engine stuttering below 3000 rpm while accelerating

[Fryman]

below 3000 rpm my engine will stutter and lose power for like little blips at a time. happens in all gears, but past 3k it seems to be fine. started happening 2 days ago.

thinking spark plugs or wires? or maybe something more serious. Thanks for your help

 

[tweety2300]

Try new plugs, it probly still misses above 3000 rpms you just don't notice it

 

[Cosmic Wonder]

Any CEL's or just stuttering?

 

[uboatsegeln]

My new-to-me (three weeks... woo hoo!) '03 P5 is doing the same thing, particularly after it's nice and warm. Many of the searches I'm doing on the forum (thanks all) are pointing toward the coils as a likely culprit. They sound cheap-n-easy, so I'm planning to do them with new plugs and wires as part of my car's first going-over.

I also keep reading about splits in the rubber bellows from the stock air intake causing faulty O2 readings, and thus the misfire. My car came with a cold-air intake (not subject to the split-rubber problem), but it might be worth a look in yours if you have the stock intake.

 

[Fryman]

no check engine light, just the stutters. I will be replaces the plugs in a few hours to see if that its. And yes it does seem to happen when it it warmed up more often than cold.

And I have an after market intake that is metal. I did find a thread about a hole in the rubber intake when I searched.

 

[Cosmic Wonder]

If there aren't any CEL's then tweety is probably right. Even if it doesn't fix it, they're really cheap and then you won't have to worry about them for a while. Hope you get it fixed quickly!

 

[Installshield 2]

how does it idle? I totally agree with tweety, by the way. plugs/wires/ignitors all die in very annoying ways...they don't just permanently stop working...they work most of the time, then occasionally give you s*** under specific conditions.

Most intake/vacuum problems will give you some codes...any leaks behind the maf will often throw a 'mix too lean' code (forget the number) before you even know something is up...but missing...our diagnostics are completely weird with that. Mine was noticeably missing after hot (yet missed more at colder ambient temps) for a few months before I ever got a code.

the coils consistently last about 125,000 miles on a healthy engine...anything beyond that and they are egg shells; just a matter of luck and time before they crack. plugs and wires are even less...so if you don't know the last time that work was done, just do it...all the factory stuff for the job is about $120 (cheaper if you go with aftermarket coils), and well worth it to rule out those as potential causes.

 

[Fryman]

i just picked up new plugs and threw them in (this car is unbelievably easy to replace them) and it works perfectly now. Idles smoother and everything. Thanks for the help guys you were great as usual

 

[tweety2300]

how does it idle? I totally agree with tweety, by the way. plugs/wires/ignitors all die in very annoying ways...they don't just permanently stop working...they work most of the time, then occasionally give you s*** under specific conditions.

Most intake/vacuum problems will give you some codes...any leaks behind the maf will often throw a 'mix too lean' code (forget the number) before you even know something is up...but missing...our diagnostics are completely weird with that. Mine was noticeably missing after hot (yet missed more at colder ambient temps) for a few months before I ever got a code.

the coils consistently last about 125,000 miles on a healthy engine...anything beyond that and they are egg shells; just a matter of luck and time before they crack. plugs and wires are even less...so if you don't know the last time that work was done, just do it...all the factory stuff for the job is about $120 (cheaper if you go with aftermarket coils), and well worth it to rule out those as potential causes.

Mine made it 145k would give a big miss here and there for a couple months before finally dieing. I replace NGk platinum every 30 k