Car started acting weird, should I be worried

Asked by Alpine_41180 Feb 12, 2017 at 10:57 AM about the 2004 Isuzu Axiom 4 Dr S 4WD SUV

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Hi so I'm a college student and went out last night.
My car was acting perfectly fine while I was
driving. Nothing weird  would happen when I
accelerated or braked, everything was fine.
However, when I was headed back to my dorm I
had to stop at a stoplight, I made by stop and
waited for it to turn green. When it turned green, I
pressed the gas pedal to accelerate but my car
would hardly move. I do think that the engine
stalled but I'm not completely sure. My car didn't
stop but was hardly move.  I continued to press the
gas pedal and suddenly it jerked forward and start
running normally. I didn't pull over and stop as I
was literally a couple of blocks by my college. So I
continued for a bit and found a parking. My car
usually does have a history of dripping oil and I
have to constantly add some. Sadly yesterday it
completely slipped my mind to check how much
engine oil it had. When I parked I checked to see if
the dipstick even had any oil and it did. A couple
hours later, after it cooled off I went to check how
much engine oil it had. It wouldn't mark on the
dipstick but it did have some. I added a quart of oil.  
I went to turn on my car, and it does so perfectly
fine. I'm worried I might have ruined or done
something to my engine. Also the check engine
light is always on, it was that way since it was
bought from the previous owners.  If anyone can
help me to at least have an idea of what is going
with my car, I would truly appreciate it!

2 Answers

101,335

Lack of maintenance is going to kill your car. Since the check engine light is on, stop and get the codes read, any auto parts store will do this for free. Post the codes here or look them up online. They'll give you a heads-up on potential problems with the car. Second get the oil topped off or even changed. If you've been driving it with low oil frequently then it needs to be changed with a new filter. Transmission fluid and filter may also need to be checked or changed but that will cost you a good bit more. As to why it jerked forward, that is likely due to something with the torque converter or transmission.

220,505

What happened was the engine was ready to shut down due to lack of oil pressure. It would do this automatically. Once filled with oil it is good to go again. But if it happens when the oil is full, the check engine light may have something to do with it. Then the trouble codes would have to be scanned to see what was going on with it.

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