2013 Ford Explorer, Weak acceleration that suddenly kicks into full power.
40

Asked by Shaide Feb 14, 2020 at 05:02 AM about the 2013 Ford Explorer XLT

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I've had a car do this before and I never found the answer on it either.

My 2013 Ford Explorer will bog down when you initially put it under heavy acceleration from low speed. The engine will rev up and sound normal, except that it feels severely restricted until it hits around 40mph, and then while still in the same gear, the car will suddenly surge to full power and accelerate properly, feeling a very distinct shift in inertia and the engine very noticably picks up.

A second symptom is when this happens, it is usually accompanied by a distinct gunpowder smell, like you get when going through several AR mags.

2 Answers
26,245

taver91 answered 4 years ago

Check to see if your catalytic converter is not clogging. This would reduce power, potentially cause a smell, and then potentially clear itself but it would be beginning to move toward complete failure. May need to be diagnosed by a shop to confirm before spending money on a new converter.

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40

Shaide answered 4 years ago

Thank you. I was afraid of that and I suspected myself that might be the case, but I didn't want to jump to conclusions. The car does in fact have an exhaust leak and a dent in the underside of the tailpipe like the first owner bottomed out or ran over something, which I suppose could have damaged the cats.

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