Hello all.

I have had my manual '06 GT for a little over a year now, and for the past few (like 6) months, my car has been running rough.

A few things I have experienced are:

- Poor acceleration off the line
- Intermittent "stuttering" when taking off slowly in first
- Really spotty shifting and bucking in low gears

I'm not mechanically-inclined at all, but these issues all seem to be related somehow.
Generally, I am experiencing issues with low-gear shifting.
To get quick acceleration off the line, I've found that I have to rev the engine several times to "find" the proper clutch-to-accelerator position.
Otherwise, if I don't over-rev, the car bucks like crazy.

Now, I know what you're all thinking: learn how to drive a manual tranny.
But that's just it, I'm 33 and I've been driving stick since I learned how to drive.
I know how to drive stick.

It just seems like this particular car doesn't drive well slowly in low gears.
Driving around the city is a nightmare, as I have to really rev the engine and ride the clutch to take off normally from a stop.

Has anyone else experienced these issues with their manual GT?
I'm convinced this is clutch/tranny-related.

Also, I know a lot of people have copmplained about dash creaks and rattles, and my car is no exception.
Is there a TSB for this, and/or will dealerships fix the dash noise free of charge?

Finally, what happened to the ISSUES forum?
I would've posted this there, but it appears this forum has gone bye bye.

 

So why don't you take it in for a warranty check and possible repair(s)?

 

Yeah, you really need to take it in to the dealership for them to run a diagnostic on it under warranty.

 

The poor acceleration and stuttering could very well be the TSB 06-9-9 problem.
The notchy shifting seems to be pretty common.
I do have a little trouble getting a nice smooth shift between first & second when I am not hammering it.
When I mash it and shift hard it's awesome though

 

Your car didn't have these problems when you first got it?

I've got all of those problems. My car has done it since day 1 (assumed it was my fault). This is my first stick shift, and it's good to know that even experieced people are having the same thing. I keep in mind that it's a hydraulic clutch and keep the smooth transition going all the way until my foot is almost off the pedal and modulate pressure on the way. Seems to help. I think this might be typical to the stang, and there's not much we can do about it.
As far as the sluggishness off the line, I got a cold air intake and that pretty much wiped it out. $400 isn't cheap but I'm more than satisfied with the results. To take care of the sloppy shifter, I got Steeda urethane shifter bushings. Only cost $23 with shipping and took about an hour to install.

I took my car to the dealer and told them about the dash rattles; it'd be covered under warranty but they said they'd need a week with the car. They didn't have a loaner program and I don't have an alternative mode of transportation, so I haven't taken care of that yet. Speaking of interior noise, my driver's seat started creaking 2 weeks ago. I'm not sure if they'll fix it or not.

 

Common problem with the factory tune; RPM's hang between shifts. Getting a canned tune (like from Doug) will eliminate this and bring back the smooth 1-2 shift.

 

I did that a while ago, and, of course, they found nothing.

As for the issues being ever-present or not, honestly, I don't remember the car being so herky-jerky when I bought it.

Also, I forgot to mention that the only aftermarket parts I have installed are a K&N Aircharger (but no tune) and a Borla Stinger cat-back exhaust system.

Would a custom tune help?

As for the TSB 06-9-9, yeah, I printed that one out, so I suppose I'll take that to my dealership.

Thanks for all the great info, guys (and gals, if applicable)!

 

That's exactly what I'm talking about.
When I enter onto the highway from the city (and I happen to be 1st in line at the light), I can mash it, and the car takes off.
However, driving around the city is like trying to tame a bucking bronco.
It's like this car is saying, "Dude, I wasn't built to be driven slowly."

 

Custom tune will 'wake-up' your engine by making it more responsive. As for it helping your issues, I'm not so sure it'll help.

One thing you may want to examine is the fitting on the side of the K&N air tube where it connects the crankcase rubber hose to the camcover.

In the past, some K&N air tubes (when molded) didn't have the hole in the fitting all the way through into the tube (covered or partially covered by the plastic mold). This caused the engine to behave erratically.
The fix is to remove the air tube and drill that hole out to full size, and make sure you remove all the plastic shavings before re-installing it.

It's a process of elimination, once you verify this as being good, you can check other things.

 

Get a tune. I'm pretty sure that will solve the problem.

 

It is saying that and it wasn't meant to drive slow.

 

UPDATE:

Well, I took the car in for both the TSB 06-9-9 (poor acceleration due to faulty fuel pump) as well as for the excessive dashboard rattles.

I am pleased to say that it took my dealership only 2 days to fix everything, and the car drives, and sounds, like a million bucks.
The dashboard noise is completely gone, and the acceleration issue has been eradicated.
No more herky-jerky shifting, hesitation, or stuttering in 1st gear!
It's really amazing how much of a difference the ride is now.

I am so very happy to have my baby back in proper working order, once more.

Thanks to all the feedback, guys.

 

Maybe you got a lemon Good to hear you got her runnin right

 

Well, what was wrong with it? What exactly did they fix?

 

The fuel pump fixed all the driveability problems? When was your car built?

 

WOW! A stealership did a service job right. GASP! What is the world coming to??

 

holy moly, see how easy it is to take a car under warranty into a dealer...

 

It's an '06.
And yeah, it appears to be driving much, much better after having the fuel pump fixed.