Engine jumps when in first

[MrJoel]

I have been having an issue with the engine jumping when I am starting from a stop. As I start off the car start moving fine at first but then a second later the engine seems to start bucking. I had my Mazda dealer look at it but once again they see no problems. Has anybody else had a similar issue? I am getting tired of this problem.

 

[Sir Nuke]

Joel, what you need to do is take the car to the dealer......but do NOT just give it to them to test drive....have the service manager or the tech get in the car with YOU driving it...and YOU show them with its doing.....this way there is no question in what its doing....and then THEY know what you are refering to.

 

[pure white p5]

jumps

yes i have the same ting on my p5 but i have not had time to take it to sev i think its the cluch but i do not know

 

[Brubeck]

You know, I seem to notice this now when I have the AC on.

The car seems to bog down at first like it's going to stall, and then it goes into high rev and lurches forward.

The really funny thing is... I feel it bog down, so I try to give it a little more gas so it doesn't stall. But that only seems to make it worse. When I finally left off the gas a little is when it jumps forward.

Sir Nuke... this may sound crazy, but do you think there's a chance it might be flooding itself out? I've owned a car that wasn't standard, but I've never had a car do this to me.

 

[Sir Nuke]

to be honest guys...I would hate to attempt to diagnose this without actually being in the car or seeing it happen....

and here is why....I can assume you guys with this problem have standard trannies? well this is what it really sounds like to me....our little cars are very touchy when in first gear and with the rev's really low....it takes a very fine foot to NOT make the car jump.....it will buck like a mad horse if you let off too fast...or give it too much...and it don't take much....when I am going that slow I use the clutch and roll....then accelerate away when I need to...but try at all costs NOT to lug the engine....or it will buck. I do NOT know that that is what you guys are experiencing...but its what it sounds like you are describing...and if all you did was describe it to your dealer...I would bet money that is exactly what they are thinking too.....which is why I highly recommend you take the car to your dealer and MAKE the service manager or the tech get in the car with YOU driving and show them.

 

[Brubeck]

I don't know man... It's not the lurch that's bugging me... it's the fact that the car complete bogs down just before that. I've tried multiple ways of starting... dumping the clutch at high RPMs, running up the RPMs and riding the clutch out as long as possible... Every way I try to do it... same result. Just as the car starts moving it bogs down, and the throttle response at that point is zero.

I'm still not ready to go to the dealer, as I haven't exhausted all available possibilities... I'm not about to go there and have some asshole tell me I don't know how to drive my car. I hate that s***. Like, your car won't start and the asshole says "Do you have the key in the ignition?"

I was sort of hoping that more people were experiencing this so that we could get a collective feeling of what methods everyone has tried, etc.

 

[Equinox]

Yeah when I try a slow start from a stop in my car, my car seems to hop forward a little. My friend said it was wheel hop, but I don't think it is exactly that, it seems more like the clutch is catching and slipping and catching and slipping... so I hop forward, lurch, stop forward lurch. It will do that about 5 times in 2 seconds.

As for why it does it, it's just me guessing but I'm thinking the clutch just got used to the way I drive, (fast starts) and when I try to do a creeping start, it hops. It's just a guess.

 

[Sir Nuke]

I don't know man... It's not the lurch that's bugging me... it's the fact that the car complete bogs down just before that. I've tried multiple ways of starting... dumping the clutch at high RPMs, running up the RPMs and riding the clutch out as long as possible... Every way I try to do it... same result. Just as the car starts moving it bogs down, and the throttle response at that point is zero.

I'm still not ready to go to the dealer, as I haven't exhausted all available possibilities... I'm not about to go there and have some asshole tell me I don't know how to drive my car. I hate that s***. Like, your car won't start and the asshole says "Do you have the key in the ignition?"

I was sort of hoping that more people were experiencing this so that we could get a collective feeling of what methods everyone has tried, etc.

Okay...so dose it do this EVERYTIME? if so...you do as I suggested...as in getting the "ride-a-long" then when they ATTEMPT to give you that bulls*** answer about its YOUR driving...then you had them the keys...and do NOT allow them to just take off on a test drive...YOU ride along with them...that way they can NOT come back and bulls*** you some more by saying it doesn't do it when they drove it just so they can save face and ATTEMPT to make you look stupid....the object of the exercise is to make THEM look stupid and/or do their jobs right the first time.

 

[JimmyRay05]

my p5 does the same.
someone said it was due to rubber engine mounts or something like that.

 

[Red Baron]

I have no idea what the problem is but I read about it in a Consumer Protection magazine, many complaints were mentionned to the CAA (similar to the AAA) and there was something about the fact that the P5's engine is quite weak at low rev's. Or could it be some kind of exhaust gas back pressure in the antipollution system? What do you think Sir Nuke?

I sometimes too experience this, but I gotta admit I'm like kinda slow to get the car moving from a stand still...maybe the fact that the engine is given time to "work" makes a difference???

 

[big_ben]

Does this happen mainly in the morning? If so mine does the same thing. I think it's the clutch slipping then regrabing. Mine only does it when it's cold.

 

[CanMP5]

I've had my P5 for almost a year now and I had that "bucking" problem when in first gear for the first couple months. I let my brother try out the car and he did it too. What we found, was that it was our driving style not the tranny that had the problem. Like Sir Nuke said, our car is really touchy in first gear and low revs. What we do now is (try to have gentle feet), press the accelerator at the same rate as you release the clutch, until you get going just a little bit, then release the clutch fully, as to avoid slipage and excess clutch wear. First gear has been smooth with us for 10 months now.

 

[fastdrvr23]

I have no idea what the problem is but I read about it in a Consumer Protection magazine, many complaints were mentionned to the CAA (similar to the AAA) and there was something about the fact that the P5's engine is quite weak at low rev's. Or could it be some kind of exhaust gas back pressure in the antipollution system? What do you think Sir Nuke?

I sometimes too experience this, but I gotta admit I'm like kinda slow to get the car moving from a stand still...maybe the fact that the engine is given time to "work" makes a difference???

I went and drove 2 more P5's last weekend at the dealer, and didn't notice anything like this. Usually when I drive a 5-speed for the first time, I will start off by using only the clutch just to get a feel for engagement. At normal idle I could start off fine, with just a little hesistation, the way it should be with no gas being applied... When it was cold here, my car wouldn't really hesitate like everyone has described, but the cold start issue was really apparent. At about 2750 RPM's it would have a flat spot when revving... I would guess that this is a clutch/transmission issue. When my clutch got pretty worn on my 1990 protege, it had sort of the same issue. It would slip in an out of gear, in first especially. (Of course, it had 124,000 miles on the original clutch).
Maybe the clutch needs adjusting, or you have a bad throw out bearing or something...

I don't really think it would be the rubber mounts. That would make a whole lot more people notice this problem... In my experience, they only affected me at high Rpm launches, causing bad wheel hop.

Anyways, I would do what Nuke suggested. Take the maintenance manager for a ride, and make him see the problem first hand. If that doesn't help, take it to another dealer, and have them call the original dealer to ask questions. They always seem to love that. Keep us posted, and good luck with it!

 

[MrJoel]

I have noticed it mainly in the mornings. But I have also seen it later in the day if the car has been sitting all day. I have had Mazda look at it several times and I alway get the "within manufacturer specs" line. I was told to come back in when I have time in the morning to go for a drive with their head tech. But since I work that can be a problem.
I am glad to see others are having this problem and it's not just me.

 

[PJ 5]

Does this happen mainly in the morning? If so mine does the same thing. I think it's the clutch slipping then regrabing. Mine only does it when it's cold.

Same here. This only happens when I dont let the car heat up after leaving the car overnight. Then after that it's all good from the time it heats up....

 

[Sir Nuke]

well I am glad to say I don't have this problem...nor does my wifes P-5...not when its cold, warm, inbetween, in the morning, or at night.....its just as smoothe as can be. SO, if YOUR car is doing this...and you are getting some LINE and the dealer won't help you....do as Fastdriver suggested, go to another dealer....get the service manager IN your car with you....make them take you on in one of the demo's on the lot and PROVE that they all do that..which we all know that they don't......do NOT settle....FIGHT.

 

[Brubeck]

well I am glad to say I don't have this problem...nor does my wifes P-5...

**** you Nuke... This is now the third time in this thread that you've implied that your wife drives better than me. Now it may well be true, but for God-sakes, do you have to rub it in... Jesus!!!

 

[Brubeck]

The way I normally drive, is I slowly let out the clutch until I feel the car start to lean forward ever so slightly, and I move the clutch out and push the gas pedal down without about the same speed... I try to get a good roll. Of course, there's more of a "feel" to it than a science. If I'm letting the clutch out and pressing the gas, but the RPMs start to drop, well then I give it a little more gas. Now with this "Cold-start, clutch-slipping, engine-mounted" issue, what happens to me is when I do feel the RPMs drop and I mash the gas... nothing happens. This morning I tried it and as soon as it started to bog down I went WOT and NOTHING.

So this afternoon when I got into my car it happened again, and I just put the clutch back in, the car revved up revved up abnormally high (with my foot completely off the gas pedal), and after it settled down I executed a normal takeoff. So I don't know... maybe it is me. Like I said, I'm going to exhaust every possible option before I go to the dealer. Of course, I got to go there now anyway since I noticed a bolt has fallen out of the heat shield.

 

[JimmyRay05]

i don't have a prob at a start anymore i have adjusted my driving style for that. however stop and go rush hour traffic is a real prob.

you gotta be super smooth and sensitive with the gas and clutch otherwise is feels like the engine is gonna fall out of the car.

if you aren't then it's like riding a wild horse.

anyone got a prob goin from first to second gear at very high revs? i have had gear grind a few times not sure if it's me missing my shift or if there is a prob with the gearbox/clutch but i could swear i had the clutch to the floor when i pulled back.

 

[TexP5]

Slow speed starts and traffic situations are a little rough until you really get the feel of the car. I don't know that I ever had it feel like the engine was going to die, so I might not be talking about the same "problem" but mine bucked around quite a few times in slow speed situations before I really got used to the car. I agree with the people here who have said it's a very touchy engine/transmission combo.

The high speed shifting thing I think is the same thing. I grinded (is this even a word??) a couple 1-2 shifts at speed, but haven't done it in a while. I think generally First gear on our cars sucks and that shift is not ever really a good one for me. I'm seriously considering a short shifter just because of the crappy feel of the 1-2 shift