[Mark]

When I am driving under acceleration in 3rd, 4th, or 5th (around 2500-3000) I notice a very suttle hesitation in power. The engine and drivetrain sounds perfectly smooth. It feels kind of like if you were driving and you lightly and quickly pumped the brakes 4-5 times, then it stops and I might drive another 50 miles before i notice it again. It is more noticeable on hills and under accelleration. I should also note that the plugs were recently changed at the dealer. Any ideas??

 

[Stelly]

you might be feeling what I call a hic-up. My '98 has done that ever since I got it. Tried everyting to fix it. Nothing worked. It still does it, a slight hesitation every now and then. Sometime you can go for days, then other times it does it every 4 - 5 minutes. 271,000 miles later, still haven't solved the problem.
My wife drives that one now and she doesn't know if it still does it or not, when I drive it, it likes to to see if it can drive me nuts!
If anyone ever finds out why some do this.... hope they let me know.

 

[Mohit]

Have you checked throttle body, fuel filter, fuel injectors?

 

[Stelly]

Mohit,
I've checked all that. Hooked up to the computer in the shop everything looks good. I am one of the people that has changed his fuel filter, 3 times! Ans said all those nice words while doing it :evil:

 

[Chad75]

I have the same problem recently. I narrowed it down to gas. If I use regular unleaded its real bad, if I use premium it is not so bad. The middle grade is just right and I never have the problem. I know it sounds crazy but my rav preferes the middle grade gas lol.

 

[peterpogi2005]

had the same problem but not noticed it for a while!! i was thinking maybe it's the ecu re-calibrating it's self or something.. must admit i haven't noticed it for a very long time now!!!

maybe i'll ask next time i drop by at toyota, but i won't ask them to fix it..

 

[Chucks97]

I should also note that the plugs were recently changed at the dealer. Any ideas??

Make sure that the plugs are screwed in or that the plug wires are making good contact.

Did your problem appear soon after having the dealer change the plugs.

Are you tripping any codes?

 

[blue]

I had the same symptoms and it turned out to be fouled plugs AND worn out plug wires. Read more here: http://rav4world.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=213443#213443