Suffering power loss in your car can be a frustrating experience and indicate a problem with your vehicle’s engine.
If your car loses power when accelerating, it could be due to a variety of issues, including a clogged fuel filter, a dirty air filter, faulty fuel injectors, a failing fuel pump, or problems with the exhaust system, spark plugs, or ignition coils.
If your car is losing power, you must know how to respond to stay safe and prevent any potential damage to your vehicle.
Below are some possible reasons why your vehicle loses power when accelerating and how to fix them.
11 Possible Reasons Why Your Car’s Losing Power When Accelerating
There are many reasons why your vehicle may be losing power that can affect both gas and diesel engines. These causes can be broken down into three areas:
- Mechanical problems such as: low compression, clogged fuel filter, dirty air filter, clogged exhaust manifold.
- Malfunction of sensors such as: camshaft position sensor, MAF sensor, oxygen sensor, crankshaft sensor and all sensors relative to the EFI system.
- Malfunction of actuators such as: bad fuel injectors, bad fuel pump, bad spark plugs.
#1. Low Compression.
In order for a car’s engine to function properly and provide adequate power to the vehicle, there must be good cylinder compression throughout the combustion process. If the compression is low, then the power of the engine will be low.
The result will be an engine that simply doesn’t function properly. Diagnosing low cylinder compression is the next step toward a solution.
#2. Clogged Fuel Filter.
If your car loses power while driving but the engine is still running, one of the most common culprits is clogged fuel filters.
As the name suggests, it’s the job of fuel filters to filter dirt and rust particles from the car’s fuel, preventing them from reaching the engine chamber.
Over time, the filters can become clogged with dirt and debris, making them less able to pass the correct amount of fuel through to the combustion chamber. This, in turn, can leave the engine without a sufficient amount of fuel and therefore unable to power on or accelerate.
Luckily, all you need to do to solve this problem is have your fuel filter replaced. Generally, we recommend having your fuel filters replaced every 60,000 miles to avoid them becoming blocked.
#3. Bad Air Filter.
The combustion chamber of an engine is responsible for mixing gasoline and air together in order to generate the power that is needed to run your vehicle. Before the air can enter the chamber, it must pass through an air filter that screens out bugs, debris, and other kinds of impurities that may exist in it.
If these impurities were to get into the engine, they could cause severe damage. However, air filters tend to get clogged after they’ve been used for a while.
Once an air filter gets clogged, it will limit the amount of air that can get into the internal combustion chamber. This will negatively impact the functionality of the vehicle because the engine won’t be able to generate a sufficient amount of power to run the car.
Replace your air filter and you should be good as new. If you have a reusable air filter such as a K&N, simply clean it according to the manufacturer’s directions.
#4. Clogged Exhaust Pipe.
There are two filters in an exhaust system; the muffler and the catalytic converter. The job of the catalyst converter is to cut down the amount of pollution generated from the exhaust gases.
As for the muffler, its job is simply to decrease the amount of noise that is made. If the exhaust pipe or any of its filters were to get clogged, it would weaken the functionality of the engine by reducing its power and making the vehicle drive slow when trying to accelerate.
A clogged exhaust system is bad on any vehicle but it’s even worse on a turbocharged vehicle.
#5. Camshaft Position Sensor Malfunction.
The vehicle’s camshaft position sensor is responsible for gathering information about the camshaft speed of the vehicle and then sending it to the electronic control module (ECM).
This module is a computer which exists inside most cars on the road today. Once information about the camshaft speed is sent to the ECM, the computer will then manage the timing of both the fuel injection and ignition based on this information.
However, if there is a malfunction with the camshaft position sensor and it’s not able to send this information to the ECM, then the performance of the engine will be greatly impacted and likely won’t be able to function properly.
#6. MAF Sensor Malfunction.
The main responsibility of a Mass Airflow Sensor is to measure the amount of air that flows into the engine and then report this amount to the Powertrain Control Module. From there, the module will use this information to calculate the load that is being placed on the engine.
If there were to be some sort of malfunction with the sensors, then the engine’s performance would be diminished.
#7. Oxygen Sensor Malfunction.
When exhaust gases leave your vehicle’s engine, the amount of gases which leave is measured by the oxygen sensor. The electronic control module then uses this information to figure out the real-time air-to-fuel ratio that exists in the vehicle’s engine.
The oxygen sensor is positioned inside of the exhaust stream. It enables the engine timing and fuel injection system to do their jobs efficiently. The oxygen sensor even provides support with emission control as well.
But if a malfunction were to take place with the oxygen sensor, then it wouldn’t be able to accurately send information about the air-to-fuel ratio to the electronic control module. This would cause the engine to start performing poorly and it would ultimately have a negative impact on the environment.
#8. Bad Fuel Injectors.
If you buy contaminated fuel, your vehicle’s fuel injectors can easily clog because they have narrow nozzles. Since a clogged fuel injector cannot spray fuel optimally, less fuel in the combustion chamber compromises the air-fuel ratio, leading to performance issues like loss of power during acceleration.
Your engine may also fail to run if the fuel injector issues are severe.
You can prevent fuel injection issues by adding cleaning additives to your fuel. These additives clear deposits in your vehicle’s fuel systems, improving your engine’s efficiency and performance.
#9. Bad or Weak Fuel Pump.
A fuel pump pumps fuel from your vehicle’s fuel tank to the engine’s fuel injector or carburetor. Therefore, if the pump is faulty, it may not have enough power to deliver fuel at the optimum pressure, leading to a loss of power.
While you may not notice power loss at low speeds, you may experience problems when accelerating fast. Have a trained mechanic check if you suspect a faulty fuel pump is why your vehicle loses power when accelerating.
Many things can make your vehicle lose power, but some are more likely than others. The information above can help you determine the culprit behind your vehicle’s power loss when accelerating.
However, consider hiring a trained and experienced mechanic to confirm the real cause of the power loss after a comprehensive diagnosis.
#10. Bad Spark Plugs.
Spark plugs are an important component of a vehicle’s internal combustion motor. After the ignition coil sends an electrical signal to the spark plugs, they transmit that signal to the combustion chamber so that its air & fuel mixture can be ignited by an electric spark.
If the spark plugs were to ever fail, then the engine’s performance would diminish and eventually fail altogether.
#11. Bad Ignition Coil.
The ignition coils of the ignition system serve as an electronic engine management element which is responsible for converting the 12 volts of power generated by the vehicle into 20,000 volts.
This amount of voltage is needed in order to generate the electrical spark which can ignite the air & fuel mixture of the engine.
If the ignition coil were to fail, then the vehicle would be unable to accelerate and its power would be lost.
Summary
All the things listed above cause slow acceleration in a vehicle and will inevitably lead to more severe problems with your car. So, keep them in mind for diagnosing, and try to fix the problem as soon as possible.
However, if you’re not confident in your abilities, delegate the tinkering to a qualified mechanic for fast and optimal results.