- Hi Scotty. I have a 2019 Honda Accord with 160,000 miles. Recently my engine seems to sometimes hesitate when I am accelerating to get on the highway or climb steep hills. It feels like it is running out of gas. I brought my car to a Honda dealership because there is a recall for the fuel pump, and I was told I need a new head gasket. My car has never overheated and the oil and coolant levels are normal and there does not appear to be any contamination. What do you think?
What do you think?
I think they're trying to rip you off. I'd take it to another mechanic and have them check your fuel pressure for starters.
@jman312 I had similar problem with my Honda CR-V 2002. This can occur for many reasons. Did you ever get any fault code? In most cases this is related to damaged catalytic converter. The O2 sensor Bank 2 can get wrong emission value due to that and can give error code. Sometimes, the oxygen sensor itself can become faulty and also give this error code. Check with your catalytic converter first. If that is damaged, check if the resonator and muffler also got jammed due to the broken parts of catalytic converter. If none of these happened, check the O2 sensor. If this also isn't the cause, you can check with the gearbox.
Here are the list of things you should check in such case:
Q: My car has a noticeable loss of engine power. What could be causing it?
A: Here are some possible culprits for a loss of engine power:
1. Air Intake System:
- Clogged air filter: Restricts airflow to the engine, reducing power.
2. Fuel Delivery System:
- Faulty fuel injector: Injector not delivering enough fuel for proper combustion.
- Clogged fuel filter: Restricts fuel flow to the engine.
3. Ignition System:
- Worn spark plugs: Weak spark reduces combustion efficiency.
4. Exhaust System:
- Clogged catalytic converter: Creates backpressure, hindering engine performance.
5. Other Possibilities:
- Vacuum leak: Unmetered air entering the engine disrupts air-fuel mixture.
- Sensor malfunction (MAF sensor, etc.): Faulty sensor data can lead to improper fuel mixture or timing.
Here is an update. When I run my car in econo mode the random engine hesitation goes away. The check engine light has never come on but I have an appointment this week.