Q: Acceleration issue

asked by on February 25, 2017

Hello I was driving back from an event and my car went off the road a little. 4 miles in my car accelerates then stops and then starts to accelerates but then stops and it just keeps going in and out of acceleration. Also I hear a noise in the back left wheel.what are your thoughts

My car has 210000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.

Hi There, This could be related to many possibilities, however some common things that may cause the car to hesitate are things like low fuel pressure, a dirty or faulty mass air flow sensor, clogged or dirty fuel injectors, a faulty throttle position sensor or potentially a bad fuel pump.

The noise you are hearing in the rear wheel also could be a few different things depending on the sound it is making. Common things that can produce a sound might be a worn out wheel bearing or possibly a bad CV joint. A wheel bearing will usually fail due to pitting or small damage on the surface of the rollers or the bearing race. Both the surface of the rollers and the race is precision machined to tight tolerances and highly polished to allow the rollers to pass easily over the race with the addition of bearing grease for lubrication and cooling. Over time the bearing will wear slightly, allowing microscopic pieces of metal into the grease. Bearing noise can sound a lot like a brake pad dragging or grinding. It can also sound like whirring, whining or humming depending on how much sound deadening material your vehicle has in it. Bearing noise will always be dependent on vehicle speed meaning as you speed up or slow down the noise should change frequency or loudness. Cornering may affect the noise from a damaged front wheel bearing and is usually more pronounced as you make turns.

A CV joint joint is a shaft that connects the transmission to the wheels, essentially transferring the power from the drive train directly to the wheels. The CV joint is packed with a special grease and sealed tight with the rubber or plastic boot, that is held in place with two clamps. The most common problem with the CV joints is when the protective boot cracks or gets damaged. Once this happens, the grease comes out and moisture and dirt get in, causing the CV joint to wear faster and eventually fail due to lack of lubrication and corrosion. When the CV joint becomes damaged or worn, you may hear a clicking, clunking or popping sound coming from this area as the weight of the vehicle puts pressure on this area and shifts back and forth and side to side. I would recommend having an expert from YourMechanic come to your location to diagnose and inspect your vehicle.

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