Just before my car went in for its 45k service the 'MIL' light came on the dash - this is the engine management warning light. This was the day before I took my car in, and sod's law it goes out when I take it in! Anyway, they did find a problem but thought it had cured itself (as if!).

The main problem that seemed to happen was that the car sometimes struggled to idle when I slowed to a stop. Occasionally it would stall and occasionally it would drop below the idle point and stutter. Applying the accelerator the car would feel a little funny and it would take a split second to react, not the usual smooth instant response as normal.

Anway, since the service the car felt better, but its got worse, but its not exactly the same problem. Now, if I am driving at say 30-40 in 3rd gear and apply the accelerator its very jerky - not the actual pedal but the way the car feeds the power. Its the same when I lift off. The is more apparent at low speed, by can be felt at high too. The other slightly strange feeling which I believe to be connected is when I apply the accelerator and get the jerky feeling it also feels as if the car moves slightly side to side - like a strange LSD issue.

I am not 100% that the problems are connected, I am going to check my tyre pressures tomorrow morning to ensure the strange feeling when accelerating isn't down to one rear being lower PSI than the other.

I will also get the car into the dealer's next week, but wanted to check the fountain of knowledge on here to see if anyone has experienced anything similar.

 

Faulty sparkplug ?

 

Clogged air filter?

 

What problem did they find?

 

It knows you're replacing it ...

 

PMT?

 

The hesitatio/kerkiness on depressing the accelerator sounds like the same symptoms folks have posted if the throttle cable needs adjustment.

 

Have just been looking through the bulletins and there ae no clues there.

It would be helpful if you found out what the dealer found when they did the service.
If they deleted a code and the light stayed off, then came back on some time later it's a fair bet that the part associated with that code is defective.

Is your car still under warranty, or have an extended guarantee if so, and it is a sensor there should be no problems.

 

I tested one ages ago and it did the same thing, wouldn't idle properly, pickup was poor. When I took it back to the dealer they said it was a spark plug fault.

 

Very much doubt a spark plug fault.

Throttle cable or the ECU just struggling to adjust in very cold weather.

The fact that its at very light throttle suggests the cable is loose. This means the TPS isnt giving the voltage it should, and the butterfly isnt opening as it should. Only has to be a tiny bit loose!

See if it goes away, if not, tighten cable.

MB