Smooth roads, clear weather, and your favorite car – a dream come true for a driver. However, finding your car jerking as you speed up is a turnoff. It’s not normal for a driver to experience a jerk while accelerating. Don’t ignore it as this is a sign that something is wrong inside your vehicle. It is one of the common issues that many drivers deal with every other day.
Why Your Car Jerks When Accelerating?
Automatic or manual, it doesn’t matter because you can face it driving any vehicle. You can easily look for a solution if you know what causes jerks as you push the accelerator. You might already know some reasons what cause your car to jerk.
1. Dirty Air Filter
Air filter functions to ensure that your car runs smoothly. It keeps the dust, dirt, and other pollutants from getting inside the engine allowing maximum fluid flow through it. Now, here is what exactly happens when your car jerks. These particles keep on accumulating inside. In some time, they form build-ups obstructing them totally. This means the fluid inside the engine can’t flow efficiently, leading to ineffective fuel combustion. There you are left with your car jerking when accelerating.
How to Fix It:
All you need is cleaning. Check on the air filters often to see if they are clean or not. In case they aren’t or it’s been a long time since you cleaned the air filters, so wipe them off and make sure that the problem has ended. Remember to check on the acceleration from a standstill position rather than shifting gears, especially when you own a vehicle like Toyota Camry.
2. Disrupted Fuel Pipes
A damaged fuel pipe doesn’t only cause car jerks when accelerating, but if not taken into consideration at the right time, it can put your car on fire. These pipes are for transferring fuel from one compartment to another in the engine. If there is damage, then the fluid will start leaking. Now the engine will not receive the right amount of fuel to making the internal combustion difficult. As soon as there is a leak, the engine is at risk of other damages.
How to Fix It:
The only way to get by with the situation to keep an eye on the fuel pipes. Especially if you own an old model because they are likely to become faulty.
3. Failing Carburetor
The smart device that mixed the air and fuel in the right amount for combustion in the spark-ignition engine, we call it Carburetor. Though small in size, without its proper functioning, the car could never perform in a smooth way.
How to Fix It:
You may find a crack on it or completely worn out. It disturbs the air-fuel mixture, and you start experiencing car jerks when accelerating. The best remedy is a precaution. When you go for an oil change, check for fuel inlet and chocking valves and levers.
4. Moisture Accumulation Making Distributor Cap Damp
If you are driving your car on a rainy day and your car jerks when accelerating, then you already have the answer. Yes! That’s the damp distributor cap. You might also face it during winters if you park your car outside.
With the moisture inside the distributor cap, the spark, which is sufficient to generate power, diminishes. This leads the engine to misfire, resulting in jerks.
How to Fix It:
Easy solution. Don’t park your car outside in damp weather and avoid taking it out in the rain.
5. Dirty Fuel Tank, Injection System, And Filter
Pollution is not just a problem for your lungs but for your car too. Grease, dirt, and other pollutants easily accumulate inside the fuel tank, injection system, and filter. We have discussed this before how a dirty part affects the fuel supply. Your car engine ends up with insufficient fuel efficiency, and as you push the accelerator, your car starts stumbling.
How to Fix It:
Even a hard puzzle has a solution, so does this issue. Order a special kit for your injectors from a hardware store to clean that area cautiously. You can get one online easily. You should make it a habit to keep dirt off your engine, preventing it from blocking to prevent your car from jerking.
6. Faulty Engine Tuning or Clogged Engine
If you don’t find the issues mentioned above, then there is just one part that must be causing trouble, and that is the engine. If your car engine is perfectly positioned with the fuel system, then your engine is fine-tuned. It adds to your car’s performance, and you don’t experience jerks while accelerating.
Another important reason for car jerking when you accelerate usually slips our mind, it’s a clogged engine. When gasses are trapped inside the engine and are unable to escape, it results in car jerking. In that case, you just need to keep an eye on the “check engine” light if it is blinking. You can face this occasionally if you drive Honda Accord and Nissan Murano.
How to Fix It:
If you find that light flashing while your car is jerking, you need to take it to the mechanic to get this issue solved.
7. Alignment Problems
If you are still experiencing your vehicle jerking even though you checked for all the above signs, then it’s a sign that dealing with poor alignment. What happens in alignment proper is that your car fails to react to pulling; as a result, your car moves really slowly, and you confuse it with jerking.
How to Fix It:
Check your wheels, make sure that the pressure inside the tire is enough. In case you had an accident recently, then you need to get it checked for alignment.
8. Your expertise in manual transmission
You can experience car jerks even at low speeds. If you have been driving a car running on manual transmission with stick gear, then you must have witnessed a car jerk when you were slowing down, causing your engine to stall. Such a cark jerk takes place while you are accelerating from a stop or when you press the gas button when you have to start moving in the middle of a slope.
Usually, manual transmission keeps the ride smooth for the driver and gear shifts. This is something common you would face as you try to shift from neutral gear to first continuing after a pause driving up on the flyover. Especially if you are someone who is new to roads and has just started learning how to drive. You need to get a good grip on the clutch foot, and the engine feel.
How to Fix It:
Here are some steps to practice but get yourself a driving instruction to get a better know-how of this:
- Put your foot on the clutch pedal, pushing it down to the floor.
- Move your gear stick into the first column and release the gas pedal and clutch pedal at the same time. You have to relax and carry out this transition smoothly; otherwise, you will experience a car jerk again.
- Watch for the jerky motion of the car.
- Release the clutch and move to the gas as you shift gears.
9. Worn Out Spark Plugs
If your spark plugs are performing as they should be, your engine will sound smooth, and you will not be experiencing jerk when accelerating. As the name says, the spark plug ignites the mixture of fuel and air inside the engine, which produces energy to move the piston.
How to Fix It:
Spark plugs can be worn out easily. It could cause your engine to vibrate. You often need to keep a check and replace it upon constant wear and tear.
10. Damaged Ignition System
Do you know that a properly working ignition system can generate a high voltage for the spark plugs to produce power? Today, most of the cars work on the computerized ignition system.
How to Fix It:
If the ignition system is damaged, you need a certified mechanic inspection in a service station near you.
11. Blocked Catalytic Converter
The catalytic convertor inside your car works as a control system for your car exhausts secured to the underside of your car. Sometimes these emotions can clog the catalytic converter causing it to heat up. Now that the catalytic converter is blocked and those emissions are still inside, you will experience jerking when accelerating.
How to Fix It:
If catalytic converter is blocked, you need to take it to the mechanic to get this issue solved.
12. Damaged Acceleration Cable
The car jerks that you are experiencing could be the result of drained acceleration cable. Jerking is not the only sign that would indicate a worn-out acceleration cable. When you press the accelerator from your foot, your car will take more time to respond and change the speed. When you face this added up with jerks when accelerating, you should check the cables. Y
How to Fix It:
ou will surely find the outer covering of the acceleration able torn. You can’t just leave them broken. You have to replace them as soon as possible. Only a mechanic could solve your problem.
13. Motor Winding
These car jerks, when you accelerate, can be a result of broken engine winding. If you drive a lot or like speeding, then this might stress your engine, and the engine winding would tear off.
You would see signs like:
- If you find one or more than one winding, your car will start jerking.
- If it’s just a single winding, you cannot start the car.
- The Ohms meter can help you to detect this mess.
How to Fix It:
In case you don’t have one, drive your vehicle to the mechanic near you to get it checked to find out the reason for your car jerks.
In a Nutshell
This was all about how your car can start jerking while accelerating and what should you do in case you find it out. So, keep your car engine and other parts clean and lubricate them regularly. Proper maintenance can be a life hack for your car life.
As a car owner, you should know such things to keep yourself away from such troubles. However, this could happen to anyone, and in case you are the one, then rush to the service center immediately.