Car will start but only jump and coast

DILLONKEYES

MEMBER
2006 SUZUKI FORENZA
2WD
AUTOMATIC
21,829 MILES

I've been to multiple mechanics who I have paid thousands of dollars to fix my car. My car starts sometimes, and after that, it's a 50/50 on if it will drive or not. When it doesn't it feels jumpy it smells like gas and will only coast.
the mechanics have already replaced the throttle body and done other things I can't remember but it's not working.

1 Reply

JACOBANDNICKOLAS

MECHANIC
108,336 POSTS

Hi,

The idea that you smell gas could be a few things. The engine coolant temperature sensor could be bad, high fuel pressure due to a faulty pressure regulator, and a few other things.

When this happens, where does the smell of fuel seem to come from? Also, is there any smoke from the exhaust? Are there any diagnostic trouble codes present?

If you haven't already, you may want to have the can-bus scanned. CAN stands for controller area network. Basically, all the modules/computers are tied together via a few wires. This type of scan will identify codes regardless of the module they are stored in. Here is a video showing how it is done:

https://youtu.be/InIlnsjOVFA

If you have done this and there are no codes, try to get a live data scanner and when the engine is cold, see if the engine coolant temp sensor signals the approx ambient temp. If it is way off, that will cause a rich fuel mixture.

Let me know if this helps or if you have other questions.

Take care,

Joe