Why is my Ford Taurus jerking on acceleration?

Have you ever been driving down the highway in your vehicle, enjoying the day and then your car starts to jerk when you press the acceleration? Why is that? That has to be very frightening, is it the suspension? Maybe your tires? I started wondering this myself, so I looked into it and researched the topic.

Here is what I found through my research so we can solve this problem and answer the question of why is my Ford Taurus jerking on acceleration?

A vehicle jerks due to loss of power and sudden loss of fuel and air at a specific time making the vehicle jerk and hesitate preventing acceleration from being continued. One of the possible causes could be the existence of moisture in the distributor cap. Let’s look further into this so we can fully understand why this is happening.

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There are a few things that could cause this in your vehicle. The first thing is a blockage of your fuel supply. A block in your fuel supply can happen because of a couple of reasons. One of them is you ran out of fuel, and any debris that was at the bottom of your fuel tank was kicked up and cycled into the fuel system.

Another reason would be that the fuel filter has not been replaced recently, and it is too dirty to continue doing its job correctly. With most vehicles, the fuel filter is not in a very noticeable location, so it is easy to look over that filter if you do not know it exists.

A great way to tell if you have a fuel supply issue is to use a fuel pressure test set, and I put one in the Tool Library that I found on Amazon if you do not have one. Your vehicle should have a Strayer valve that you can hook up your test set at, if you do not have this valve then your system is now electronic.

Vehicle manufacturers have been changing over to having fuel pressure sensors that can be read on a live data reading on your OBDII reader. If you don’t have that option on your multimeter you need one that can do that, it is an excellent investment. Here is the one I found on Amazon that I put in the Tool Library for you as well, this is the same one I use!

This fuel blockage would not just be limited to the fuel filter and the fuel pump. As the debris takes a journey through the fuel system, it will affect your injectors as well.

In the case that your engine is not receiving the fuel that it needs, the fuel pressure sensor will compensate for this. The fuel pressure sensor is going to tell the fuel pump to increase the volume of fuel that it is putting into the system so it can correct the fuel to air ratio.

By doing this, you are going to increase the carbon build-up on the spark plugs and the catalytic converter.

These carbon build-ups can make the problem even worse due to decreasing the airflow in the system. Since the catalytic converter recycles exhaust and toxic fumes, the air is needed in the system to neutralize these greenhouse gasses.

Lastly, in some cases, the mass airflow sensor, the transmission control module, and the air filter that can be causing this issue as well. So if everything else checks out, then it will not hurt anything to check these as well while you are there.

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Your Ford Taurus is going to jerk on acceleration at any time that the obstruction blocks the path of fuel supply. You can try to add in some fuel cleaner to try to break up the blockage and buy yourself more time before you have to repair the car.

But when it comes to using temporary solutions like that, I have always found adverse outcomes. When your vehicle makes a noise it is trying to tell you something. By adding these temporary solutions, you might as well tell your car to shut up and do not talk.

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Jerking on acceleration can damage your vehicle, both internal and external parts. Your vehicle jerking also increases your chance of being into a vehicle collision due to the driver not being in control of the vehicle.

The jerking does cause added stress on the engine that could be prevented. So when your vehicle starts to jerk on acceleration, you need to make sure you get this repaired as quickly as possible.

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To fix this problem in your Ford Taurus, you will need to troubleshoot the part that is causing the problem and replace or clean it. Once we do this, the vehicle will stop jerking on acceleration.

Fuel Filter

Many people forget about this filter frequently, even though this parts job is vital to our engine. The fuel filter prevents severe engine damage by blocking the particles from entering your engine. With this part, you will need to replace to correct the problem.

Fuel Pump

Many people fear fuel pumps. This fear is due to the effort that has to be put into replacing the part. If the fuel pump has gone bad, it will need to be replaced. But with the Ford Taurus, you will be able to tell if the fuel pump is bad by the pressure that it has on the output.

The Ford Taurus does not have a strayer valve starting in the 2001 model so you will need to use a code reader that has a live data capability to read the fuel pressure. Your fuel pressure should be between 35 and 55 psi on key turn prime.

That means when you turn your car to the accessory key position. Here is the fuel pump I used in my repair, and this is identical to the stock pump at a fraction of the cost on Amazon.

Injectors

There are multiple ways to clean your fuel injectors. There are cleaning kits that you can clean the injectors while they are still installed and there is a kit that you can clean the injectors when they are out of the vehicle. With clean injectors, you are going to feel the increase in performance that your engine can output.

Air Filter

There are a couple of options when it comes to replacing your stock air filter. I moved my vehicles to the K and N air filter so I can clean the air filter instead of having to re-buy a new filter all the time.

Plus you can tell the difference in the quality of the air filter so I can make sure my vehicle is receiving the best and the air is filtered, so no harmful particles get through and damage my engine. Then again, you can always stay with the stock air filter for your vehicle and replace it every time you get an oil change.

Spark plugs

Spark plugs are so inexpensive if there is a problem with your spark plugs I suggest you replace them. If you just recently replaced your spark plugs and they are covered in carbon, then you can clean them and double-check the gap with your gap gauge to make sure it is still to manufacturer’s specifications.

Catalytic Converter

Needing a new Catalytic Converter is when the repair can get expensive. Did you know that a catalytic converter has platinum in it? This is one reason why this part can be so pricey when it comes to replacing it.

There are multiple cleaning kits on the market for a catalytic converter so I would go off of the reviews for the product to pick the best one. Purchasing this part online is going to be the best place to get a fair price.

Mass Air Flow sensor (MAF)

The Mass Airflow sensor can be cleaned and is also inexpensive if you need to replace it. I checked a few different vehicles to see the pricing on a Mass Airflow Sensor, and most of them were ranging in between $20 and $45.

This part is also in a very easily accessible location, so replacing it shouldn’t be too hard. Also, if you ask the staff at the auto repairs store (example Oreilys, Autozone, etc.) that you go into, they will probably be able to assist you in installing the new part.

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How do I prevent my Ford Taurus from jerking on acceleration in the future?

Outside of making sure that your Ford Taurus has a maintenance interval schedule and these things are getting checked regularly, you are doing everything you can do.

Over time, all parts fail one time or another, but as long as you keep track of your vehicle, you will be able to catch these problems before the simple issues become significant problems.

An excellent preventive measure to keep your vehicle from jerking on acceleration would be to not run out of fuel and to make sure that the fuel you are using is of good quality.

You can do this by going to fuel stations that you have been to before. By making sure you have not had any complications with any water in the fuel tank and debris in the fuel.

By taking care of your car, your car will take care of you. I hope you enjoyed this article, and I sure did have a great time writing it.

Make sure you check out my YouTube channel as well and subscribe to the channel. If you have any questions about your repair, leave your question in the comments on the YouTube channel! I hope you check out my next article!