My car bucks.

fpage77 · 04-20-2009, 10:09 AM

I have a 09 and you know how in mourning traffic on a highway you get stop and go traffic sometimes. When I'm in stop and go traffic and driving slower than 10 or so my car starts bucking like it moves from one gear to another up and down. I've had several mornings lately where I got caught in this type of traffic pattern and to say it's a bone jarring ride when it does this is to say the least. I wanted to see if this is normal or not and if others see this behavior.

theguywiththelongestname · 04-20-2009, 10:21 AM

are you in auto-mode? or manual-mode?

sounds like you are in auto-mode...you might try to ease up on the throttle a bit...

**rfernatt** · 04-20-2009, 10:22 AM

Fortunately, I'm hardly ever in that type of situation, but the few times it's happened I have noticed it in 1st gear - if we're talking about the same thing. Couple thoughts:

1. The jerkiness at those really low speeds can be made worse by 'driver induced oscillation'. The jerkiness causes your foot to, perhaps imperceptibly, push on/off the gas pedal which makes the problem even worse.

2. Any manual transmission car is prone to this, to some degree, in 1st gear at low speeds.

3. The smart's 'crawl mode' (which is unlike any other manual transmission), probably makes the problem worse as well.

My solution in these situations:

1. If possible, leave enough space in front of you such that as traffic starts/stops, you don't have to stop. They go from 0 - 20 - 0 - 15 while you stay at 6-7 mph most of the time.

2. Put the transmission in manual mode (if it's not already) to force it into 1st only, and give it just enough gas to maintain a pace a hair faster than the crawl speed so it's smoother.

3. If it starts jumping, take your foot off the gas pedal and let it settle down before smoothly applying the gas again.

Those are my thoughts, but someone who drives in that type of traffic more frequently, may have other/better suggestions.

fpage77 · 04-20-2009, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theguywiththelongestname

are you in auto-mode? or manual-mode?

sounds like you are in auto-mode...you might try to ease up on the throttle a bit...

I always drive in auto as I've never driving a manual transmission car before.

**JPaul** · 04-20-2009, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fpage77

I always drive in auto as I've never driving a manual transmission car before.

Try it in manual, and report, please. I've found that it helps around 0-5 mph stop-and-go traffic...

fpage77 · 04-20-2009, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JPaul

Try it in manual, and report, please. I've found that it helps around 0-5 mph stop-and-go traffic...

Should be easy to do with our nifty paddle shifters.

Bill Marshall · 04-20-2009, 11:15 AM

It hasn't happened to me. go to your dealer & work it through with them.

jefferios · 04-20-2009, 11:18 AM

I have had this happen too at certain speeds, do as advised by rfernatt and you'll be fine.

Padawan · 04-20-2009, 11:22 AM

It does happen and it is normal. As others have suggested, you can try to change your driving style by leaving a bit more following distance between you and the car ahead, and you can also switch over to manual mode when you are in slow stop-and-go traffic.

NeWave · 04-20-2009, 11:39 AM

I remember getting stuck in highway traffic and having the same thing. It is the creep function jarring things up a bit. I remember trying the one click up on the handbrake to disable it. The alarm beeped annoyingly at any speed but stopped, but it didn't lurch anymore. Also.. no more hill hold.