Hi All,

I have a 2000 Mustang (the regular one, not cobra or gt) with v6, rear wheel drive.

Whenever going uphill, it feels like a v3 car intead. Most of the times, cars around me pass by quickly, sometimes even Honda Civics. I know that I can use the overdrive button, then I'll have to press down the pedal to speed it up but I just wonder if that's what the car was originally designed at.

Also, samething when entering a freeway, other cars start so quickly and mine always ends up behind them. Am I not agressive enough or do people just crank down their pedals all the way? I've never gone all the way on my accel. pedal on going uphill or start but I guess I deserve better performance from my car compared to...let's say a Honda Civic.

Do you think it needs to have its sparkplugs checked or something? it has 40000+ miles on it now and never been serviced on anything besides its brake.

Thanks in advance.

Take it too a garage, and get the diagnostics tool on it, if nothin immediate shows up then it may just be the spark plugs, or lack of fuel. Your fuel filter could be blocked or something. There are a few things that could cause this, so best bet is to just get it checked.

Dude you have a heavy and slow car, live with it. A civic, though less power, is lighter and can stick with if not take you. (No way vs a GT though) This is normal, if you upgrade parts, different story. But no way i.e. a spark plug changw ill do anything to boost performance.

Is there a quick way to check on sparkplugs to see if they are still "sparking"? What would be a sign when driving that shows sparkplug's problem?

Thanks all

I think the V6 mustang can do 0-60 in about 7 seconds (faster than a crappy civic) It should be pretty perky so something is probably up. You should get your plugs and wires checked. It's about time for a good checkup so may as well get everything looked at (tranny fluid change, fuel filter)

The v6 mustang should not be that slow. It's got like 190 horses or maybe 200. I can't remember. It shouldn't be that bad. If it has never been serviced...then yes, by all means get it to the service department for a service! Oil needs changed as well as the filter. Have them check it over man...

If a spark plug is not firing, that is called misfiring. It will feel like a really rough engine. Almost bumpy. Just take it to the shop and have them check it out. Was it bought recently, used?

I drive a 2000 v6 manual mustang. I think mine is very quick. You did mention not putting the pedal down all the way though, and i think that if you want it to move you gotta put the pedal down all the way. There is nothing wrong with doing this because it will tell the car to downshift and that you wanna go quick. With it in a lower geat the car will accelerate a lot quicker. My car i think goes pretty darn fast. It wastes my sisters v6 99 camaro, and I have no problem takin civics on the freeway, and usually all chevys on the freeway because they have governer chips at 105 and my governer chip is at 120.

7 seconds? Yeah right.

My car barely does better than 7 seconds in ideal conditions (and my crappy driving certainly never does that). But it's way faster than any V6 Mustang, even the newest model.

I actually raced a V6 just like the original poster's my first (and only) time at the local drag strip, and the driver of that car was a regular. I was easily 2-3 seconds faster in the quarter mile. And my car isn't even all that fast.

No offense, but V6 mustangs are just slow, heavy cars - especially if you have an automatic (which is sounds like you do).

Tune it up. New Spark plugs, distributors/wires if it has any, not sure i know the V8's have distributorless ignition. OIl Change and air filter and see what happens. Make sure the housing to the throttle body is all attached correctly and the rubber not cracked as well.
People are retarted and kill their cars, you don't have to drop the hammer when accelerating onto the highway not only is it dangerous its dumb if there is traffic. Besides the point and i don't mean this to be derogatory, you seem like a new or light experience driver. The O/D is for the Overdrive in an automatic tranny. This slows the car down when you have it on but gives the car better gas mileage. i.e. you want it on. Your not racing your driving regular. You want this on when highway cruising so that the car hits its highest gear, which i believe is 4 in an A-O/D ford tranz in '00
when going up a hill with the A/C on the car must use some of its output power to crank the A/C compressor which draws away form teh cars output power. Having a lot of electronics also make the alternator harder to crank which draws more of the engines power output. SO if your going uphill at say 45 MPH with the radio on and and the A/C blasting and you have an after market sound system with amps and subs and its on loud, yea your car will feel sluggish because its trying to rev higher in a high gear to get up a hill, thats when you can disengage the O/D and maybe turn off the A/C. I do this in my civic accord when going up a large hill. But when i'm in my stang it makes no difference due to the V8. Let us know what happens.

yeah v6 mustangs were NOT meant to go fast, thats for sure. They are an every day driver car that was designed for gas mileage. Supercharged v6 stangs take the GT's though .

My car however can burn rubber shifting in to 2nd gear. Just make sure that the car downshifts when you want it to move, it should be fast enough for ya I think. Its not a race car, but it was never supposed to be one.

You could always wait and get the 2006 GT500 Shelby Cobra they are commin out with. Its got a Supercharged v8 with 450hp stock. Thats the fastest production mustang ever, and with that much HP it will take some ferraris.

I agree, the v6 stangs are slow, but what he's describing sounds like a timing issue. If the timing's off a little bit, then it will cause sluggishness when accelerating. This can also be caused by a slightly clogged fuel filter and a dirty air filter. Your spark plugs are probably fine, but might aswell replace them if you have never done so, it's cheap to do and improves gas mileage.

it is NOT normal for a car like that to be so slow accelerating, it should be able to keep up with other normal cars

Just some stats for you helpers to look at:

Ford Mustang 2000 Coupe
----
Engine Code / Name 994
VIN 4
Cylinders V6
Displacement 3.8
Bore x Stroke 3.80 x 3.40
Compression Ratio 9.4
Fuel Type G
Fuel Induction SFI
Valve Train OHV
Valves Per Cylinder 2
Total Number Valves 12
Horsepower 190 @ 5250 RPM
Torque 220 @ 2750 RPM
Max Eng. Speed -
Transmission Automatic
Drivetrain RWD
EPA City 20 MPG
EPA Hwy 27 MPG
---

Stats look very promising to me, especially the gas mileage and horsepower. Right now it uses a full tank of gas aweek. I drive to work 5 days a week for one-way distance of about 22 miles. Is it gas efficient?

Another thing I forgot to mention was that the accel pedal is abit firm when pressing down. This may tell us something about the car itself. I bought it brand new in 2000 and the pedal was already like that. During the testdrive at the dealer, I told the saleman that the car was not as fast as I expected and he responded that I did not go down enough on the pedal. Interesting, especially with a new car?

I did replace the air filter and the pvc valve about a year ago, oops! forgot to tell you guys, my bad, sorry. I just did a brake job on that car for $440. The caliber froze up in the right rear and it cost me 200 bucks for just that piece of metal. Man! these auto parts are expensive.

Any recomendations on sparkplugs brand?

Thanks

the calipers ar emore than a piece of metal, but ya, I agree, they're expensive (2 new rotors and rebilt calipers cost me over a grand).

The pedal should be a bit still, though there is a point where it gets too stiff to be normal. I'm not the most familiar with mustangs, so I don't know exactly what setup your engine's using or what's really normal in that car. If I were you I'd just take it in to the shop and explain that it's sluggish when accelerating and have them take a look at it.

As I know, there's always a charge whenever your car is on their rack. It's about 35 bucks at a tire dealer, just for examination. If now I take my car in a shop just for them to look at, it will cost me at least 30+.

Any other alternatives or am I stuck in that only solution?

Thank all for your help.

40,000 miles and you've only had the brakes done? no oil changes? no chaning the filters? no checking the belts and hoses? fluid levels?

a tune-up (spark plug change) is usually done around 60,000 - 70,000 miles

the problem is there's just too many possible things to hunt down. It could be injectors, fuel filter, carburator, manifolds, ect. If I were you I'd spend the bit of money rather than wasting a few days tinkering with stuff you don't know about, and especially don't know the settings for.

Of course, routine oil change is something not needed to mention. Samething applies to oil filter since we always change oil filter when changing engine oil.

Do you guys think Mustangs are good for long run because I've heard from so....many people that Japanese or German cars like Toyota, BMW, Merc, Honda...do last longer than American? I'm currently saving my money for a different car (probably non-american car) because of all that stuff I've heard and I do not think I'll keep this Mustang for long. American cars tend to break down earlier, is that right? I've seen many BMWs with more than 160000+ miles still on the roads.

Man! I wish I had all the experties like you guys do about automobiles then I'd make my car as good as it could offer and for as long as it lives.

Thanks

well, a good place to start learning is usually car forums. depending on the made of the car, join and check out their specific forums. that's how i started.

Maybe your just not depressing your accelerator enough.

Common sense maintenance will make any car last long.

That is so true... my 1991 Chevrolet S10 Blazer has 163,336 miles on it and it still performs as good as it had before! Proper maintenance is the key to any car lasting awhile... my friend had a 1994 Chevrolet Cavalir with only 52,000 miles on it and it is a junker! Absoutly no maintenence done on it except the oil changes......

we had a lebaron and a caravan that each lasted into their 500,000kms with only the odd rapair here and there.

Engines on american cars and german manufactured cars last longer than the japs, ect. do. Howver, many other parts don't last as logn as they would on a honda, ect. No matter what vehicle you get there will always be repairs you need to do.

Some things to note, no car is going to kick in and accelerate for you up a hill, you are going to have to give it gas, for all you know the guy in the civic floored it just to keep up with traffic

Also the timing is not going to be an issue, those cars are computer controlled, even if they have a distributor, the timing will never be wrong, its calculated dynamically.

A spark plug will never just stop sparking without you knowing, your engine will run very rough, rough enough to vibrate the car and change the exhaust sound completely if its misfiring, you would KNOW.

Horsepower doesn't matter when your going up the hill, its torque, torque is what will move that big ass car 220ft/lbs at the flywheel assuming a 20% drivetrain loss is only 176ft/lbs at the wheels, that isn't a lot of torque to move that heavy of a car, thats about the same amount of torque as a civic but the civic weighs maybe 75% of what your car weighs.

Dont expect the v6 to perform, its not designed to, if it were quick there would be no incentive to buy the v8 gt version.

Also almost every automatic in the older cars will not downshift automatically unless you give the car some gas, depending on the speed and size of the hill you might be in the RPM range where it wouldn't be possible to downshift, and your not going fast enough for it to upshift, so your stuck at an RPM where the engine isn't making its peak torque and theres nothing you can do but accelerate or deccelerate and downshift to get into your torque range.

Well it's an automatic, start middle and end of the problem. Get a manual and you'll not only get laughed at less but you'll have the opportunity to control to the car better.

manual + v6 is just extra work, all that allows him to do is what i said, get to the rpm where the car makes the most torque, but still for the money he would pay to do the conversion he is better off just finding a different car..

Whats your RPM when your going up a hill or merging onto a freeway???

My alero needs to get pretty revy when going on the freeway... about 3000-3500 RPM's... if its a really short on ramp maybe even upto 4000. Only a 4 Cyl though.

I'll give a better example... our Grand Prix GT (3.8L V6... around 210 horses... similar torque ratings) needs about 3000 rpms to get on to the freeway... it takes a little push on the pedal to get it going. Heavy Car with 200 horses... its no ball of fire.

I'd give it a little more gas if you aren't doing that already... not flooring or making the engine roar... but enough to notice a pick up in speed. Chances are... thats what the civic is doing when passing you.

Please, I see more BMWs, VWs, Hondas, in my buddy’s garage then on the road. American cars are fine, you just need to regular maintenance on your car (oil change, brakes, etc) I had a 1979 Trans am, rolled over twice, never had to replace other then some gaskets, brakes and tires and I replaced it 4 years ago for a 96 Tourus. Cars aren’t made like they used to be, there’s no class, there’s no though put into cars today. Look back at the 50’s, 60’s, and early 70’s, those where real cars. They where Powerful, Chrome and two toned paint was standard on some cars. Now a days its just about new rims, and big speakers and how many tvs you can fit into a car.

You said you've never pushed the gas pedal all the way down.

I'm wondering if maybe you're just giving it so little gas that it doesn't downshift, which results in it being way out of the sweet-spot for the engine to make moves. It's a Mustang. Floor that sumbitch and see what happens. The car's not going to explode.

I'm thinking you should try that before you take it to a garage or anything else. It sounds like you drive with an eggshell under your foot. Replace that eggshell with some lead for a while and see what happens.

I'm serious too. If you don't push the gas pedal down enough, engine won't downshift, and you'll be in 4th gear at 1,000 RPM and it will feel like an incredibly slow car. So try that out and let us know how it goes for you.

unless it's a dodge.

unless you've got money, stick with the japanese cars, they're cheaper.

Apparently you haven't owned many Dodges. They last just as long if not longer than any other car out there.

As far as maitenance, you don't have to follow everything it says in the book about changing things at a certain time. It's dependant on many factors, including how you drive, where you drive (city, highway), and what quality of parts you put in (el cheapo vs. top of the line). I have a 90 Grand Prix that I drive everyday. It's about to roll 155,000 miles on the odomoter. Since I bought it at 65,000 4 years ago I've changed the oil numerous times, the tranny fluid once, and the brake pads twice. It received a set of tires at 90,000 miles and they still have about half the tread left on them. The only non-routine maitenence It has recieved was a coolant bypass gasket. That's IT. The car runs great...just as good as any of my other Grand Prixs that I own. And I have 5 of them. Too bad rust isn't so easy to take care of

As far as the problem at hand, you shouldn't have to floor it to get up a hill (at least an average hill). The computer should downshift automatically when it sees more load being applied to the motor. Even if you have the cruise on...AC going full blast...and your radio blaring, you shouldn't see sluggish performance. Some of the resolutions I've read in this thread might be the cure. It could be fuel related (dirty filter, dirty injectors). It could be a sensor. Your best bet, if you're not that knowledgeable with cars, is to take it to a dealer and have it looked at. Take a mechanic out for a ride with you if you have to, to show him the problem.

Joining an automotive forum (especially one dedicated to mustangs) is also a very good idea. I run a regional Grand Prix site, and we get several new members a day that join to ask questions about problems they're having with their cars. You'll also get more informative answers from a club dedicated to your specific car, because let's face it...not everyone can know everything about every car out there. Most enthusiasts know about the cars they're interested in...and the basic knowledge that applies to all cars (how motors work, how a transmission is controlled, etc.)

Good luck getting the problem fixed. And good luck to you if you ever meet me on the road with my truck...

My dad has a 75 Dodge Charger back in CA. And it runs sooo smoooth, with the original engine (rebuilt) Not ALL dodges are crap like i say its only common sense to determine on how long your car will last.

1996 Dodge Stratus ES - fuel line leak 100k, tranny 100k, and $2,000 more in repairs over 6 months.
1997 Dodge Intrepid Sport - tranny died at 60k
1999 Dodge Intrepid - front left axel broke at 30k, tranny at 70k, car died at 120k
2002 Dodge Intrepid - currently at 104k, leaking problems, brake problems.

all of those cars were in service on time and had every service needed done, those cars were never abused. don't tell me i don't know what i'm talking about.

we also had a Dodge Ram quad cab for a month until the tranny went out at 30k.

Edit:
i forgot to mention how much of a rip off dodge dealers are.

So who's the stupid one buying all the dodge's? And every car can have problems now and then. A coupld of my buddies used to have camaro's with all kinds of problems, mine had over 150,000 miles no problems at all. I just got lucky.

I've got a 96 dodge stratus ES, and I haven't had too bad of an issue. Currently at 118,000 miles and the only major problem is my horn used to sound off on its own. Really funny for a couple days, especially driving around campus, but after a while it got annoying and I just ripped the horn out.

Other than that, the car runs great and takes a beating as well.

The only thing I will say about dodge, is that the 1996 stratus / intrpid line must have had terrible paint jobs. You can usually tell if it's a 96, because the paint is faded and crap. But still a good car

Stick to the old schools Vice.... stick to the old schools

that would be my uncle and his love for wasting money.

he's finally moved on. he's giving the 02 to someone, donating the 99. and he's buying himself another car, so far he's looking at the mercedes CLS.

i just realized i jacked this thread. sorry.

My mustang went through somthing like this (1999) tho it had ~85k miles. We replaced spark plugs and all that crap. Turned out the fuel injectors where clogged. Needed to replace a few of the nozzles (wich wasnt cheap).

Like somone else said. Try mashing the pedal and if it is fine then its just your driving style.

Also turn on overdrive.

Thanks everyone for responding.

I went back and found out that the mustang never reached 2000 rpm when going up the hill that I was telling you about. I cann't think of anytime that it's gone over 2000 rpm.

I tried pressing down more on the pedal and of course, the engine roared alot more and I started smelling gasoline burn but the rpm never reached 2000. I didn't floor it though (I mean all the way down). Man! gasoline price is rocket high and I truely do not want to floor the pedal. I think it's just my driving style, at least that's what I hope it to be.

I also have another interesting incident that I want to share with you guys. I have a Chevrolet Astro van which had about 80-90000 miles when the incident happened. I normally used oil 5W-30 for it (because the oil cap says 5W-30), then one time I accidentally put in 10W-40 and it turned out great. The van accelerated more, seems a lot more powerful now. It has v6, 4.3 liter. The accel. pedal is now soft, not stiff or stuck as before. Isn't it strange?

My mustang uses 5W-30 right now. Should I try this?

Thank you all in advance.

look I know you have a 3.8L My suggestion would be to get new platinum spark plugs, K&N Filter or Cold Air Intake if you want more horse power. I have a 93' Thunderbird with the same Exact Engine.. keep the OIL at the Recommended mark, also put in 93 octane or the highest in your state. I understand it might cost more but more bang for the buck Maybe this will help, or maybe not The Choice is yours and yours alone... Thanks for your time

_installshield_freak_

Sorry vice king, but if the axles are breaking, then it's being abused like crazy. NOBODY makes tougher axles on their vehicles than Dodge. Trannies dying at 30,000, that tells me it's a standard and the guy can't drive it worth crap. I have a freind that blew a tiburon tranny on it's TEST DRIVE, brand new, just because he abuses the tranny so much (he knows how to drive a standard and shift fine, but he puts a lot fo strain on it all). My guess is your uncle is th same. It's not the vehicle's fault if you suck at driving, and dodge vehicles will take probably the most abuse of any vehicle when it comes to tranny abuse. If somehow it's an automatic, then he's either driving through ponds (here's a breather valve on the tranny that will suck in water) or he's doing something else harsh to it.

As for the fuel line leak? well, it's common with all vehicles, but my bet is he's driving through some rough terrain by the fact he's blown so many trannies and broken so many axles. Brake problems, and heck, even leaking problems will also be caused by this.

I think it'd be wise for you to not judge Dodge's name by his experiences, he's definitely not the norm. The fact he bought so many Dodge vehicles is proof enough that he knows he's abusing the vehicles and they're putting up with it pretty well. Throw that guy in a honda, hyundai, ect. and the car would be totalled within a week.

Um...ok....don't do what this guy recommends. Platinum plugs are a WASTE of money, especially on a DIS equppied car. The spark isn't controlled, and a coil fires 2x as much as it has to. This wears the spark plug out twice as fast. And even though the platinums are supposed to last longer, they can't seem to handle the stress. They burn out at around 30,000 miles, where as a copper core plug will last you 60+

Also, do not run premium gas in a car with a computer that is setup for regular unleaded. It's a WASTE of your money because you will see little to NO gain. The computer is set up from the factory for a certain grade. That's the grade they tested with, and that's the grade the car will run best with.

As far as the oil weight question that was asked (10W-40 vs 5W-30), it all depends on where you live. If you live somewhere where the temps never get below 50, run 10W-30 year round. You will see the best performance with that. Or you could even run straight weight oil. When I bought my truck, it had straight 30 in it, and it didn't seem to run right, so I wouldn't recommend that. If you live somewhere where temps get below 50 for an extended period of time, you'd want to switch to 5w-30 during that time.

Lastly, on the Dodge topic...it's all how you treat the car. You have to take care or problems when they arise. You have to check things regularly for wear and tear. It's like that with ANY car. And you can't beat a car and expect nothing to break. You had your list of bad Dodges...well guess what. I have a list of Dodges that my family owns too. These are all CURRENT cars that we own.

1979 Dodge Ramcharger - 127k - Been a plow vehicle for almost 15 years now. Replaced the front u-joints this year and the exhaust a few years ago (hung the old system on a rock going through the woods). Fuel pump leaked last winter. Didn't have time to diagnose (plowing season) so I stole the pump from my other 318 powered car. The truck is rusting out, but still runs like a champ.

1987 Dodge Diplomat - 145k - Ran when it was parked. No mechanical problems. Stole fuel pump for my Ramcharger.

1988 Dodge 600 - 160k - Going to the scrap yard. Floor is rusting out for the 3rd time and the body isn't far behind. Not a manufacturer problem...just a problem with the amount of road salt they use here in Wisconsin. The car doesn't owe anyone anything.

1992 Plymouth Acclaim - 155k - My mom beats this car, and it has a few problems with head gaskets, but those are attributed to the short trips she makes everday. 8 miles roundtrip to work twice a day. Short trips are hard on engines.

1992 Dodge Grand Caravan LE - 145k - My sister hit a deer with this van. It looks pretty bad from that, but before that it had NO mechanical problems. Just routine maitenence.

1994 Dodge Ram 2500 Laramie SLT - 140k - Just bought this truck from a dealer in Florida. Had a fuel pump issue. That's why the previous owner got rid of it. Other than that it runs great. Made the 1400 mile trip back with no problems. Was the first year they offered the V10, and despite reports that it was a bad year to buy I haven't seen any reason that would support that thus far. It will be my new plow vehicle come winter.

2001 Dodge Intrepid ES - 37k - No problems at all.

Those are just the Dodges my family owns. I also own 6 pontiacs, in case someone wants to say something bad about them.

Sorry I had to continue the thread jacking. I still think the best thing for you (SuperCharge) to do would be to find a forum (like www.mustangforums.com for example) dedicated to Mustangs and ask them about the problem. If it is a fairly large forum, I can almost gaurantee someone there will be able to help you. Afterall, Mustang owners would know the most about problems with Mustangs

Elaborating on the gas "suggestion" (btw that guy knows absolutely nothing about cars, not a single piece of advice he gave you was true ) octane rating is a measure of how quick a fuel burns. Most passenger cars are between 8.0-9.5 compression. ANything closer to 8:1 can run on 87, but as the compression gets higher you need to run a higher octane (9.5:1 = 89 octane) to prevent the compression alone from causing the gas to combust. Running 93 in a lower compression engine does nothing, but running 87 in a high compression motor can be damaging because the burn is no longer controlled by the spark.

what u wanna do is, cos the mustang does 0 -60 in 7, then u need to get on a "highway", or motorway as i call em, and slowly get the car to go really fast, and get like 7000rpm in every gear, cos the car has never gone fast and needs working in so that the car can do high speeds, as at the minute flooring the car will end up in serious engine wear. just get somewhere u can go fast and go fast, i dont know how many speed traps and what not there is on american roads, but in the UK there is hardly any so 100mph is pretty easy to do, so get ure mustang, and get up those revs.

That is the worst advice I've ever read... 7000 RPM's???

Not on the 3.8... if you want to blow it, I guess thats an option.

Trust me... the 3.8 needs A LOT of care and flooring it up to 7000 RPM's is one of the worst things you could do on this engine. Especially in every gear. I don't even think it will do 7000 rpms in 1st gear unless you have a manual.

Ah you see the guy is used to European cars that can handle revs, not rock steady American engines that just chug away nicely.