Q: My car is jerking while driving, and when sitting idle
I bought my car used and it has about 45,000 miles (when I bought it a year ago it had 37,000 miles). The car has CVT automatic transmission. When I drive, the car jerks (during acceleration and also during cruising) when the gear changes. This problem sometimes happens all day, sometimes intermittent, and sometimes it doesn't happen for 5 days. Also, when sitting idle at a red light (stopped, but in drive), the car will jerk forward (like it's trying to change gear) but the wheels don't actually move forward. When this happens I have to place the car in neutral and then back into drive for it to stop. Is this a problem with the transmission?
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You will want to have the fault codes in the transmission and engine computer read out. Based on previous transmission concerns, the operation of the CVT transmission is highly dependent on how well the engine is running.
Misfires, valves out of adjustment, all of these and other engine concerns can cause the transmission to behave poorly at times. You may want to enlist the help of a mechanic who will have the tools and expertise to determine the jerking issue you’re experiencing and make the appropriate fix.
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