My car has trouble accelerating after stopping. What could be the cause of this?
There are several possible issues but just going off of what I have seen so often in the past I would put money on your automatic transmission fluid being low. If you can, please check it and reply back. If its low it will take a second to build up pressure in the right places before working and will force you to get to a higher rpm before you can accelerate. The other answers above make good points generally but I don't think general tune up issues are the problem because the complaint is only at accelerating from a stop. If your car runs poorly at idle or before it warms up, time to go through the tune up check list. If the only thing it's doing is delaying acceleration before a stop, check your Trans fluid and be sure to check it correctly. Your owners manual should tell you how. If not reply back and I will explain.
Loud clicking or ticking noise when accelerating, and is getting worse!?
The noise is likely coming from the engine given that it occurs when the vehicle is not in motion. It may be an exhaust leak from the area where the exhaust manifold is mated to the head and perhaps a gasket failure around one cylinder's exhaust output. Beyond that it can be valve train noise such as a lifter, rocker arm or other cam-driven component. Were it a heavy clunking rather than a ticking I'd start to suspect the bottom end. Your stating that the ticking becomes "extremely" fast does point a bit to valve train or accessory item. An exhaust leak on a single cylinder won't tick with a very high frequency. It can also be related to an accessory such as a fan or belt path item, alternator, a/c pump, water pump... You need a trained ear to listen to it and isolate the source. I suggest a mechanic and preferably one that has been practicing the craft since the times when listening was a primary form of diagnosis. There is a remote possibility that it is the input side of the transmission but think that is unlikely. It's too bad posters here can't upload sound files of their misbehaving vehicles.
What would make your car not accelerate past 60 mph and only rev to 4xxx RPMs?
I had that exact problem. Except my limit was not 60 MPH. My car would not go over 95 MPH, which was very strange because it could do so before. (My car was a little German built sports coupe, with a V-6, and 4-speed stick.)Since this was a new car, and it was still under warranty, I brought the car back to the dealership. I explained that once I hit about 90 to 95 MPH, that the engine sort of balked, and it would not go any faster. The Service Manager looked at me like I was some kind of nut. But I told him, “Look, there is something wrong with my car. It shouldn’t do that.”So they assigned a mechanic, and we took the car out for a test ride on I-494. The traffic was light back in those days. So we were able to test my car at high speed. And when we hit 95 MPH, it started bucking a bit.The mechanic worked on the car for hours trying to find the answer. (Good thing it was still under warranty.)He discovered the problem. My fuel filter was partially clogged. So at higher speeds, my engine could not get enough gas through that partially clogged filter. The filter was located inside the gas tank, so they had to remove the whole gas tank to get to it. We got that little problem fixed, and now my car had no problems at high speeds.The Moral of the Story: Here’s the part of the story I am a little bit ashamed about. I caused this problem by being stupid. I live in Minnesota. Cold Minnesota. And we had some cold weather that year. I was afraid my gas line might freeze, so I got myself a can of HEAT. This is a liquid chemical we add to the gas tank to prevent gas line freeze ups.The correct “dosage” was one can for a 20 gallon gas tank. By my car was a little sports coupe, with a 12 gallon gas tank. So I should have used only a half can. And here is where I made my mistake. I figured if one can was “good,” then two cans are “better.” So I put in two cans of HEAT. Four times the correct amount. WHAT A DOPE I WAS back in those days.What I did not know is that this HEAT chemical would clog up my gas filter. I had no idea. Live and learn. I won’t make that mistake again.
What makes a car not want to accelerate from a stop?
If the engine is revving, it's not the fuel filter. If the filter was clogged, the engine would just die. This is most likely a transmission fluid problem. The problem could be anything from dirt transmission fluid to low transmission fluid. You can check the level of your fluid using the dipstick in your engine. It is usually located near the back or side of your engine, and should have a level indicator when you pull it out. I recommend pulling it out, wiping it clean, and then sticking it back in in order to check the level accurately. You'll also need the engine running when you check it. (see reference) The fluid should be somewhere between the FULL and EMPTY marks, and should be a nice red color. If it's brown or low, you need to replace or top it off, respectively. Alternatively, you could take it to the shop if you don't feel comfortable messing with the engine. Good luck!
Engine knock only when driving, not while idling or revving engine while in neutral.?
A rattling sound under hard acceleration is usually associated with timing, (and bad, or cheap gas, before going to the mechanic, change gas stations, (try chevron super unleaded,) if this helps, or eliminates the rattle sound (actually its called pinging. ) a knock is different, a bad bearing you can sometimes feel in the steering wheel, and it may be intermittent at first as well, but gets worse and worse. Try changing fuel octane, and brand to see if this makes any difference, if your engine needs premium fuel, and is not getting it, the computer will compensate some, the reason you do not hear it at idle or when revving the engine, is the engine is not under load (in gear) try the simple things first, a tank of bad gas (usually has water, will cause the car to idle badly, and can ping when accelerating (particularly uphill) hope its a tank of bad gas.