5.4 Hesitation when in low gear -> traction control?
02-17-2011, 08:31 AM
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5.4 Hesitation when in low gear -> traction control?
Hi all,
I have a 2007 FX2 5.4 Sport. When I accelerate from low speed (10-20mph) so that it kicks into low gear, it starts sputtering and hesitating, and spews fuel/smoke out the exhaust and the engine light was blinking. I later pulled from the logs a P0103.
This is very consistent which got me to thinking, some cars for the traction control cut fuel or air, my 350z does something similar just not so dramatic and no smoke out the back. Could this be what is happening? Traction control kicking in? If so, where is the switch to turn off traction control? I don't have anything in the center console other than the P (rev alert) button.
Thanks
I have a 2007 FX2 5.4 Sport. When I accelerate from low speed (10-20mph) so that it kicks into low gear, it starts sputtering and hesitating, and spews fuel/smoke out the exhaust and the engine light was blinking. I later pulled from the logs a P0103.
This is very consistent which got me to thinking, some cars for the traction control cut fuel or air, my 350z does something similar just not so dramatic and no smoke out the back. Could this be what is happening? Traction control kicking in? If so, where is the switch to turn off traction control? I don't have anything in the center console other than the P (rev alert) button.
Thanks
Last edited by Stein2011; 02-17-2011 at 11:07 AM.
02-17-2011, 12:32 PM
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on mine its right next to the cig lighter it says TCS
the traction control on my Thunderbird works with the ABS and applies the brakes to the spinning wheel and I've never experanced the issue your having mine flashes the traction light on the dash when the wheels are spinning
the traction control on my Thunderbird works with the ABS and applies the brakes to the spinning wheel and I've never experanced the issue your having mine flashes the traction light on the dash when the wheels are spinning
02-17-2011, 01:50 PM
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I just checked and no TCS button, so I suppose no traction control.
ODBII log pulls the "P0103 Mass Air Flow (MAF) Circuit High Input", nothing else.
I wasn't sure on the TCS thing so as I am new to the f150. I will clean it and see if that helps. Other than that I suspect a short or a bad MAF sensor.
Thanks for the replies
ODBII log pulls the "P0103 Mass Air Flow (MAF) Circuit High Input", nothing else.
I wasn't sure on the TCS thing so as I am new to the f150. I will clean it and see if that helps. Other than that I suspect a short or a bad MAF sensor.
Thanks for the replies
02-17-2011, 07:06 PM
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Well, I cleaned the MAF and no change. Got on it @ 35mph and same hesitation around 3k RPMs, but if I put it in low and get the RPMs up it has no problem. Guess I will have to let carmax figure it out.
Thanks guys
Thanks guys
02-26-2011, 11:12 AM
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I just wanted to follow up on this issue just in case others may find it useful.
The truck:
2007 53000 miles on it, two previous owners, the first owner had it to 40k miles, no maint records, second was a corp with all maint records kept to date.
The problem:
Any time you tried to gun it from a speed < ~35 mph which would kick it into low gear, like on a short acceleration lane. The engine would spit and sputter and you'd have to let off the accelerator for it to go or it would just keep hesitating and if you kept in it long enough would cause the check engine light to blink.
Not sure if the P0103 code I pulled from the logs was old but they didn't pull anything. I notice after the fix the radio had to be reprogrammed so all codes are cleared.
The fix:
Carmax changed the plugs and all is well, runs like a champ.
Weird:
They list the price of the plugs @ $82 for all 8 which is about right, but had the labor listed at $114 for 2.8 hours of labor, that is total cost, not per hour. Since it was warranty work I didn't pay anything
Also thought it was weird that it needed plugs after 53k miles...
The truck:
2007 53000 miles on it, two previous owners, the first owner had it to 40k miles, no maint records, second was a corp with all maint records kept to date.
The problem:
Any time you tried to gun it from a speed < ~35 mph which would kick it into low gear, like on a short acceleration lane. The engine would spit and sputter and you'd have to let off the accelerator for it to go or it would just keep hesitating and if you kept in it long enough would cause the check engine light to blink.
Not sure if the P0103 code I pulled from the logs was old but they didn't pull anything. I notice after the fix the radio had to be reprogrammed so all codes are cleared.
The fix:
Carmax changed the plugs and all is well, runs like a champ.
Weird:
They list the price of the plugs @ $82 for all 8 which is about right, but had the labor listed at $114 for 2.8 hours of labor, that is total cost, not per hour. Since it was warranty work I didn't pay anything
Also thought it was weird that it needed plugs after 53k miles...