I need some input ya'll. My car is a 1996, engine is a 3.1, has an automatic transmission, & roughly 239,000 miles on it. Last week I noticed my gas mileage had dropped from 27mpg to 24 ( I check it pretty much every time I fill up). Today, I'd been driving for about 25 miles or so, doing 60 mph (on FLAT ground) and the car seemed to "stutter" for lack of a better word & it briefly lost power. I gave it more gas which didn't help but then out of the blue it suddenly got a burst of energy like it pushed through some barrier and suddenly picked up speed as if nothing happened. It was running pretty rough when this happened today too. I thought that it was a tire until I realized the power loss. It felt like it was going to die and continued to follow that pattern a good part of my remaining 10 miles home. It doesn't seem to have any trouble between 0 & 35 mph .... at least not that I've noticed. Today I noticed it happening most when trying to maintain my speed. There have been a couple of times in recent months that it seemed to stall a bit while driving but it was VERY random until today. There are NO warning lights with this. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Krys.


Other things that may or may not be relevant:
The CATALYTIC CONVERTOR was replaced 2 yrs ago.

TRANNY: is getting weak (If I'm stopped on a hill it will roll backward a bit if I take my foot of the brake). It is losing fluid somewhere too... every so often (maybe every 4-6 months) my service engine soon light will come on telling me I need to add transmission fluid (it goes off shortly after adding it)

STARTING: It has spells where it doesn't want to start right. Sometimes I'll put the key in and turn it and NOTHING happens. Take the key out and try it again immediately and it starts right up. That will happen off and on for a few weeks then it might not happen again for MONTHS.

MISC: I know I have a short somewhere because my driver side window will go down and not go back up. When that happens I can sometimes hit the console around the shifter and it will go back up. My radio quit too but I don't think the 2 are connected (the radio got REALLY hot one day and never worked again) Another thing, there was a wire hanging underneath the car that my husband tucked back in. He said it was something to do with emissions or something... He said something about the O2 sensor I think.

 

If your secondary O2 sensor is unplugged, that would cause a stutter and power loss. For the starting problem - it sounds like your VATS (vehicle anti-theft system) is going bad. The connectors inside your ignition switch wear down over time, as does the chip in your key. It can be bypassed though, I have had the same issue with my Monte. A tune up couldn't hurt (new spark plugs, wires, fuel filter). You may want to check the fuel pressure also. If it's under 40 psi at idle, you have a blockage in the fuel system, or the pump's going out.

 

i would say its the trans on its way out. im dealing with the EXACT scenario you described on my daily commute too. no codes, and its pretty hard to maintain a consistant throttle & better your fuel milage when you have to push the car 'till it drops into 1st gear in order to pick up speed.

i've started not using overdrive around town / on the local mountian roads around where i live so that the car does not dump into o/d when it dosent need to, and if i am stuck in traffic climbing a hill i'll pull the car into "2" on the selector so that the car does not shift into drive and then have to downshift again.

but my best guess with my car is the torque converter is starting to get messed up. and i'm only at 156,000 miles. you got a very good run out of that trans if its original at almost 240k miles