2002 Lincoln Town Car Hesitation between 35 and 45 MPH

2002 LINCOLN TOWN CAR
120,000 MILES • V8 • 2WD • AUTOMATIC
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TRAVELINGED
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  • 1 POST
Vehicle hesitates between 35 and 40 mph. Performance is fine otherwise.
Jan 18, 2009 at 11:40 PM
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RASMATAZ
  • ASE Certified Mechanic
  • 75,992 POSTS
  • ASE Certified Mechanic
Hesitation is when your engine misfires, stumbles or lacks power when you accelerate or step on the throttle. The problem often means the air/fuel mixture is not being properly enriched or is going lean, or the ignition system is weak and is misfiring when the engine comes under load or the air/fuel mixture goes lean.

Possible Causes of Engine Hesitation or Stumble:

Dirty fuel injectors (cleaning the injectors often fixes this).
Bad MAP (manifold absolute pressure) sensor
Bad TPS (throttle position) sensor
Bad or dirty MAF (mass airflow) sensor
Low fuel pressure (leaky fuel pressure regulator or weak fuel pump)
Vacuum leaks (intake manifold, vacuum hoses, throttle body, EGR valve)
Bad gasoline (fuel contaminated with water or too much alcohol)

Sometimes, what feels like a hesitation is actually ignition misfire rather than lean misfire. The causes of ignition misfire may include:

Dirty or worn spark plugs
Bad plug wires
Weak ignition coil
Wet plug wires
Jan 19, 2009 at 4:29 PM
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JAMES W.
  • ASE Certified Mechanic
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  • ASE Certified Mechanic
Any check engine light or stored codes in ECM?
Jan 19, 2009 at 4:29 PM
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BOB.SCHULTZ1
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I believe I have the same problem and would also like to know solutions. However, most of the items I saw in the comments would have ODB codes associated. I do not know if you do, but I did not have any codes. Also, my engine would actually sometimes shutdown but would restart with no problem.
Jan 21, 2009 at 7:37 PM
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