On Sunday the 5th, an oil change place replaced the fuel filter, cleaned the fuel system, changed the transmission fluid (but did not change the oil). After manager specials and discounts this amounted to $200. Their receipt says they used the special transmission fluid required by the Spectra.
On Thursday the 9th, the car started behaving oddly. After about 20 or 30 minutes on the Interstate, around 65-70 mph, someone will invariably cut in front of me. As soon as I apply the brake, the engine revs really high. When I take my foot off the brake, the problems begin. At random times, the engine jerks the car forward or jerks the car back. It’s a tad like watching a beginner try to start a stick shift from a halt – except it’s an automatic, I’m on the highway and I never know when it’s coming. I can bring the car to a stop. I can get the car going. Once it’s going, either I have very little control over the car’s exact speed (when my foot is on the accelerator) or I have very little control over how much the engine is revving (when my foot is on the brake.
The car was towed to the nearest garage, a GM dealership. (I was rattled and had forgotten about roadside assistance.) They replaced a vacuum hose in the fuel system and told me that sometimes broken hoses like that can cause GM’s computers and fuel injectors to do odd things that could match my symptoms. This helped nothing – the same problem persisted. They said I should go to a Kia dealership where the diagnostic equipment and staff training are more specialized for my car.
Kia towed the car to their dealership. They found nothing irregular under the hood. They could not make anything bad happen when they test drove it. They sent home with my car saying it was probably a bad batch of gasoline. I’m pretty sure that the car behaves normally for the first 20-30 minutes (which is about as long as they would drive it) and then starts misbehaving. The Kia dealership has seen my car twice and cannot find anything to fix or anything to charge me for (other than diagnostic time). Why should a 2002 with fewer than 61k miles have such expensive-sounding troubles?
On Thursday the 9th, the car started behaving oddly. After about 20 or 30 minutes on the Interstate, around 65-70 mph, someone will invariably cut in front of me. As soon as I apply the brake, the engine revs really high. When I take my foot off the brake, the problems begin. At random times, the engine jerks the car forward or jerks the car back. It’s a tad like watching a beginner try to start a stick shift from a halt – except it’s an automatic, I’m on the highway and I never know when it’s coming. I can bring the car to a stop. I can get the car going. Once it’s going, either I have very little control over the car’s exact speed (when my foot is on the accelerator) or I have very little control over how much the engine is revving (when my foot is on the brake.
The car was towed to the nearest garage, a GM dealership. (I was rattled and had forgotten about roadside assistance.) They replaced a vacuum hose in the fuel system and told me that sometimes broken hoses like that can cause GM’s computers and fuel injectors to do odd things that could match my symptoms. This helped nothing – the same problem persisted. They said I should go to a Kia dealership where the diagnostic equipment and staff training are more specialized for my car.
Kia towed the car to their dealership. They found nothing irregular under the hood. They could not make anything bad happen when they test drove it. They sent home with my car saying it was probably a bad batch of gasoline. I’m pretty sure that the car behaves normally for the first 20-30 minutes (which is about as long as they would drive it) and then starts misbehaving. The Kia dealership has seen my car twice and cannot find anything to fix or anything to charge me for (other than diagnostic time). Why should a 2002 with fewer than 61k miles have such expensive-sounding troubles?