Why is my car running rough?

What is your question?

The car has been running fine until the other day. Out of nowhere when I cranked it, the car filled with a fuel smell and it began to run rough. Bogging down, etc. I barely got it home. I thought at first it was bad gas and put fuel cleaner in my tank. Problem not solved. Now when I crank it, it will run fine unless I turn it off and restart it. It's always the same thing. It boggs down and nearly turns off ONLY when you restart it. As long as I leave it running am I certain I'll get it back home. It is a 2002 VW Golf with 107,000 miles.

What makes this problem better or worse?

When I restart it after it's been running for a while it gets worse.

How long has your 2002 Volkswagen Golf had this problem?

A few weeks

Inflight in Valley AL

Jan 18, 2022

1 Reply

Popular Answer

DaveJMon Jan 19, 2022

Hello, it sounds like you are getting fuel. But, along with fuel, you need to get the proper spark and air mixture. You also need to make sure emissions control components are working properly and not causing you to stall. Finally you need to make sure you have proper exhaust flow. Engine timing needs to be correct and there needs to be sufficient engine compression in all cylinders. So yes, there are quite a few things that need to work in sync to keep your engine running. Certainly a test to ensure proper amount of fuel pressure is reading the engine is helpful too, but since you smell the fuel it sounds like perhaps it is abundant. Use this link to find some shops near you that can help with your concern: www.repairpal.com/repair-shops

Dr. Booston May 29, 2022

Could be dirty fuel injector or clogged fuel filter. You said it’s only when you restart the car so it could also be a bad ecm possibly but I doubt it. Check your accessory fuse sometimes when those go bad your car will shut off some things and only keep the necessary stuff on or will go into an emergency mode and kill itself. Could be a bad o2 sensor as well. Exhaust flow from cat back shouldn’t have anything to do with it bogging down as long as you have not modified anything that has o2/ flow sensors. Check fuel rail pressure. The car may think that you shut off the car so it will start it’s shutdown phase where it bleeds ac compressor… gets rid of in needed pressure… check your battery ad well sometimes if battery is lower than it should be it can run fine then when you shut it off and turn it back on if it’s low it can suffocate. You may need a new alternator (get it checked first) if your battery is low and if you get a new one and it dies soon after it would be an alternator problem. Have your timing belt checked make sure oil levels are good all that. Hope this helps lol. Also last thing you should check is your air filter. Sometimes they can get clogged with random debris and randomly not work but my guess would be either early signs of a failed battery/alternator or bad fuel filter

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