Car Jerking Violently when at cruising speed

[Iceblaza]

Hey All,

I was driving today and all of a sudden at cruising speed the car started to jerk violently, kinda like it was starving of gas. I came to a stop and the car would idle normally, i can accellerate and all is fine, i can place the car in neutral and rev with no problems. This is only happening when i am at speed or slowly going upto speed (basically when the car is in gear and the gas pedal is only slightly depressed). I took the car in for service but had to leave it overnight as they were closed.

Anyone have any ideas wtf could be causing this? I was thinking the MAF, but the car works perfectly except in the one situation.....

Any ideas!!????

[Elder_MMHS]

I believe there is a TSB on the fuel pump. You might want to check that out.

[Iceblaza]

Im not sure if this will be the cause but this is very similar to my case. I did notice if in first gear at a slow speed if i depress the pedal slightly the car would want to stall.

http://www.finishlineperformance.com/mazda3/docs/0051.pdf

Anyways ill post the final conclusion incase someone else has this issue.

[b]

Could be your PSV (Purge Solenoid Valve) or a broken MAF wire... of the MAF itself. I've had all of the above go wrong a number of times and each time if felt like what you wrote above.

[FLIPDADY]

That bulletin doesn't apply to your car Paul since you got an 06. Could be one of the things b mentioned.

Bring it to the dealer and have them check it.

[Fox Mulder]

Hey All,

I was driving today and all of a sudden at cruising speed the car started to jerk violently, kinda like it was starving of gas. I came to a stop and the car would idle normally, i can accellerate and all is fine, i can place the car in neutral and rev with no problems. This is only happening when i am at speed or slowly going upto speed (basically when the car is in gear and the gas pedal is only slightly depressed). I took the car in for service but had to leave it overnight as they were closed.

Anyone have any ideas wtf could be causing this? I was thinking the MAF, but the car works perfectly except in the one situation.....

Any ideas!!????

Iceblaza, I also have an '06 GT w/Luxury Package and experience the same thing occasionally. Very jerky motion and although it seems like it might stall, it never does. Almost feels like 'burps' or bumps. Only in 1st gear (I have the 5-speed manual). Did you ever find out what the problem was?

[3GFX]

I had a similar problem, sort of. Here are some simple things to check out.

1. Is your gas cap tight?
2. Can you hear any unusual vacuum (sucking) noises along the engine? It might be that you have an issue the the pressure in the system.
3. Did you have a check engine light? Take the negative terminal off your battery, wait 5 - 10 minutes, or hold down your brake until everything is dead, then reconnect the battery. (This resets the ECU).
5. Is the MAF dirty, wet, greasy, oil, loose? Check it and fix.

Dunno if those will help at all but hey give it a shot.

[Fox Mulder]

I had a similar problem, sort of. Here are some simple things to check out.

1. Is your gas cap tight?
2. Can you hear any unusual vacuum (sucking) noises along the engine? It might be that you have an issue the the pressure in the system.
3. Did you have a check engine light? Take the negative terminal off your battery, wait 5 - 10 minutes, or hold down your brake until everything is dead, then reconnect the battery. (This resets the ECU).
5. Is the MAF dirty, wet, greasy, oil, loose? Check it and fix.

Dunno if those will help at all but hey give it a shot.

Thanks for the reply. Answers:
1. Yes, I make sure to twist it an extra turn or two, just to be sure.
2. Not that I know of, but will check next time I'm in the car.
3. No.
5. (what happened to 4? :) ). What is an MAF?

[3GFX]

Guess I skipped #4 :p ahh well.

MAF stands for Mass Air Flow Sensor. It will be on your intake.

[Effin Itai]

Not that this is related to the thread of any sort, but why are all the late model 3's 06-07 having so many problems? I have an '04 and have had no major problems so far(knock on wood!) LOL!

[Iceblaza]

Hey Guys,

The problem is all fixed. Mazda of Brampton was able to figure out that it was a loose connection with the MAF. As all of you may know that have the mazdaspeed intake, when you connect the maf sensor the wiring is very tight. Since the engine slightly shakes during accelleration this caused the wires to break over time causing my issue. Under warranty mob ordered a new wiring harness for the maf sensor and gave the wiring slack so it wouldnt happen in the future.

Anyone who has a mazdaspeed intake and is experiencing this should have it looked at and replaced if possible.

Paul.

[3GFX]

That's the problem I had!!! That's why I wondered if your MAF was loose.

Glad you got it fixed!!!

[Iceblaza]

Thats for your suggestions 3GFX. If i still had the car in my possession when you gave those recommendations I might of been able to fix it myself. Oh well i got a free rental car out of it for a few days.

Ewww Nisan Versa :(

Anyways.

[3GFX]

Yea, when I heard it was $100 alone to diagnose, I was like, well let me check those things again :p

[Fox Mulder]

Anyone who has a mazdaspeed intake and is experiencing this should have it looked at and replaced if possible.

Paul.

Hi Paul,

I am taking that line literally to mean that if I do NOT have the Mazdaspeed intake that this is not an issue for me. I have an 06 GT and have experienced some of this behavior but maybe this is not the same issue. Do you have any thoughts on that? Thanks. Andrew

[Iceblaza]

Well i do notice some jerking if in high RPM and let off the gas, say in 1st - 3rd but its only because of the decrease of torque when i let off the gas. Is this what you may be talking about?

As stated above i posted a link to a Recall concerning a similar issue, but not specific to my issue. Maybe you would like to print it out and bring it into your dealership if you think what you are experiencing is abnormal.

Best of luck.

Paul.

[6strings]

Sorry to bring this back from the grave, better than starting a new thread for old issues.
But I'm having the exact same issue. Would you guys suggest I tow it to a shop, or just slowly drive it. I just don't want to damage any mounts or cause any more issues.

[6strings]

Anyways, I was suggested to switch my SRI to stock intake. Can an aftermarket intake really cause the car to act like this? The intake was put on my car one year ago with no faults or issues. Any suggestions or tips?

[loosecannon]

Sorry to bring this back from the grave, better than starting a new thread for old issues.
But I'm having the exact same issue. Would you guys suggest I tow it to a shop, or just slowly drive it. I just don't want to damage any mounts or cause any more issues.

Did you look at your MAF sensor?

(Disconnect your battery first)
Take out your MAF sensor. If you have a can of compressed air, clean the sensor. Before you put the sensor back in, check and see if there are any frayed wires leading up to the sensor. If there are, that's probably the issue. If not, put the sensor back in. When you put the screws back in, make sure they are tight and snug, but don't over tighten. A buddy of mine managed to crack his MAF sensor by doing so.

If the problem still persists, bring it to a mechanic, not much you can do then.

[6strings]

Took a look at the wires and MAF. all looked good (but then again. im not experienced in this). Also gave my filter a good cleaning. I will be taking it in to the shop now.
thanks.

[MistaChin]

This is the EXACT issue I'm having. I looked at the MAF wires (CAI installed) and one of the wires to the MAF is completely broken. I'm currently sitting at Jimmy's having it fixed so I'll let you know the results.

[6strings]

For me it was just a dirty MAF sensor. I also went a head and cleaned out the throttle body.
Took no time at all. The car runs so nice now.

[highlineMotors]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQGSkWEC_u4&feature=player_detailpage

[Wes08M3]

Just an FYI for people who want to clean their MAF's, there is specific MAF cleaner in an aerosol can made by CRC. It's called "Sensor Kleen" I believe and it works very well and will not damage the sensor like some other methods can. I think it's somewhere around the $12 mark.

[6strings]

The issue is still there for me today, but its not so drastic. I noticed in 4th gear it struggled going up to speed and during downshifting it seemed rough coming down the RPM.
The problem is not consistent. Maybe my fuel filter?
MAF, Throttle, and Air Filter have been cleaned.

[Wes08M3]

The issue is still there for me today, but its not so drastic. I noticed in 4th gear it struggled going up to speed and during downshifting it seemed rough coming down the RPM.
The problem is not consistent. Maybe my fuel filter?
MAF, Throttle, and Air Filter have been cleaned.

Fuel filter is in the gas tank so I'd try to avoid messing with that if you can.

Spark plugs? What's your mileage? Check them out, it's cheap and easy to replace them if need be. Or a coil pack could be going bad. It's hard to know for sure if there's no CEL so these are just somewhat educated guesses.

[6strings]

Mileage is 124,xxxkm
I did my 96,000 maintenance over a year ago. Spark plugs have been changed. I had a CEL regarding MAF. Might have to replace MAF sensor. Got a quote of $94.85 for the MAF sensor.

Thats an easy fix.