OK my car is hesitating when accelerating from a.

Tiny
RLBUTTA16
  • MEMBER
  • 1994 MAZDA PROTEGE
  • 115,000 MILES
OK my car is hesitating when accelerating from a stop. Last week I had the distributor replaced because of the check engine light was on and it was driving terribly. For a few days it seemed to drive totally fine. Now, when I come to a stop and try to go again, the car hesitates real bad. When idling the RPMs stay between 1000 (cold) and 800 (when warmed up) RPMs, No sputtering or choking whatsoever. My dad said he thinks my air filter should be fine and that the fuel filter may have been replaced in the last year or so. I'm going to try to get it to the shop that just did the distributor today after work, but I'm worried it that I might stall out on the way.

This started yesterday while driving to get my laundry done (one block away) so its very consistent. As far as I can tell, once I get going it seems to drive just fine, no sputtering or hesitation in any other gears. Only the initial movement from a stop or under 5-10MPH.

The only things I can think of might be the fuel pump (hope not), a vacuum leak, or the fuel pressure regulator is bad (this happened to me with another car, but it idled really rough and bounced the RPMs around when stopped).

Any ideas of what else I could check out? I'll post more once I get it looked at and/or fixed, I know I'm not alone with this problem. Any info is greatly appreciated!

Monday, November 12th, 2012 AT 11:21 AM

3 Replies

Tiny
KHLOW2008
  • MECHANIC
  • 41,815 POSTS
Check the spark plug wires. Twist and push at them at the distributor end to they are tight. Yes, you should get back to the person who did the job. Were the spark plugs replaced when distributor was replaced?
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Monday, November 12th, 2012 AT 12:00 PM
Tiny
RLBUTTA16
  • MEMBER
  • 53 POSTS
Not to my knowledge? All that he told me was that the distributor and a leaking caliper were replaced. That's all that the receipt says too, "Distributor, caliper, brake fluid". I'll post my results later today when I get some answers from the shop. I have to leave for work, I'll check the connections before I head out
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Monday, November 12th, 2012 AT 12:20 PM
Tiny
KHLOW2008
  • MECHANIC
  • 41,815 POSTS
When distributors fails, the spark plugs should be checked. Misfiring can cause the ignition coil inside the distributor to fail when it is weak.
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Monday, November 12th, 2012 AT 12:36 PM

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