# Sluggish Acceleration When Cold or Running For Awhile



## Marker3 (Aug 2, 2009)

*Sluggish Acceleration (UPDATED!!!)*

hello everyone,
I have a 1996 jetta gls 5spd and it runs beautiful most of the time. But there is a few instances where itll accelerate extremely sluggish.
one instance is if the car has been sitting off for more than 12 hrs completely cooled down. if i go to accelerate the car will jerk a little. Once its warmed a little though that stops and itll just accelerate sluggish.
the second instance is if the car has been on or has been driven for a few hrs. itll bog a little and it sounds like its struggling to accelerate.
the only time the car runs like its brand new is if its not completely warmed up or if i catch it at a right time.
please any help will be greatly appreciated ... im kinda new to VW's
EDIT --- I Noticed its more in the low rPM range

_Modified by Marker3 at 4:24 PM 9-9-2009_


_Modified by Marker3 at 3:45 PM 9-23-2009_


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## vw GTI FL (Aug 24, 2009)

*Re: Sluggish Acceleration When Cold or Running For Awhile (Marker3)*

did you try cleaning a throtle body and a mass air flow sensor? Maybe a tune up is due? Vacuum leak ?


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## Marker3 (Aug 2, 2009)

*Re: Sluggish Acceleration When Cold or Running For Awhile (vw GTI FL)*

i have not cleaned the throttle body ill take a look at it ... where can i locate the mafs ... its just kinda wierd that it only does it under certain circumstances though


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## Michael Cahill (Mar 28, 2008)

*Re: Sluggish Acceleration When Cold or Running For Awhile (Marker3)*

start by checking for vacume leaks.
(do a search on here, and you can find lots of methods on how to do so)
second, is your check engine light on?
if so, go get it scanned. the troubble codes should help point you in the right direction if the problem is electrical.
and then let us know what you find.
in this situation, i would suspect: (in order of liklyhood)
1. vacume leak
2. bad MAF (the thing with wires sticking out of your air filter housing)
3. dirty or bad throttle body
4. bad ignition system (weak spark etc.)


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## Obi-Wan (Sep 12, 2009)

*Re: Sluggish Acceleration When Cold or Running For Awhile (Michael Cahill)*

I've got the very same problem (I call it a nasty hesitation) with medium to heavy acceleration. same exact car. Throttle body and intake manifold was cleaned, I've replaced all(as far as I know) of the vac. lines, new Fuel filter, air filter and ignition tune up(also new coil 30k ago) 
I plan to lift her and check the cat and exhaust for clogs next, (after I double check the vac. lines)


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## Michael Cahill (Mar 28, 2008)

*Re: Sluggish Acceleration When Cold or Running For Awhile (Obi-Wan)*

mmm ive heard of ECU's going out and causing these types of problems.
but never personally witnessed it.
id do some searching on here about ecu failures, and you'll find some good info http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## Marker3 (Aug 2, 2009)

*Re: Sluggish Acceleration When Cold or Running For Awhile (Michael Cahill)*

ok so i cleaned the throttle body and checked the air filter .... the filter was good and the throttle body was pretty nasty ... i see a little difference in the acceleration now ... hoping for a little bit more though


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## Michael Cahill (Mar 28, 2008)

*Re: Sluggish Acceleration When Cold or Running For Awhile (Marker3)*

keep in mind, the 2.0 engine is not a nascar engine








and its not going to rev like a porche.
BUT it should accelerate smoothly, without hesitiation, and put a decent ammount of power to the wheels.
if it hesitates, sputters, studders, and pulls noticably slower than normal, you have a problem.
otherwise, welcome to driving a 2.0








also, gas mileage (depending on driving style) should be right around 30MPG.
if its far lower than that, you also have a problem.


_Modified by Michael Cahill at 10:21 PM 9-13-2009_


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## 97_trek (Jul 19, 2007)

i had a similar problem, if its an OBD1 which it should be, take the ISV off and spray brake cleaner into it where the filter is and let it drip out. will run good as new once your done


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## Marker3 (Aug 2, 2009)

*Re: (97_trek)*

what is the ISV


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## Marker3 (Aug 2, 2009)

*Re: Sluggish Acceleration When Cold or Running For Awhile (Michael Cahill)*

lol this post made me laugh ... your right though i suppose im asking too much out of my Jetta. Im just used to driving Integras especially GS-R so im kinda used to the quick response and insane acceleration. Thanks everyone for the help im still troubleshooting so i will deff keep everyone posted.


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## FL 2.0L (Aug 1, 2002)

No isv for the 96. Make sure all of your ignition stuff is up to date.


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## BennyB (Mar 27, 2000)

*Re: (FL 2.0L)*

I've got pretty much the same issue on my 99. I just got the car because it needed a timing belt. runs great now that I've thrown all these parts at it, except when you step into it below 2K. then I get misfire codes... 
replaced: 
fuel filter
front O2
MAF
air filter
plugs, wires, cap, rotor, coil
temp sensor
PO had the throttle body cleaned already
I also checked that the spray looks good on the injectors
kind of at a loss now.. I will probably go double-check the cam timing tomorrow.
Would a plugged cat cause this problem?


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## Marker3 (Aug 2, 2009)

*Re: (BennyB)*

yeah my jetta just bogs a little under heavy acceleration but once i hit about 2-3k RPM it really picks up
its only a major problem when running hot ... i have to literally have the accelerator floored to get acceleration out of her.
when cold it jerks under light acceleration but doesnt really bog


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## FL 2.0L (Aug 1, 2002)

*Re: (BennyB)*

Clogged cat is usually an issue at higher rpms.


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## BennyB (Mar 27, 2000)

*Re: (FL 2.0L)*

It was the plug wires.. They had recently been replaced, but I think I yanked on them a few too many times. The new set I bought had a note "do not remove by pulling on the wire". Doh!
Time to invest in the proper plug wire removal tool. Anyone have a link to someone selling one?


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## FL 2.0L (Aug 1, 2002)

Don't you have a screwdriver or wire hanger? Search for alternatives. Unless you really want to lay out the cash for the special tool.


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## Marker3 (Aug 2, 2009)

*Re: (FL 2.0L)*

thanks everyone for being so informative








im still troubleshooting im probably going to go and buy a code reader off of ebay or something and go from there
also since i have a 96 jetta gls ... does that mean i have an MK3? ... im clueless on these VW abbreviations (ex. aeg, mk3, jettaIII) things like that. i know its a little off topic but does anyone want to elaborate a little more for me please


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## rubenl (Jan 14, 2001)

*Re: (Marker3)*

yeah it's a Mk III,welcome to VW ... my 96 Jetta has the same problems too, I've replaced plugs,wires,cap,rotor and still it bogs down on acceleration...


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## FL 2.0L (Aug 1, 2002)

93-99 = mkIII
93-95 = obdI
96-99 = obdII


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## bwyatt079 (Jul 20, 2006)

*Re: (Marker3)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Marker3* »_thanks everyone for being so informative








im still troubleshooting im probably going to go and buy a code reader off of ebay or something and go from there
also since i have a 96 jetta gls ... does that mean i have an MK3? ... im clueless on these VW abbreviations (ex. aeg, mk3, jettaIII) things like that. i know its a little off topic but does anyone want to elaborate a little more for me please 

forum acronyms 
vw acronyms


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## Marker3 (Aug 2, 2009)

*Re: Sluggish Acceleration (Marker3)*

ok so i got the car finally checked out and i came out with these 5 codes
P0103
P1582
P0422
P0440
P0341
can someone please tell me what these all mean and where i can locate the problematic parts, and the priority on each code 1-5 (5 being highest) it would be so greatly appreciated you have no idea
thanks everyone


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## FL 2.0L (Aug 1, 2002)

p0103 maf high input - check for vac leak, check the wiring. May need a new one.
p1582 idle adaptation at limit - clean tb (which you did - Did you reset codes after cleaning?)
p0341 - cam pos sensor - either you need a new cam position sensor or the timing is off. Are you due for a new timing belt or has it been done recently?
The other 2 are cat codes. You could be sending extra hydrocarbons to the cat with bad ignition timing and getting those codes or the cat is dying.
Good luck!

_Modified by FL 2.0L at 5:44 PM 9-23-2009_


_Modified by FL 2.0L at 5:46 PM 9-23-2009_


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