Car acceleration problems....any ideas???

Question

I have a 1999 Mazda Protege and it has started not wanting to accelerate when the gas peddle is pushed. I used to be able to shut it off and restart and it worked fine but lately that has not worked. Once it gets going it usually does okay. The problem usually starts when the gas tank is about half full. Could this be the fuel pump or filter or cat converter? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Answer 1

If the car runs fine when full or fuel, that rules out the filter or pump.Its most likely to be a cracked 'stand pipe' which is the pipe inside the fuel tank that lifts the fuel.

Think of drinking juice from a straw thats got a hole in it, when the hole is below the juice, u can drink fine, but when the juice goes down to a level below the hole/crack then u get probs. Get it?? Good luck and i hope it dont cost you too much. :)

Answer 2

Replace the fuel filter every 20000 miles. could be a cat could be fuel

pressure could be a o2 sensor, could be mass air flow sensor, could

be a restricted air filter. Find a ASE MASTER L1 certified tech

and get it cked. Go to IATN.NET and find a tech Near you.

Answer 3

before u throw parts at it...free scan at advance,auto zone o'reillys..ever been tuned up since 99?????

Answer 4

I'd suggest taking it to a shop and paying to have a diagnostic check done. You might be on the right track, but during the diag process, they will check fuel pressure. Most shops ONLY charge one hours labor for the diag, money well spent rather than just swapping parts out until it gets fixed.

Answer 5

Forbezy is probably on the right track and I will add that if the pump is in the tank as it is on almost all new cars that the O-ring that seals the pickup sock to the pump could be leaking, the sock could have fallen off completely, or the gas gauge could just be wrong and you are out of gas.