Q: Car begins to decelerate and lose power as im driving.

asked by on October 04, 2016

After driving a little my car begins to jerk and lose power to the engine. I was pressing the gas all the way down but my car was only going around 5 mph. Also at very slow speeds it cuts off completely amd i have to re start my car. Any advice will help. Thank you

My car has 180000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.

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Hi there. The most common cause of this on your car is either a restriction in the exhaust caused by a failing catalytic converter, or a fuel system issue. Low fuel pressure will cause this and that would typically be due to a failing fuel pump. I typically start by testing the fuel pressure when this is occurring to see if it is falling off. If it is then the fuel pump is more than likely failing. If not then I check the backpressure form the exhaust to see if it is restricted. If it is then the converter needs to be checked and replaced. I have also seen the turbo fail on this vehicle and cause this, but that is not as common. If you would like to have this power loss and stalling problem checked out, consider YourMechanic, as a certified mechanic can come to your home or office to [diagnose why it is losing power] https://www.yourmechanic.com/services/loss-of-power-inspection

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