allgoodpeople

Hey all - bought an 06 xB and have been driving it for a little while now. I have noticed that there is a considerable lag or delay from when I step on the gas to when I feel the engine kick in and start accelerating. It doesn't matter how hard i step on the gas, there is a pause of one or two seconds when the car just doesn't go anywhere - then, all of a sudden it figures out i've got the gas pedal floored and it takes off (like i wish it would have when I first stepped on the gas!)

It is most noticeable when I need to accelerate from a stand still. I have to turn left out of my drive way every morning against traffic onto a busy road, meaning I have to be able to shoot out of my driveway and cross 2 lanes of traffic quickly.

I, however, am a total car and engine ignoramus. Not sure if this is called throttle delay or if it is engine hesitation or what the proper vocabulary would be for it.

I also am not sure if this is normal "feature" for a 1st Gen xB or if this is indicative of something being wrong with the engine. Not sure if it is relevant, but it is an automatic transmission.

Can anyone help give me a clue on this matter?

jct

is it an auto trans?

allgoodpeople

yes, it is an automatic. no mods, stock factory engine.

evosky

you say at different throttle positions you're trying, you always have this lag ? even if you gradually push harder and harder ? i do know that if you mash the pedal from the start, there will be a lag because the car/computer/engine is reacting to the large input. typically, if you input more gradually, you will minimize that lag time to almost nothing, and you will actually reach speed faster. at least it feels like that.

swartzautoman

iTrader: (3)

its you trany, not a Throttle delay.
it just taks a second fof all the computers to chit chat.
im sure you can do something to improve of eliminate it all together, but its going to be more than you want to spend.

allgoodpeople

so it is just the way the car is designed, not indicative of something wrong with the engine?

littleball11101

Try this.. Pop the hood, next to ur throttle body do u see a cable that runs along side it and over ur battery to ur firewall? Tighten that up, which will tighten all the slack out of the cable.. You can go just about to the end, just make sure to run your car and make sure your idle is the same, cause if you tighten it to much your car will idle to high, it takes a min after start up for your idle to drop. but should be around 900-1000 rpms.. you will instantly notice the throttle pick up, esspicially if your at stop.. Hope this helps!

swartzautoman

iTrader: (3)

nothing is wrong with your box.
nightening up the cable will help with any slack, but with en auto you will still have a certain amount of a delay.

allgoodpeople

i've driven automatics my whole life, i've never had a delay like this. not saying you're wrong, but this seems like a particularly severe delay.

swartzautoman

iTrader: (3)

well...... ive never driven your car so only you would realy know if its not nornmal. take it to the dealer if its still under warrenty.
i was just giving en educated guess.

dugzilla

you might have slack in the throttle cable and adjusting that will help, but there is a slight delay with the auto.

dz302

I have an '06 automatic and I understand what you are referring to. I do not believe it's the throttle cable, as when you press the accelerator, the car does accelerate, just very slowly until you've got about 2000 or so RPM's on the tach.

I scared myself silly a couple times right after I bought it pulling out into traffic and almost got ran over because the "off line" acceleration is terrible.

I suspect it's just that this little motor doesn't make much torque at all until it's above 2000 RPM.

Just a guess, of course.

dugzilla

sounds like you have a problem, I have the auto and when I press on the gas it goes!!

I do have I/H/E and lightened pully, but I don't remember it being a problem before.

evosky

^^^ i have the same IHE+P setup, and there's pep all around, though the BIG noticeable pull is 4-6K.
I say go to the dealer to get it checked ?

dz302

Mine feels almost like it has to "spool" up...if you've ever driven a turbocharged vehicle that suffered turbo lag...that's how I would describe it.

evosky

i know what you mean i think. are you talking about anytime, either from standstill or at variable speeds ? when i'm cruising along and i want to pick up big speed and mash the pedal, yes there is the noticeable lag. from a standstill, it's not so much. just the way autos are ?

dz302

Quote:

Mine is only from a standstill. Once underway it's fine. Seems to be a power deficit below 20-2200 rpm.

evosky

^^^ yeah i dunno. besides the cable slack, i really don't know what the cause might be ?