2005 Aveo Sluggish

[mairj40]

I have a 2005 Aveo with an automatic transmission. The car has 181,000 miles.

A couple months ago, the car started feeling especially sluggish when taking off from a stop. I could feel it "surging" while I was accelerating. It is starting to get worse. I pretty much have to put the pedal to the floor from a dead stop in order to get it going. I do not have any lights on on the dash. I'm wondering if the catalytic converter is plugged. Anyone have any other things to look at?

[camopaint0707]

no check engine lights?

[mairj40]

no check engine lights?

Nope. Not at all.

[camopaint0707]

sounds like it's a misfire even though you don't have a cel

[avguy]

Plugged cat is unlikely unless there have been significant misfire problems in the past (prior to the start of your current problem).

How does the engine do if you just rev it up in park? Is there a long delay with stumbling if you punch right down to the floor? How about if you rev it very slowly - can you hear any stumble? This will eliminate the possibility of it being a transmission-related problem, presuming the engine is also not revving well/smoothly in park.

Check the small line that connects the MAP sensor - there have been multiple posts in the past about that tube being cracked. How long since the plugs were changed? And there is also the well-known issue of the valve cover gasket leaking oil into the spark plug wells, which eventually causes misfire. But there are of course many other possible reasons for this problem, and if none of what I've mentioned above is in the mix, then start at square one and first determine if it's fuel or spark.