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Slow acceleration

I drove my dad's 1998 ES300 once when he was out of town.. My foot was all the way down on the gas pedal, yet the car never went past 3000 rpm. The car felt no different than if I was barely pushing on the gas pedal. I would almost venture to say that it might not have been shifting gears.

My dad is back in town, and he said he was able to drive more than

80mph tonight, and thus he thinks it's fine. He knows the car isn't driving like it did before, but he sounds like he's being cheap about taking the car in, or maybe he just doesn't know the best way to describe the problem to a mechanic.

Does anyone have any guesses as to why the car crawls as it gains speed?

Reply to
mikechiu
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Drivability problems are difficult to diagnose without experiencing the condition first hand. Some things to check: Make sure that the brakes (including the parking brake) are not dragging, and that the transmission is in good shape. Check the condition of the ATF and that the transmission is shifting properly. If the spark plugs have more than 60 k miles, replace them with OEM spark plugs.

Another possibility is that the car is performing properly but it doesn't give the sensation of speed that the car you normally drive does.

Reply to
Ray O

I would check the fuel filter. Does it get better after you stop and begin driving again?

Reply to
W. Wells

Are you joshing us, 3000 rpm is equivalent to 90 miles per hour in top gear on my very own Lexus GS! If the car is unresponsive when you gun it, then you need a tune up, including new fuel filter and air filter...

Reply to
kitzler

fuel filter. Does it get better after you stop and begin

Yes, the car is totally unresponsive when gunning it. It drives somewhere under 3000rpm, but even when gunning it, the tach never jumps at all, not even momentarily. Heh, making the tires squeal is not even close to an option with the current state of things ... not that it was possible before either.

Reply to
mikechiu

fuel filter. Does it get better after you stop and begin

A clogged air filter will do that, it should be changed every

10-20,000 miles depending on driving conditions, like dusty areas... your engine sounds like it is starved for air..........
Reply to
kitzler

fuel filter. Does it get better after you stop and begin

What happens when you blip the throttle in neutral? Does the tach jump up then?

Reply to
Jay Somerset

fuel filter. Does it get better after you stop and begin

Hmm, my dad said he replaced the air filter recently. Let me check and find out what "recently" actually means though. We're in San Diego, and the ash from the recent fires definitely could spell problems for the air filter. Err, sounds like something I should also do with my car too!

Reply to
mikechiu

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