VT revs pick up , car surges forward

rooker · #1 26-05-2005, 02:30 PM

My 98 VT Exec 3.8 auto has a strange problem , only happens occasionally though. When at traffic lights with gear in D (drive) with foot on the brakes waiting for lights to change , sometimes the revs will pick up and the car will surge forward slightly. Sometimes when this happens , one of the warning lights will appear (I think the transmission warning light) , other times the warning light does not come on.

Any ideas? Its not causing any headaches right now but would be nice to know what the cause is and what I might expect in the future if I ignore this problem.

syth · #2 26-05-2005, 02:55 PM

I am having exactly the same problem, I have also posted the question...but havent got any replies as yet. I have a 97 Exec VT 3.8L V6, it has become very irritating (the surging forward I mean)

rooker · #3 27-05-2005, 05:50 AM

Someone with the same problem .... so its not an isolated incident.

Any comments or theories are welcomed.

savage1987 · #4 27-05-2005, 04:22 PM

yea you say 'surge forward'

this could be a couple of different things

try this: foot firmly on brake, car in drive (or whatever, as long as it's in gear...) now give it some gas, not too much

you have now wound up the torque converter for a spring takeoff. is this the same sort of surge (back end drops, car sort of 'squats' in prep for takeoff)

this may help to clarify exactly what you are talking about

cheers
sam

rooker · #5 31-05-2005, 02:49 PM

Tried your suggestion Sam ...and , Yes , ......thats exactly the same effect that I'm talking about.

Are you saying that its the torque converter ......and is this a problem?

Just looking for a conclusion here mate!

wal · #6 09-06-2005, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rooker

My 98 VT Exec 3.8 auto has a strange problem , only happens occasionally though. When at traffic lights with gear in D (drive) with foot on the brakes waiting for lights to change , sometimes the revs will pick up and the car will surge forward slightly. Sometimes when this happens , one of the warning lights will appear (I think the transmission warning light) , other times the warning light does not come on.

Any ideas? Its not causing any headaches right now but would be nice to know what the cause is and what I might expect in the future if I ignore this problem.

have the same problem wth my 97 vt exec and have gone thru 2 torque convertors in past 5 years still have the same problem now and then.wal

Naccas · #7 10-06-2005, 10:26 AM

My car also does this on the very odd occasion, but it seems to be when it has a hiccup idling and the engine just blips the throttle to stop it from stalling.

rooker · #8 18-06-2005, 06:54 PM

cumon all you Holden experts ........... what do you reckon is the answer to this problem?

from the feedback here its not an uncommon problem.

any theories or comments are welcome ........

burnz · #9 18-06-2005, 08:21 PM

i dont know if this helps a diesel will rev to 2,000 rpm to clear soot or other restriction in exhaust mabye cat/resonator/mufler. just a thought

VTCommo98 · #10 20-06-2005, 10:00 PM

Hey I'm no car expert or anything but the same thing was happening to this old beat up Pajero we used to beat around the bush.

The reason for this was that when you stopped at a streetlight or whatever, the gear would temporarily disengage, (often happened if you were in 2,3,4 gear when you started on the brakes to slow down) what this does is it disengages the 2nd gear and sort of leaves it in neutral, then it remembers that it's not supposed to be stopped but still in drive, so it re-engages the first gear hence the jolt forward. It's similar ot when it's in neutral and u have ur foot on the break and u put in in D it will squat the ass a bit.

I'm not sure how to rectify this, but since it's happening to all the VT's series ones i'm thinking it's a problem with the BCM (Body Control Module) and you may have to get it flicked over, or you may want to try to set a different minimum idling rev thingo (eg idles at 900, make it idle at 800.

BCM's are ****ing expensive, as I noticed when my BCM kicked me out of the car and thought I was some thief and immobilised my engine. I had to pay 550 for new keys, labour and a new chip. The chip was only 250 so if u know how to fit it urself do that.

I'd first talk to a garage and if they can't fix it, ring up those gold diggers at holden and kick them up the arse.

Hope this makes sense and has helped you out.

Loz