What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks

Intermittent engine misfire

I have an R-plate two-litre petrol Ford Mondeo.

For as long as I can remember it has a had a slight hesitancy, which feels like a misfire. It occurs when driving slowly in fourth or fifth gear, and is most noticeable at around 30/40 mph.

Last week I took the car to a local garage to be checked over because I had a 1500 mile journey to do. They changed the oil, oil filter, air filter and they cleaned the injectors.

The next day I drove the car from cold and it was jerky and idling badly. With the throttle open the problem seemed to clear, but I was in a panic!

I took it back and they could not replicate the problem at the garage, but they thought it might be electrical and changed the spark plugs.

I drove it the next day on a test run and it was back to normal, with a minor misfire, and it did my long drive with no problems.

Today it is back to the 'kangarooing' problem, which is now worse than ever!

It's massively underpowered on hills and jumps along on flat ground. Now I can't get through the problem by opening the throttle fully.

Asked on 3 April 2011 by elgrippa

Answered by Honest John
It probably needs new HT leads.

Similar questions
My 2003 Peugeot 206 1.4 diesel has developed a misfire. I took it to my local garage, but they have not been able to find any fault as the diagnostics machine was unable to establish a connection. Do you...
I own a Chrysler Voyager (2000 model). When travelling over 3000rpm, it leaks oil over the top of the dip stick. It has also developed a misfire. Any idea what could be causing this?
My Skoda Fabia is misfiring. A mechanic has cleaned all three spark plugs and checked the coil - both are okay but still it is misfiring. What should I try next?