We just bought an 09 2LT with a 2.4 with only 6,600 miles on it back in February. It now has right at 12,000 miles. Well yesterday we stopped at a red light and the rpms dropped like a rock and the car shook from it, like it was about to die, then they came right back up?? Scared my wife to death. So I'm just curious has anyone else experienced this and what caused it? I'm thinking maybe bad gas? Thanks for any insight. It does still have the factory warranty so I'm not worried about having to pay for anything, I just don't want her to be stranded some where if it does die.

 

I have a Saturn SC2 with 200,000 miles on it that does that once in a while particuarly if i am using the airconditioning system. Now as a side story to that my SES light is on and the code i got read at autozone said my EGR valve is bad. Its a 175.00 dollar part at the dealer and i dont drive it much so it just sits. Should be way to early for your EGR to be having hiccups. Id say not to worry to much... If it does die just push the Onstar button.

 

May just be a software temporary glitch that happened. If it didn't turn on the check engine light, which would set a history code, the dealer will not know what to fix. If it happens again take it in to a dealer.

 

My '07 2.4 has dropped rpm slightly when stopped at a light but not as bad as yours, just enough to make it feel rough...... didn't last and it's not repeatable, meaning I can't cause it to do it again. It wasn't my AC, as I rarely run mine but that is a good point, was your AC on at the time?

 

Yes the A/C was on. And yours does sound like what ours did, it ran rough, rough enough to feel it, that's what I meant by it made the car shake. It only lasted maybe 2-3 seconds, but it was long enough for us to say what's going on here! No it didn't make the CEL come on. Hopefully it was just a one time freak thing. It freaked us both out because the reason we got a new car was to have a dependable car that we didn't have to worry about anything but driving and regular maint. Thanks for the quick replies!

 

I bought mine for the same reason and what I had doesn't worry me, my last ride would stall at every light.......

Having your AC on would make it feel worse. I'd go with what ChevyMgr said.... He's the man!

 

Yea the car this replaced as our main car is a 01 Montero Sport that I had to install a voltmeter in to keep an eye on the Alternator. It went through 4 Alternators in 6 months before I got one that would last. So needless to say we never went anywhere off in it, we stayed around town and we rented a car for vacation.

Thanks again,

 

This happens to our '06 on a fairly regular basis. We go days and sometimes weeks without a problem, and then it'll happen a couple of times in a row. While we were still under warranty I took it in. They drove it and experienced the problem but as ChevyMgr said, without a code they really couldn't do anything with it. Now at over 40k and we've learned to just ignore it.

 

Sounds like the A/C to me. Considering the time of year, I'm guessing this is one of the first times you've used it since buying the car. If that stoplight came shortly after leaving home, then the engine might not have been warmed up yet, which would make the A/C's load on it more noticeable.

 

Have Ford product that did that occasionally for years. I just ignored it, until finally the fuel pump failed. Since the new fuel pump was installed, it has never done that again.