Hard to accelerate

1997 SATURN SL2
106,000 MILES • 1.4L • 4 CYL • AUTOMATIC
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JOSEPH A. EWING
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
To begin with, the Service Engine soon light is active. When I start the car, the engine automatically revs between 1,000-2,000 RPM's. Once in Drive the car runs well briefly. However, after some time the car has trouble accelerating. Either I rapidly press the gas or hold the pedal down until it's able to shift.

I've done research and narrowed it down to the VSS (at least) that's what I think. When I visited AutoZone, the error message noted a camshaft sensor issue. Yet, I don't think this vehicle has one. Thoughts and suggestions?
Mar 17, 2020 at 10:16 AM
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KASEKENNY
  • ✓Experienced Mechanic
  • 18,907 POSTS
You are correct and possibly incorrect at the same time. You are correct that the vehicle does not contain a cam sensor. However, it still needs cam location to run properly. I attached some service info that will explain this better then I can.

What was the code that you have because even though there is no cam sensor, the code will still point us to the issue and I don't think it is the vehicle speed sensor. Even though there is not cam sensor, this can cause a lack of power so let's start with the code and go from there. Thanks
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Mar 17, 2020 at 10:38 AM
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