What's up guys? I thought that I had already repaired or replaced anything that could have gone bad on the car already but I guess not. I've got an 02 X Type 3.0 Sport 5 speed and here are my issues. 1 - The e brake handle inside is all messed up out of no where. It will not hold unless I hold the button in while raising it very carefully and the button wants to pop off. It pretty much came off and I put it back in but the problem still remains. I have already changed the E brake cables and the rear calipers all within the last 6 months. So I'm not sure what the problem could be. Any help would be greatly appreciated. 2 - This has been a recent problem as well that is only getting worse. The car hesitates real bad when you allow the RPMs to drop say under 2500 or so. This is most noticeable in higher gears especially 5th and it sputters bad to the point where you either have to floor the gas pedal or downshift. The car overall feels like it has less power but the hesitation is real bad and annoying. It feels like its not getting fuel and is gonna stall out its so bad. I've glanced around for any vacuum leaks or anything obvious but I don't see anything. There are also no DTC's listed so no help there. ANY HELP IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!!! THANKS GUYS - Brian

 

Brian, as for the e-brake, I would venture to guess that you will need to get in to the e-brake handle assembly and see what is causing the latching mechanism to not catch. It may be something very simple, but it may also require a new hand brake assembly. without seeing it, hard to say what the problem is. I'm sure once you get into it, the problem will be fairly obvious.

As for the hesitation, I would say to first start with a little bit of throttle body cleaner (not carb clearner) and see what the car does after that. If you see a brown stain, squirt it with the throttle body cleaner some more. You will want to also make sure you get the edge of the butterfly valve as that tends to be the place for the most build up and is the most likely place to cause idling problems.

Just a hint/warning, after spraying the throttle body out really good, you may find the first time the car is started that it will be really hard to start. This is normal. You have essentially flooded out the car. Crank it until the car starts and then take it from there.