
on the gas pedal but the car was barely moving. Engine didn't shut off...still running, but if I tried
to push on the gas, I would only hear the engine rev higher (almost like a fan getting louder) but very
little power.
Thankfully I was already near my home and just went 10 km / h and parked. Later that night I decided
to check it again and took it for a short drive around town (low speeds 30 km/h) and it was driving
just fine again.
I'm still going to take it into the shop on the weekend to have someone take a look at it but I have no idea
what to tell them it could be or what to expect. Can anyone give me some ideas what could have been
the problem?
Today after driving about 20 km with AC on, I came to a stop to turn left and upon accelerating
I noticed the car lost power but I could hear the engine or fan revving higher when I pushed down
on the gas pedal but the car was barely moving. Engine didn't shut off...still running, but if I tried
to push on the gas, I would only hear the engine rev higher (almost like a fan getting louder) but very
little power.
Thankfully I was already near my home and just went 10 km / h and parked. Later that night I decided
to check it again and took it for a short drive around town (low speeds 30 km/h) and it was driving
just fine again.
I'm still going to take it into the shop on the weekend to have someone take a look at it but I have no idea
what to tell them it could be or what to expect. Can anyone give me some ideas what could have been
the problem?
Thanks for the replies....it's an automatic....I'm not sure what gear it is in when it's happening but I do recall about a week ago whenI was going up a small hill, I felt a loss of some power there too but it was intermittent about 4 or 5 times (loss of power then power loss of power then power).
Today's incident occurred when I came downhill (got off the local highway ramp) and it goes down a hill to go under a bridge. So it was fine until I got to the bottom and stopped signalling to turn left...when the way was clear I proceeded to turn left and then that's when I noticed the power loss / unresponsiveness.
Yes, today was also a hot day AND I used the AC...not sure if the AC makes it worse. I checked under the hood and I noticed it looks a bit like the engine near the middle to bottom looks a bit damp too....no rain today or anything...it looks like maybe somewhere some oil is leaking?
Today's incident occurred when I came downhill (got off the local highway ramp) and it goes down a hill to go under a bridge. So it was fine until I got to the bottom and stopped signalling to turn left...when the way was clear I proceeded to turn left and then that's when I noticed the power loss / unresponsiveness.
Yes, today was also a hot day AND I used the AC...not sure if the AC makes it worse. I checked under the hood and I noticed it looks a bit like the engine near the middle to bottom looks a bit damp too....no rain today or anything...it looks like maybe somewhere some oil is leaking?
Most have a dipstick and it's like checking the oil. Remove the dipstick, clean it, re insert and then pull out to read level. Filling can be tricky. Main fill caps are hard to reach. You can use a funnel to put it down the dipstick tube but it's sloooow. For reference ATF should be red in colour in case you get it mixed up with the oil dipstick
thanks for the replies.
I will use that as a point of reference when I go to the garage. I looked up "symptoms of low transmission fluid" and one of them sounded exactly like what I experienced. Maybe it got very hot, transmission slip occurred at the stop line and when I trying to accelerate only minimal power but the rev sounds were high without moving much.
When I took it for a test run later that night, it seemed back to normal.
I have another question and wonder if it might be related to any of the above. A few weeks ago I remember I had my parking brake on and forgot to release it. I put the car in drive and when I attempted to go/accelerate, the engine just automatically shut off. I tried it a couple more times and it kept doing that until I realized my parking brake was on and when I released it, the car went fine.
The thing is, I've driven cars/vehicles with parking brakes on and it wouldn't shut the engine off...you'd just experience a loss in speed in comparison to the gas your giving it and wonder why it's moving slow. I never heard of an engine that just shuts off because the parking brake was on in drive mode for just 2 seconds of accelerating. Is this normal or could this be a symptom of something else?
I will use that as a point of reference when I go to the garage. I looked up "symptoms of low transmission fluid" and one of them sounded exactly like what I experienced. Maybe it got very hot, transmission slip occurred at the stop line and when I trying to accelerate only minimal power but the rev sounds were high without moving much.
When I took it for a test run later that night, it seemed back to normal.
I have another question and wonder if it might be related to any of the above. A few weeks ago I remember I had my parking brake on and forgot to release it. I put the car in drive and when I attempted to go/accelerate, the engine just automatically shut off. I tried it a couple more times and it kept doing that until I realized my parking brake was on and when I released it, the car went fine.
The thing is, I've driven cars/vehicles with parking brakes on and it wouldn't shut the engine off...you'd just experience a loss in speed in comparison to the gas your giving it and wonder why it's moving slow. I never heard of an engine that just shuts off because the parking brake was on in drive mode for just 2 seconds of accelerating. Is this normal or could this be a symptom of something else?
went to the garage and they didn't mention or say anything about transmission oil or clutch or anything like that.
He just told me the oil was low and topped it off but said something about the problem might be engine related and would require
a whole day to look at it and cost could be high. The problem for me is I'm in a country that is not my native language so I don't
understand half of what they say.
My car doesn't have a simple way to check the transmission fluid and I found this on a search about my car:
"Our research indicates that your vehicle does not have a transmission fluid dipstick. These types of transmissions are designed to be maintenance free."
The car only has 80,000 km anyways even though its a 2000-01 model. I am doubting that its transmission fluid issue.
I did notice that engine bay area looks a little moist/damp around the cap...not sure what that could mean. Anyways, he topped off the oil,
the car has been running fine again even just a couple hours after I experienced the power loss that day.
I still have no idea what could be causing that. I've read it could be like 20 different things or more such as clogged fuel filter etc....
It's frustrating not knowing....I just hope it doesn't do that again while I'm on the highway...then I'm stuck for awhile until it cools down and works again.
He just told me the oil was low and topped it off but said something about the problem might be engine related and would require
a whole day to look at it and cost could be high. The problem for me is I'm in a country that is not my native language so I don't
understand half of what they say.
My car doesn't have a simple way to check the transmission fluid and I found this on a search about my car:
"Our research indicates that your vehicle does not have a transmission fluid dipstick. These types of transmissions are designed to be maintenance free."
The car only has 80,000 km anyways even though its a 2000-01 model. I am doubting that its transmission fluid issue.
I did notice that engine bay area looks a little moist/damp around the cap...not sure what that could mean. Anyways, he topped off the oil,
the car has been running fine again even just a couple hours after I experienced the power loss that day.
I still have no idea what could be causing that. I've read it could be like 20 different things or more such as clogged fuel filter etc....
It's frustrating not knowing....I just hope it doesn't do that again while I'm on the highway...then I'm stuck for awhile until it cools down and works again.
If it was made in 2000, that is 19 years it has had to absorb moisture. I know they say they are sealed for life, a lot of transmissions supposedly are, but moisture creeps in, stuff wears, clutch bands get hot, carbon leeches, oil gets hot and the chemistry breaks down. If it were me, I'd do a full gearbox oil change, but I realise that isn't practical in your case.
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