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2003 Hyundai Elantra completely randomly losing power and jerking.. help!
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Microcell
New User
Jun 4, 2010, 7:55 AM
Post #1 of 6
(10606 views)
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2003 Hyundai Elantra completely randomly losing power and jerking.. help!
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Hello everyone,
I am not good with autos, though I have had plenty go wrong with cars over the years! I want ideas from you all so I can go to a mechanic well armed with possible solutions, and not be blindsided. My husband is handy so he might be able to tackle some easier solutions, but the big stuff will have to be left to the mechanics.
My 2003 Hyundai Elantra (4 cylinder engine I believe) started wanting to die one day on the highway, and then it lost power.. electrically the car stayed on but would not accelerate at all for a couple of seconds, then all of the sudden it did again and was fine. The check engine light came on so we took it to our mechanic (who is wonderful, really) and he said he registered an Oxygen sensor code, and said he wanted to try tuning up the car, which he did. He cleared the code and sent us on our way. It did it again a couple of days later so we took it back and he said that he could rack up quite a bill trying to figure it out, so his suggestion was to wait for something to break on it. This may seem like bad advice, but the problem is so random he couldn't get the car to do it when he test drove it, so he is relying on our reports!
Well 7 months later nothing has caused it to break completely down, but it is randomly jerking and losing power.. doesn't matter if I am going uphill or on a straightaway. It happens at 35 mph or 65 mph, happens when I am pulling out from a stop (can you say dangerous!) too. Sometimes it will die completely and I restart it easily and it is just fine. What I have taken to doing is as soon as I feel the lack of power in acceleration thing happening I take it out of gear (manual transmission in case that matters) then instantly put it back in gear and usually it will go again like normal. Sometimes it takes a minute to get its power back and I put on the hazards but it never takes really long. I don't usually even have to pull over. Also, every so often, like in 100 times of this happening overall, like four of the times I would hear a pop and think "Okay it's finally gonna go!" but no, the car would be just fine again.
I was associating it with how much gas was in the tank (thinking it might be bad gas that caused the O2 sensor to maybe go bad.. but my husband figures if that is all it is wouldn't the mechanic know that?) until about two weeks ago, and now it is even doing it when the tank is above 1/2 full. It was happening maybe one or two times in a week then not for two more weeks... now it seems to happen much more often, like every other time I take the car out.
So far all that has really been done to it is that the mechanic changed the spark plugs. Any advice is much appreciated!
(This post was edited by Microcell on Jun 4, 2010, 8:06 AM)
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92-RS-V6
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Jun 4, 2010, 3:36 PM
Post #2 of 6
(10580 views)
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Re: 2003 Hyundai Elantra completely randomly losing power and jerking.. help!
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Hi
I'm surprised you were told to drive it until something broke... I wouldn't want something to break at a crucial time!
You say the on-board diagnostics gave an O2 sensor code. I would assume your mechanic looked at that, but do you know if the O2 sensor was actually ruled out?
If he cleared the code and the problem has occurred since, I recommend having the trouble codes re-read, if the same code springs up then you might have some luck changing that sensor out which having a quick look on the internet will probably be between $50 and $100 for the part.
Matthew
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Microcell
New User
Jun 5, 2010, 6:32 AM
Post #3 of 6
(10577 views)
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Re: 2003 Hyundai Elantra completely randomly losing power and jerking.. help!
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Thanks for you advice! My husband is talking getting a Chilton Guide so he may try to locate and change that one himself.. that would be good!
Hoping and praying!
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Jun 5, 2010, 6:37 AM
Post #4 of 6
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Re: 2003 Hyundai Elantra completely randomly losing power and jerking.. help!
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I wouldn't jump to any conclusions that the sensor is the cause of the problem. 80% of 0/2 sensor codes are NOT caused by faulty sensors.
It depends on what the exact code number was. The sensor is just reporting what it sees.
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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.
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92-RS-V6
User
Jun 5, 2010, 8:15 AM
Post #5 of 6
(10569 views)
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Re: 2003 Hyundai Elantra completely randomly losing power and jerking.. help!
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I agree the code could be unrelated to the problem, but if the PCM is giving a trouble code then surely it is at least worth ruling out, no?
You never know... could be in the 20% huh 
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Jun 5, 2010, 10:22 AM
Post #6 of 6
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Re: 2003 Hyundai Elantra completely randomly losing power and jerking.. help!
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No, not at all. The 0/2 sensor is a reporting sensor. If it happens to be reporting a lean or rich mixture, it doesn't mean the sensor is bad. It just means there is a rich or lean condition to find. There are some codes that point directly to the sensor but we don't even have the code number here so recommending an 0/2 sensor is premature at the least.
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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.
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