2006 Petrol Jimny acceleration problem / lack of power please help.

Hello all new to the forums here,

Got an issue with our Jimny thats driving us crazy no pun intended. Was hoping someone with more experience with cars may have had similar issues and can shed some light.

Basically the car has zero acceleration speed to the point its dangerous. When i put my foot down the car just revs out but goes nowhere. Have to lower revs slowly to get through the gears. Getting uphill is a real struggle to the point that its like driving a 20 ton lorry. Its also going through petrol like crazy. Probably due to the extra revs im having to give it. I put it in 4wd and it can barely move.

We have not much money to fix the car up and no money to buy a new car so im hoping someone may have had a similar issue and give me some hope

It has recently been serviced and had some minor repairs to the exhaust due to rust. It was struggling at this time but hoped a service would help but its getting worse.

I have put it through a basic ECU scan with my OBD 2 but no faults at all.

It has done over 100,000 miles 06 plate so its far from new. Im thinking spark plugs or something similar just not sure. Its like the engine is working at 20%.  I have it booked in for a mechanic to look at next saturday so im hoping he finds an issue but im not confident. 

Anyway any help or similar issues shared would be a comfort.

regards

Jonny

Welcome to the forum. First suggestions would be a blocked catalytic converter. The upstream cat disintegrates and blocks the downstream one.

Is it a manual or auto?

If it is a manual and the revs go up but the car doesn't move forwards it sounds like the clutch is slipping really badly. Reducing the revs and feeding the power in slowly the clutch is less likely to slip and therefore you can get somewhere, but with a massive reduction in power. Clutch slip would also account for the poor fuel economy.

I don't know enough about the automatics to know if it is something else in the gear box, but clutch is still my first thought.

Do you get a squeal as well?

If it is the clutch it is something that will need to be fixed as it will only get worse and if it collapses it might cause yet more damage.

If the revs don't rise, except with vehicle speed then blocked air filter, blocked exhaust, spark plugs, fuel, timing, etc are all things to look at.

Hope that helps

Robin

Sounds like clutch to me too.

When we have to move a car at the garage with a knackered clutch you can generally nurse it into the workshop by gently moving off in 2nd gear.
There could be other issues that caused the clutch to fail (oil leak onto clutch, badly sticking brakes etc.) but hopefully your mechanic will identify this.
Clutches do wear out. If you do more town driving or towing or drive like Mrs. Delux your clutch will wear out faster than normal.

Replacing the clutch in a Jimny is a straighforward job. You dont have to support the engine, remove any subframes/front driveshafts and the gearbox is pretty small. Its doable in a driveway if you fancy it.

When the clutch fails there can be noise/crunching gears/burning smell too.

If its an auto clutches and brake bands can fail and slip too but generally they are intended to last the life of the car. Replacing them generally isnt a job a normal garage would attempt.

In my experience a blocked cat will cause the engine to cut out or prevent it starting at all. Cats generally dont fail without warning. Has the 'check engine' been on? Has the engine been misfiring? (Spluttery, uneven, rough sounding)

You didnt mention any of these symptoms and your code reader hasnt shown any DTCs.

Have a bit of faith in your mechanic! Its a sad reality most people expect to be ripped off by their mechanic because of the behaviour of a handful of @*$£holes!

HI thank you all!

It is a manual i forgot to mention, the car starts fine and there is no misfires. Gears are a bit clunky but i just put it down to age. 

Now that you mention clutch i think this could be it the more i think about it!

I have noticed burning like smells coming from the car when driving and revving, i just totally forgot. Its the mrs car and she mainly uses it for short journeys and the school runs. I had to borrow it for my work commute one day and it was smelling like burnt rubber or something a like when revving when trying to get some speed up. 

I will make sure to mention this to the mechanic.  To be fair he seems decent and always comments on how he loves these cars haha. 
It might be a silly question but how would a mechanic diagnose a dodgy clutch and know for sure its the cause. Would he be able to tell by physically looking at the parts or just by symptoms.

Again thank you all.

Jonny







 

If there is a burning smell then yes I agree with the clutch as a culprit.

The really redneck way that I would not advise to check a clutch is to gently touch a sturdy wall with the front bumper and then engage 5th gear and slowly lift the clutch pedal. If it stalls the engine the clutch is ok if it doesn't stall the clutch is bad. This is very very redneck and I don't recommend trying it at home.