Why a Car Jerks when Accelerating
If your car jerks when you accelerate, it can be a sign of moisture or probably something wrong in its motors. It often runs fine without jerking if you stay easy on the accelerator, but as soon as you race it, the car starts jerking. Sometimes, the service light may also come on to indicate that the car needs servicing. We have already told you why your car might be jerking, but if you are also facing similar problem particularly when you accelerate, then OneHowTo.com will try to tell you why a car jerks when accelerating.
Moisture
If your car jerks when you accelerate, it can be a sign of moisture in its distributor cap. When you park your car outside in very cold temperature, then moisture may form inside your car’s distributor cap, due to which the engine misfires when you accelerate. So, try to park your car inside a garage or in a warmer place which will prevent the formation of moisture.
A vacuum leak
A vacuum leak may also cause a car to continuously jerk when you accelerate. This happens when vacuum is created in the engine by the car’s fuel system, due to which the car springs forward when you push the accelerator. An inadequate amount of fuel is sent to the engine, thus causing a vacuum leak and ultimately jerks when accelerated.
Faulty throttle position sensor
A car may also jerk upon acceleration due to a faulty throttle position sensor. If your car has a fuel-injection system, the sensor allocates a particular amount of fuel to be dispersed when you push the accelerator. If your throttle position sensor has some problem, it tends to transmit wrong data which ultimately sends wrong the wrong amount of fuel to the engine. As a result, the car jerks when you accelerate.
A faulty spark plug
Your car may jerk while accelerating probably because there is some fault in your car’s spark plug or any of its cables. You can try to solve the problem by changing the spark plug and always keep it clean as far as possible.
Worn out acceleration cable
A car may jerk badly upon acceleration if the acceleration cable has worn out. It is important to replace the cable immediately, as it may break any time and the car may stop in the middle of a road.
Motor winding
The motor winding of the car’s engine can be another important reason that may cause a car to jerk when you accelerate. The car engine’s winding usually occurs when you put the engine under stress by accelerating hard. If you have a car with many windings, then make sure that all of them are fit, fine and unbroken. If your car has only one winding, then the car will refuse to start at all. But if it has many, then the car will start but will jerk when you accelerate.
Accumulated waste
The car will jerk when you accelerate, especially if your fuel filter has been blocked due to accumulated waste in it. Learn to know how to identify a bad fuel filter, and take your car to a mechanic to get it cleaned or clean your fuel filter yourself at home.
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