I've got a 2002 Neon with 94000km (58750 mi), that's starting to develop a slight hesitation when shifting from 1st to 2nd gear. Hoping that it's just a bad batch of gas, but here's what's going on:

Starts fine, no problems. Shift into 1st gear, no hesitation whatsoever. Shift into second gear around 22km/h (14 mph), give it some gas and it sputters a tiny bit, never dies. Shift into third gear around 40km/h (25 mph), occasionally does the same thing. Shifting into 4th or 5th has no problems and no hesitation. If I don't give it too much gas it's fine, no hesitation whatsoever. If I give it a bit more than normal, that's when the hesitation starts. New air filter, recent oil change (less than 100 mi ago), plugs were replaced about 12000km (7500 mi) ago. Running some gas treatment additive through with this tank.. Ideas?

 

I would suggest checking the TB to see if anything looks out of the ordinary, I've heard of some 02's having TB stopage bracket problems (like them opening too far, or not enough) causing a spike in the throttle position sensors which in turn creates a rapid voltage drop from to the ECU. The voltage drop causes the ECU to lean out your fuel, which thus, creates the lag in acceleration. That is one of the more unlikely problems, but its a place to start...are you throwing any codes by any chance?

 

I've done the key dance, it's throwing no codes whatsoever. It's odd - sometimes the hesitation will be more noticeable than others, sometimes it doesn't even hesitate.

 

Mine did something like that when I first bought it. I have put about 2000 miles on since then and it hasnt done it for me in a while. My car was sitting at the dealer for a while so I dunno what could have been causes but it has cleared up as of lately.

 

Eh, it's still doing it.. If I keep the rpm's a bit high before I shift then it's alright. If I push the accelerator to the floor it sputters somewhat and slowly clears up.. *shrug*

 

is there a fix for the hesitation?

my wife's '02 SE hesitate's on rolling acceleration, and when you come to a stop, the RPM's drop for a few seconds then come back up to normal.

 

Nevermind.

 

Hi dv80r. Check your intake manifold for oil. Remove flex hose between maniflold and throttle plate. Use a soft lint free rag and gently push it into the manifold-----remove and check for oil.
It's a little early for this to happen.

one fix for this is to replace valve cover for a first generation valve cover.
another is to use a catch can but this only works in climates above freezing.

Cheers
KayakMan

 

mine does this too... i believe the only fix is more power (thats my answer to everything lol), but really, it kinda bogs down from a rolling accell. Seems to me that its just from a lack of power, or maybe the transition from closed throttle to open throttle that is a little to quik with the load that is on it. I really dont believe there is a real problem that can be fixed...

 

my 02 sxt did the same thing and i went and bought a grounding kit off ebay for like $22 and i have no hesitation in any gear!