How do you diagnose and fix a 1993 Toyota Camry that surges and lurches at low speeds but not in reverse?

Answer 1

If it is a automatic gearbox check that out. low oil pressure or dirty filter can sometimes cause this problem == Answer== Extra details from original poster of question: HISTORY 1) I have given this car a complete tune-up about 3000 miles ago with new plugs, wires, cap, rotor, fuel filter, & injector cleaning. 2) The car was running "fine" for 2500 miles after tune up. 3) This problem appeared pretty quickly (good to bad within 50 miles), but I'm not sure whether to look for bad sensor, or think bad gas. 4) To combat bad gas, I have given this car injector cleaner to clear dirt, sea foam for general fuel system conditioner, and "heet" additive to make sure there was no moisture in the fuel system. ( but no improvement ) 5) This car is a 1993 Camry with 6cyl engine, and 180+ miles. it has had Decent maint over the last three years I've owned it, inc. timing belt. PROBLEM BEHAVIOR For last 500 miles, car bucks/lurches/surges when taking off from a stop. It DOES start reliably, and idle is OK, it will rev OK when in neutral, but... when you step on the gas, from a stop light/sign, it wants to surge/lurch and will NOT smoothly accellerate until it gets to about 15 miles per hour. It doesn't seem to matter whether I step on the gas *hard* or soft; you get the same problem. (of course more pronounced when trying to push harder) The ODD thing is, it does NOT happen in reverse ! You can go from 0 to 20 MPH in reverse, just FINE, with no stalling/surging but as soon as you put it in any forward gear, it wants to surge/lurch. Sometimes (10%) you can even notice this (lightly) while STOPPED, even with your foot OFF the gas. The fact that this does not happen in reverse, makes me think that perhaps this is a sensor issue. The engine's computer may disregard some of the sensors in reverse, that are active going forward. Note: I do NOT think that the tranny slips at all, in either FWD or Reverse. After you get to 18 or 20 Mph, things move along fine, and it drives OK, with decent power, no noises, no miss or cut-out, even the fuel milage seems fine. This feels like a fuel or sensor problem, I don't notice any spark miss. The check engine light does not come on. This car is pre-1996, so it doesn't have the OBD-II standardized connector, and I have not gotten any codes. Please Help me diagnose this problem, so I have a reliable car to drive, and don't get hit in traffic because I can't accelerate from low speeds.