Slight 'Engine Hesitation' under acceleration

jbattams

Active Member
Jun 26, 2015
5
0
Hi, Recently bought a used 2008 1.4 (100bhp) ibiza sport about 3 weeks ago and am loving this little car! (Do miss the diesel torque of my old Kia, but the handling on this thing is just astonishing on the B-Roads I use!)

One thing I've noticed is that about twice on every journey (e.g. 10 miles to or from work), on acceleration, and usually going up a hill accelerating from a slow speed, the engine will often 'hesitate'- it's not massively pronounced, but the sensation is like you've lifted the throttle for a second if that makes sense?

Not sure where to look- i've plugged in my OBD2 adapter and torque finds no fault codes, have filled it up with 98RON and taken it on a long Motorway drive, but it's still doing the same thing 500 miles later (from when I took ownership).

Not sure what to investigate next? It was serviced by the garage before I bought it, but I've just bought a new air filter, just waiting on delivery, which I'll try next, but not sure where to go after that? I've read that a fairly common issue with VAG cars are the ignition coils needing replacement, but this doesn't explain really why it's only once or twice a journey it does it?

Would it be worth unplugging the battery to reset the ECU, or do you think this would have absolutely no effect?

Any suggestions would be greatly apprectiated!!

Many Thanks,

Joe
 

jbattams

Active Member
Jun 26, 2015
5
0
Thanks Manic, wouldn't that throw up an error code though on the diagnostics?- Torque does show the MAF functioning (not quite sure what a Mass Airflow Sensor does!? :s- Measures the temp of incoming air?), are they quite easy to get at on the Ibiza's? Any particular tips for cleaning it if it is clogged and dirty?

Many Thanks,

Joe
 

jbattams

Active Member
Jun 26, 2015
5
0
Just been reading various threads on various forums, and it sounds like my car 1.4 Petrol 100 bhp (Engine BBZ), does likely not have a 'MAF', but instead just a 'MAP' sensor. Am guessing if it's embedded near the manifold it will be harder to get at, but I'll do some more searching...
 

Arkaig

Active Member
Mar 1, 2014
335
1
Fife, Scotland
flickr.com
I remember reading about a software update that was rolled out to the 100bhp 1.4s to sort a hesitation problem. It might be worth checking with a dealer.

If the 100bhp 1.4 is laid out similarly to the 85bhp then the MAP sensor should be on the offside of the engine and should be easy to get to. There's no screws, just a clip.

A sticky/dirty throttle body can cause hesitation. Easy to clean, but you will need access to VCDS to realign the unit otherwise you might have problems running afterwards.

BTW a characteristic of all the non turbo 1.4s is a very pronounced flat spot under 2500-3000 RPM. It threw me off when I first drove it and I kept thinking there was a bad throttle lag - so much so I had it looked at and even considered a £300 remap to sort it, but decided to make peace with it and developer a heavier foot. Not saying that's your problem, but just a thought.
 

jbattams

Active Member
Jun 26, 2015
5
0
Arkaig, thanks ever so much for your reply and insight- that's really useful info- esp regarding software update to ECU- I would have thought such a thing would be free wouldn't it if it's to fix a known issue?

Yeah, I have been reading about this flat-spot, but I dont think it's the issue in my case, since it the 'hesitation' doesn't happen at particular revs and is very sparodic- sometimes happens around 1,900, sometimes about 2,500 to 3,000 and a couple of times from 3,000 to 3,500!! Probably happens noticeably once or twice on a 10 mile journey.

On a side-note decided to change the air-filter last night to see if that was the issue with it not getting enough air, since it only happens under load, and was shocked to find that the dealer who sold it to me (non VAG) who had serviced it after I'd bought it, hadn't correctly seated the engine cover back on the engine, with it being properly engaged on one of the mountings, and just 'resting' on the other 3!! Have only done about 1,000 miles since I bought it, but I really hope the fools haven't caused all sorts of nasty foreign bodies to be drawn into the engine!! :censored::censored:

Will see how it drives now the air filter is correctly seated and will get in touch with the nearest Seat garage (MK I think for me) about the software update.

Thanks again,

Joe
 

Kenshin2014

Active Member
Aug 31, 2014
17
0
Norwich
I had the same sort of thing and it turned out it was the coil pack/spark plugs. I had to have all new everything as the previous owner had never had them changed or even looked at (70,000!). All great now.
 
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