Autos Fans

Anyone who knows Hondas mechanically..?—by hnda_fan89

Here’s my problem. I have a 1994 Honda Accord EX 4 cylinder Sedan with a 4speed Automatic. When the car is idle, doesn’t matter what gear, it jerks at random times. Is it the transmission? Transmission fluid? Or just the cold weather? This all started about a month ago.

Best Answer —by honda guy

If the car is at idle its not moving so it should be engine related and not transmission related. If by “jerks” you mean the engine surges or hiccups then its probably related to your engine ignition system or to the idle control system.

I don’t know what the maintenance history is on your car. The first things to check are the distributor cap, rotor, and ignition wires. Cold weather will affect them and if they’re old, just replace them.

the second thing is the basic tune-up items–spark plugs, filters and most importantly the valve adjustment. If you can’t remember the last time the valves were adjusted then its time to do them. Back on those models the valves should be adjusted every 15000 miles. There is no one single adjustment that is as critical to the way the car runs, the engine power or to fuel economy as the valve adjustment.

lastly, the idle control system is probably choked with carbon (think soot in a chimney). when that happens the car struggles to hold a smooth idle. Chances are your throttle body needs to be cleaned.