Intermittent power loss during acceleration ('23 GT)
Discussion
I'm experiencing a problem where under full throttle in 1st or 2nd gear the engine will sometimes completely cut power. It's very abrupt and quite disconcerting, it's like the engine or ECU just goes "nope!" and there's nothing. Then the power will come back after a second or two and the car drives normally again. I haven't noticed any engine lights. The first time it happened I thought it was something wrong with the transmission because the engine bounced off the rev limiter when it should have upshifted. Otherwise it's always just a sudden cut of power.
This has now happened at least 5-6 times, the first couple of times were just accelerating normally and at the top of 2nd gear there was suddenly no power. I wasn't sure at the time what was happening, it could have been traction or stability control etc. More recently I've been driving in Track mode more often and it seems to especially like giving up when launching the car. I will come to a stop, activate launch control, foot on the brake, full throttle, release brake, thrilling hard acceleration in 1st gear pushing me into my seat and then boom nothing, the car abruptly kills power and I'm left rolling along for a second until the engine wakes up again. This has happened a couple of times very recently and it's starting to kill my confidence in the car's ability to perform.
I guess my question is has anyone else experienced this? My searches don't return any results so it doesn't seem like a common problem. It has some similarities with the fuel pump issues (loss of engine power), but seems distinctly different in that it only happens under full throttle and lower gears, rather than out of the blue on the motorway or something.
The next step will be approaching a dealer for diagnostic work I suppose. I'm pretty disappointed that I'm already having to think about this for a less than 6 month old nearly £70k car and I did follow the recommended break-in procedure etc.
This has now happened at least 5-6 times, the first couple of times were just accelerating normally and at the top of 2nd gear there was suddenly no power. I wasn't sure at the time what was happening, it could have been traction or stability control etc. More recently I've been driving in Track mode more often and it seems to especially like giving up when launching the car. I will come to a stop, activate launch control, foot on the brake, full throttle, release brake, thrilling hard acceleration in 1st gear pushing me into my seat and then boom nothing, the car abruptly kills power and I'm left rolling along for a second until the engine wakes up again. This has happened a couple of times very recently and it's starting to kill my confidence in the car's ability to perform.
I guess my question is has anyone else experienced this? My searches don't return any results so it doesn't seem like a common problem. It has some similarities with the fuel pump issues (loss of engine power), but seems distinctly different in that it only happens under full throttle and lower gears, rather than out of the blue on the motorway or something.
The next step will be approaching a dealer for diagnostic work I suppose. I'm pretty disappointed that I'm already having to think about this for a less than 6 month old nearly £70k car and I did follow the recommended break-in procedure etc.
The only part I can shed light on is the car doesn’t shift up automatically in track mode so it will clatter against the limiter if you don’t change up. Gear change is quicker/ more forceful in track too. Perhaps it is a traction issue? Does it do it if you’re more progressive instead of flooring it?
Does Launch control work in non-track mode? I assume it does. If so try the same in Sport* - if it happily accelerates and changes through the gears I’d guess it was just cutting out to save itself when constantly bouncing off the limiter.
- *I never plan to use Launch - it’s limited to a certain number of goes for a reason. That said I’m being a wuss, and if you’re happy with the additional wear on the car for the thrill, fill your boots!
I have had this a couple of times, my thoughts at the time were either I was asking too much of the engine before it was warmed up or that I was in full manual and had hit the rev limiter and it takes what feels like ages for the gearbox to catch up. Definitely think it is rev limit or gearbox and it hasn’t happened for a while so may be I have adjusted my gear changes when near the red line.
Does this only happen at the top of the rev range? It does sound very much tome like hitting the rev limiter. Easily done in 1st/2nd.
Incidentally, just my opinion, but I probably wouldn't post too many times about continually using launch control - it is limited to 1000 uses in a cars life because it isn't very mechanically sympathetic. The count is available in print outs and will no doubt be checked when you sell. Far better to get a car rolling before "flooring it".
Incidentally, just my opinion, but I probably wouldn't post too many times about continually using launch control - it is limited to 1000 uses in a cars life because it isn't very mechanically sympathetic. The count is available in print outs and will no doubt be checked when you sell. Far better to get a car rolling before "flooring it".
Probably unrelated to Rob's post, however it did remind me when I test drove the GT last summer (when I was considering trading in the LGT with 252 PS) that several times at fairly low speeds when I wanted to accelerate there was 'nothing' and a noticeable delay before things kicked in. I'm guessing turbo lag was the culprit of course but I've never experienced any such delay or flatness in the LGT. I put it down to how the 300PS engine has been tuned.
Thanks everyone, some of these replies have made me second-guess myself a little bit. I might have to record myself driving to see if I can catch it and get a bit more of a definite record of what's happening.
And yes you can use it in Sport mode, it upshifts for you and works very well. I think I've experienced the power cutting in this mode, but in hindsight it's hard to say with absolute certainty.
Miserablegit said:
Is the car up to temperature? There’s a definite power/rev increase when fluids are above 70 degrees.
I always wait until my coolant is at 75 degrees (when the blue temp icon has disappears) before I put my foot down. I rarely have Telemetrics open to check oil temp though, so it's possible the car needs a bit more time to really fully get up to temp. Also the way the temp can dip back down when I accelerate, usually only a few degrees though.Whaleblue said:
Does Launch control work in non-track mode? I assume it does. If so try the same in Sport* - if it happily accelerates and changes through the gears I’d guess it was just cutting out to save itself when constantly bouncing off the limiter.
Thanks, yeah I know not everyone likes to use launch control, nothing wrong with erring on the side of caution. The way I see it it's an advertised feature of the car, it's been designed in a way to be easily used and accessible, they even have videos on their site showing us how to activate it. I want to make the most out of the car so I will use it from time to time, it's fun, especially with friends and family in the car. who haven't experienced it.- *I never plan to use Launch - it’s limited to a certain number of goes for a reason. That said I’m being a wuss, and if you’re happy with the additional wear on the car for the thrill, fill your boots!
And yes you can use it in Sport mode, it upshifts for you and works very well. I think I've experienced the power cutting in this mode, but in hindsight it's hard to say with absolute certainty.
I’ve been thinking about this. I suspect that the way the Alpine reacts when the rev limits are reached is a sudden cut out which may well be different from other marques that “bounce” at this point. I experienced this twice in full on use of the car but not since, but I have not hit the rev limiter since then.
Rob_RCF said:
I always wait until my coolant is at 75 degrees (when the blue temp icon has disappears) before I put my foot down. I rarely have Telemetrics open to check oil temp though, so it's possible the car needs a bit more time to really fully get up to temp. Also the way the temp can dip back down when I accelerate, usually only a few degrees though.
The first time it hits 75 the thermostat will be closed, then start to open. Booting it then will open the thermostat quickly and let a bunch of cold water in from the rad, dropping the temp. Maybe enough to put the ECU back into protective mode? The oil definitely won't be up to temp until a few miles later.Unfortunately I've been having more issues, possibly transmission related. Yesterday I was on a couple of longish drives (1 hour each way) and on the way back the car several times had "bad" shifts when I floored it. I was in sport mode (auto) and when I put my foot down it would downshift, then immediately cut power and upshift, like it couldn't decide what to do. It felt very harsh/rough and wrong. After 5-10 minutes of doing this it seemed to clear up and was fine the rest of the way home.
Anyone else experienced anything like this? I think I'll have to get it booked in soon, I shouldn't be having these issues, especially on a ~9 month old car. I'm just worried that they will struggle to reproduce it.
Interestingly, I also had a "check parking sensor" error pop up on the dash earlier in the day. I doubt the two things are related, unless it's some kind of electrical issue perhaps?
Anyone else experienced anything like this? I think I'll have to get it booked in soon, I shouldn't be having these issues, especially on a ~9 month old car. I'm just worried that they will struggle to reproduce it.
Interestingly, I also had a "check parking sensor" error pop up on the dash earlier in the day. I doubt the two things are related, unless it's some kind of electrical issue perhaps?
Sounds very similar to fuel pump problems; my PE had the fuel pump upgrade and I still had problems on my last day at Donington, under hard acceleration it is as if some one is remotely switching the ignition on and off for a split second at random, most unnerving.
I've decided to take matters into my own hands and am having a high performance fuel pump fitted by K-Tec racing as fitted to their rather highly tuned Mégane.
I've decided to take matters into my own hands and am having a high performance fuel pump fitted by K-Tec racing as fitted to their rather highly tuned Mégane.
neil-g8km6 said:
Sounds very similar to fuel pump problems; my PE had the fuel pump upgrade and I still had problems on my last day at Donington, under hard acceleration it is as if some one is remotely switching the ignition on and off for a split second at random, most unnerving.
I've decided to take matters into my own hands and am having a high performance fuel pump fitted by K-Tec racing as fitted to their rather highly tuned Mégane.
Yeah that sounds about right! Sudden power cuts, always under full throttle. Doesn't happen often, but when it does it tends to happen in clusters (like a few times within a 10 minute period). It's a mid 2023 build car though so it should have the most up to date fuel pump.I've decided to take matters into my own hands and am having a high performance fuel pump fitted by K-Tec racing as fitted to their rather highly tuned Mégane.
Hi everyone,
this is my first post here. It might not be a proper introduction post, but I thought I would share my experience as I'm having quite similar issue.
I'm an owner of brand new A110R, picked up from dealership on 13th of July. Recently I'm experiencing similar issues.
First time it happened during track day at SPA, later on Nurburgring and now it's happening to me in regular traffic.
What happens is that car is loosing power (Nm and HP gauges going to zero, then going up than again to zero) when trying to accelerate hard (it happened on track when I was trying overtake car that was letting me pass).
In traffic it's not under heavy acceleration, It's just traffic light goes green car starts moving it shifter from 1st to 2nd and then stopped reacting to the accelerator pedal. After few seconds it accelerated quite lively and launched me forward.
I'll be taking the car to dealership to check what the issue is. I'm unable to determine exact conditions to repeat this behaviour. Especially that now it started to happen during normal traffic driving, not when car is pushed hard on track.
this is my first post here. It might not be a proper introduction post, but I thought I would share my experience as I'm having quite similar issue.
I'm an owner of brand new A110R, picked up from dealership on 13th of July. Recently I'm experiencing similar issues.
First time it happened during track day at SPA, later on Nurburgring and now it's happening to me in regular traffic.
What happens is that car is loosing power (Nm and HP gauges going to zero, then going up than again to zero) when trying to accelerate hard (it happened on track when I was trying overtake car that was letting me pass).
In traffic it's not under heavy acceleration, It's just traffic light goes green car starts moving it shifter from 1st to 2nd and then stopped reacting to the accelerator pedal. After few seconds it accelerated quite lively and launched me forward.
I'll be taking the car to dealership to check what the issue is. I'm unable to determine exact conditions to repeat this behaviour. Especially that now it started to happen during normal traffic driving, not when car is pushed hard on track.
M25 this afternoon, a long section of 50mph limit; got to the derestricted section and kicked down (in Sport mode). The car started to accelerate, then hesitated, and a message flashed on briefly dashboard showing 'Gearbox overheat' or similar. Flicked through telemetry, which showed both the clutch and gearbox oil to be around 95 degrees, which is where it stayed (+/- 5 degrees) for the rest of the journey. I had no further problems (fingers crossed!).
Mario3065 said:
Hi everyone,
this is my first post here. It might not be a proper introduction post, but I thought I would share my experience as I'm having quite similar issue.
I'm an owner of brand new A110R, picked up from dealership on 13th of July. Recently I'm experiencing similar issues.
First time it happened during track day at SPA, later on Nurburgring and now it's happening to me in regular traffic.
What happens is that car is loosing power (Nm and HP gauges going to zero, then going up than again to zero) when trying to accelerate hard (it happened on track when I was trying overtake car that was letting me pass).
In traffic it's not under heavy acceleration, It's just traffic light goes green car starts moving it shifter from 1st to 2nd and then stopped reacting to the accelerator pedal. After few seconds it accelerated quite lively and launched me forward.
I'll be taking the car to dealership to check what the issue is. I'm unable to determine exact conditions to repeat this behaviour. Especially that now it started to happen during normal traffic driving, not when car is pushed hard on track.
I'm sorry you're experiencing this issue. Perhaps I'm not the only one then! It's very intermittent, I doubt the dealership will be able to reproduce it, but perhaps they will find error codes or have other ways of knowing what's happening.this is my first post here. It might not be a proper introduction post, but I thought I would share my experience as I'm having quite similar issue.
I'm an owner of brand new A110R, picked up from dealership on 13th of July. Recently I'm experiencing similar issues.
First time it happened during track day at SPA, later on Nurburgring and now it's happening to me in regular traffic.
What happens is that car is loosing power (Nm and HP gauges going to zero, then going up than again to zero) when trying to accelerate hard (it happened on track when I was trying overtake car that was letting me pass).
In traffic it's not under heavy acceleration, It's just traffic light goes green car starts moving it shifter from 1st to 2nd and then stopped reacting to the accelerator pedal. After few seconds it accelerated quite lively and launched me forward.
I'll be taking the car to dealership to check what the issue is. I'm unable to determine exact conditions to repeat this behaviour. Especially that now it started to happen during normal traffic driving, not when car is pushed hard on track.
Well done for seeing the Nm and HP gauges behaviour, I hadn't noticed that.
Mine's due for service soon, I will describe the symptoms as best I can and ask them to do a diagnostic investigation when it's in.
LE62NDE said:
M25 this afternoon, a long section of 50mph limit; got to the derestricted section and kicked down (in Sport mode). The car started to accelerate, then hesitated, and a message flashed on briefly dashboard showing 'Gearbox overheat' or similar. Flicked through telemetry, which showed both the clutch and gearbox oil to be around 95 degrees, which is where it stayed (+/- 5 degrees) for the rest of the journey. I had no further problems (fingers crossed!).
This sounds right as well, except I don't remember seeing any gearbox overheat messages. It does kinda feel like a transmission issue though, like it's suddenly releasing the clutch (protection mode?).For me the gearbox/clutch temp seems to stay relatively stable, even during harder driving, but with a "spike" in temp every time I shift gear.
Rob_RCF said:
This sounds right as well, except I don't remember seeing any gearbox overheat messages. It does kinda feel like a transmission issue though, like it's suddenly releasing the clutch (protection mode?).
For me the gearbox/clutch temp seems to stay relatively stable, even during harder driving, but with a "spike" in temp every time I shift gear.
I'm waiting for slot at my dealership so they can take a look. A colleague of mine also with A110R is having some gearbox issues, but for him it's lag when switching from 3rd to 4th. For me it happens in a way that leaves me puzzled as for the reason or conditions that trigger it. For me the gearbox/clutch temp seems to stay relatively stable, even during harder driving, but with a "spike" in temp every time I shift gear.
But it's potentially dangerous both in traffic and on the racetrack.
If you could post any findings here it would be great. I'll also share mine once my car will be looked into.
Mario3065 said:
I'm waiting for slot at my dealership so they can take a look. A colleague of mine also with A110R is having some gearbox issues, but for him it's lag when switching from 3rd to 4th. For me it happens in a way that leaves me puzzled as for the reason or conditions that trigger it.
But it's potentially dangerous both in traffic and on the racetrack.
If you could post any findings here it would be great. I'll also share mine once my car will be looked into.
What dealer are you using? But it's potentially dangerous both in traffic and on the racetrack.
If you could post any findings here it would be great. I'll also share mine once my car will be looked into.
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