Hesitation

Momentary loss of power on acceleration or a rough or unstable idle. You hit the accelerator pedal and nothing happens for half a second, then all of a sudden the engine jerks forward.

This problem most often occurs at idle since the amount= of power needed to get the weight of the car moving from a dead stop is much greater than a vehicle that is already in motion.

Hesitation, or lack of power as it can be called, is normally caused by an ignition system problem like a bad spark plug, plug wire or ignition coil. But, this problem can also be cussed by a lean fuel condition or a vacuum leak. The check engine light may come with a code P0300 misfire code stored int he computer.