Car Jerks While Driving At Constant Speed: Why It Happen

Automobiles seem to be getting increasingly complicated in the last few years and drag an array of multiple signs that result in some trouble for a car.

One of these troubles that has taken up so much of many drivers’ time is that their car jerks while driving at constant speed. If your vehicle is stuck in the same trouble, don’t skip visiting this blog.

In the next parts, we are passing through the key reasons as well as how to handle this issue effectively. Let’s dive in with us now to get more details.

Why Is My Car Jerking While Driving At Constant Speed?

A wide range of causes when your car keeps jerking forward when you are driving at constant speed. That can stem from failure in gas lines, catalytic converter, filter and fuel pump, mass airflow sensor, accelerator cable, carburetors, or spark plugs.

Car Jerking While Driving At Constant Speed

Fuel Injectors

A bad fuel injector is an annoying and prevalent issue that can trigger various problems.

Fuel injectors ensure and control the continual fuel flow into your vehicle cylinders. When the component is messed up, it will block the smooth flow of fuel.

Therefore, there hasn’t been sufficient fuel, and your motor would start getting the wrong operation. That would make your vehicle jerk while driving and might also result in the engine misfiring.

In addition, you might hear some stutters from the engine originating from the on and off fuel intake.

Catalytic Converter

Some roots, including blown head gasket, coil problems, or poor fuel injector, might lead to its catalytic converter getting damaged or clogged.

Moreover, the catalytic converter monitors the exhaust emissions from an automobile, which might be stopped as the mixture of fuel/ air is rich.

Hence, this could interrupt the free flow of air in the emission system. And then it can trigger your car lurching while driving.

Fuel Pump and Filter

Most automobile jerks often stem from a nearly-exhausted fuel supply. Fuel filters play a role in preventing impurities from entering the engine. A fuel pump permits fuel to flow freely into your car’s engine.

A poor fuel filter or pump will lessen gasoline flow into your motor. The engine would get no amount or very little fuel to operate normally. 

In addition, a bad fuel filter would choke the smooth flow of fresh fuel, which would trigger insufficient fuel entering the motor because of dust.

Consequently, your car is jerky when accelerating. The only choice here is to replace the fuel pump or filter.

Gas Lines

Fuel flows throughout a vehicle’s engine through gas lines. Nevertheless, if there is any problem with gas lines, which triggers the pressure loss on your vehicle, this is one of the deep roots when the car stutters while accelerating.

In some serious cases, defective fuel lines could even put your engine in danger of catching on fire.

Mass Airflow Sensor

Mass airflow sensors (MAF) are responses for measuring the quantity of air accessing the motor, which allows it to transfer information to the vehicle’s computer.

Then the computer monitors the gasoline injectors to deliver the appropriate volume of gasoline at the right time for the appropriate fuel/ air mixture.

With a poor MAF sensor, the process will also get into trouble and convey information improperly, which pushes your car jerks when driving on highway.

Accelerator Cable

The next cause that causes your vehicle to have the problem is a defective accelerator cable.

An accelerator cable works as a mechanical connection between the throttle plate and the gas pedal.

This link wears out month by month, which will react slower when you hit the gas. Also, it might lurch rather than offer smooth acceleration.

Carburetors

The part is supposed to control how much air and fuel are blended together before the mixture comes into the engine.

Once your carburetor has some signs of damage, the mixture will not be shown up with the right ratio.

This will result in poor performance on the engine in general and your vehicle to lurch when accelerating in particular.

Spark Plugs

The combustion of fuel requires a spark sufficiently to inflame fuel in every cylinder properly. Nevertheless, the key step is carried out by spark plugs.

Hence, once the components are defective, it would have an effect on the ignition system of gasoline in its cylinders. And your vehicle could begin jerking.

How I Can Fix My Car Jerks While Driving At Constant Speed

How I Can Fix My Car Jerks While Driving

As this issue is a common vehicle issue, you should be more sensitive to the right solution to fix that properly. Below we will show some ideas fitting some key causes we mentioned earlier.

  • Carefully wash fuel injectors by applying some cleaning liquid to the fuel tank. If you have experience in this way, you can do it yourself. Otherwise, sending it to the auto shop to clean can charge you around $50 to $100.
  • For faulty fuel pumps and filters or poor spark plugs, changing them with new ones is a wise solution to stop lurching in your automobile.
  • If your car has a problem with the mass airflow sensor, getting a new one for this is safe for your coming journey. Its price for this replacement can range from $250 to $400. Keep in mind that your vehicle version partly determines the price. You should also remember several things to do after changing the MAF sensor.
  • For a defective catalytic converter, you need to check it first to determine whether you can clean its system or not. In the worst conditions, you have to opt for changing it.

Final Thoughts

Car jerks while driving at constant speed might happen at certain times of driving your automobile.

Until these lines, we bet you have already reached why your car met in this situation and what you should do to fix that for different causes.

In the first place, all you need to do is to inspect the root of the jerky situation to apply the right solution to it!

Well, it’s time to thank you for your company till now, and see you in the coming practical content soon!

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