Mechanical help

my girlfriend drives a 2002 Ford Laser SR that's her first car, and it' been having issues that are completely taking her driving confidence away

basically she's been having power related issues, which have been intermittent and unfortunately only when she's driving

the car seems to get stuck after lowering it's speed and not wanting to get back up to speed (EG through roadworks) sometimes shaking

today she was taking off from a stop sign and the car struggled to move from her words taking 30 seconds or so just to get her to a speed where she could get to the side of the road

the car has already been through a mechanic and he changed out all the leads, sparkplugs and checked over the car without finding anything wrong with it, he took it for a drive, and obviously nothing went wrong when he drove it

my only ideas would be the coil packs or a friend had a stalling issue with the same engine to do with the belt tensioner

any ideas Veeky Forums my missus could really use your help

>he didn't buy the TRD LZR

her engine is the Mazda 1.8 L FP-DE DOHC I4 with 91 kW (122 hp) if that helps anyone

it's the same as many mazda 323's

Do you even know what wires and plugs he used? Hopefully ngk or denso. You should take it to a different mechanic. One that doesn't just throw parts at it.

It could be a whole number of things. Is there a CEL? When she's "getting up to speed" is it shakes/stuttering or does the car rev really high but doesn't move?

Does she have problems starting it?

nah the revs dont move, they stay low in relation to the accelerator position
it used to have a starting issue, however it's mostly resolved now, but it can take a couple of seconds to turn over most days then some times be pretty much instant (not in relation to temperature)

I'd probably check the fuel delivery system, check the fuel filter, then check the throttle body to see if its full of gunk.

Is this a manual or auto?

This also could be a tranny issue. You said it happens after she comes to a stop while driving. Does it feel like the car is downshifting when she comes to a stop?

it's an Auto, the mechanic cleaned out the full fuel system in the past service

Have you driven the car when it happens?

only once
the accelerator seemed to be completely separate to the revs and it took probably about 20 seconds to start behaving normaly

Would recommend checking the throttle body.
You also could have a vacuum leak.

And ill try and scare you, probably the worst case scenario would be that the ECM is going out, doubtful but possible.

>cleaned out the fuel system
No he didn't.
To "clean out" the fuel system would require removing the tank, pump, injectors etc. He put some shit in the tank that said "fuel cleaner" or some shit. This problem is more than likely a fuel delivery issue. Injectors going bad, rust in tank/lines, clogged filter, pump going bad etc. There are a lot of things it could be. Start going through from easiest/cheapest to hardest/most expensive.

thanks a lot guys, I'll keep a note of both of these

Its electronic
Everyone else can piss off.
Change coil packs is step one.
Its not fuel pressure regulator.
It's not vacuum lines.
It's not the fuel filter.
Its not the transmission.

Could be a ground wire, tps, maf sensor.
Need more symptoms.
Does it "chug"?
Or is it like you step on the gas and it doesn't realize it?

Is this Pasta?

it's the coil shorting to ground, it's a common problem

yeah basically you step on the gas and it doesnt rev as it should

This. Clean the throttle body, check the tps, afm and lastly coil packs. Does it misfire when it won't go?

nah it doesnt misfire, just lags

Tried checking the play in the throttle cable/pedal?

Maybe it's stretched or loosened heaps, hence why the car is slow.

>captcha: 323

nah it's fine, and it's 95% of the time fine, it just suddenly plays up

this is my first guess, especially because its an intermittent problem. is it usually fine when you first start? if so, I'd further guess crapped up tank/ lines/ pick up in tank. change filter cause why the hell not. and also you can then cut up the old one and look for gunk.
this guy is way too cocky and probably wrong and even if right you don't start by changing the coil packs right off. (the ole pay and spray method... good luck with that) That being said, test for spark - 5 - 10 $ tester or free with screwdriver method. I'd rule that out first because its cheap and easy.Then you'll know whether to get into electric or fuel delivery.

wouldn't think tranny either, but low fluid can produce kinda sorta similar symptoms, and its another free check, so check that before getting to the probable issue - fuel delivery