The last couple of times I've gotten on the interstate when I hit about 5500 rpms or so, my rpms act up. The needle will get stuck for a brief second and then jump up or it'll hit about 5500 rpms and bounce around between 5000-5500 rpms. My rev limiter is set at 6600 rpms so I know that's not what's causing the problems, any other ideas? Thanks in advance!

 

do u have a 6mt?

 

Yeah, I have a 6mt.

 

Was it slippery? Was the road cold? Do you have VDC? Could be VDC kicking in cutting engine power when it thought the wheels were gonna spin as you hit good powerband....

 

if u smelled something like nasty burnt rubber that lingered afterwards it might have been your clutch.

 

It sounds like you're spinning your tires. If you accelerate super super slow does it get past 5500 RPM?

 

I'm pretty sure it's not the VDC, could be though. The roads are always dry, and it usually happens after I've only been driving the car for a couple of minutes/miles, from my apartment to the interstate. I've tried downshifting on the interstate once I've been driving for a while to see if it'll happen again and it usually doesn't. Could it have anything to do with the engine not being completely warm, even though the needle is halfway between the C and H on the engine temp gauge? It doesn't do it everytime, but when I take my time getting on the interstate I don't usually let the rpms up that high, so I'm not sure if it still does it, I'll check it out next time I get on there. Any other ideas?

 

could be clutch related

 

I don't understand much about the clutch b/c this is my first manual transmission car, could you explain how it could be clutch related? Thanks!

 

The car doesn't have a rev limiter. The RPM you select only programs the shift light telling you when you have reached the selected RPM to shift so you don't have to watch the tach.

Sounds like the clutch. As the clutch wears the diameter decreases. As a result the pressure plate cannot provide enough clamping force and it slips. It might slip and not have a smell.

Respect
JET

 

what if the clutch is all the way out, would the rpms still "jump" around like they do? i usually shift when i notice the rpms fluctuating like that, but i don't press the clutch in before or anything. so i guess my question is could it still be clutch related if i haven't pressed the clutch pedal yet?

 

I tried a slower acceleration tonight on my way home, and the needle jumped around quite a bit and the ride was real jerky. Anybody else have any ideas as to what the problem may be? I'm probably just going to drop it off at the dealership this week or next.