1st Time FTO Owner- have i bought a lemon

[JSD]

Hello everyone .

As the title says, i have very recently purchased my first FTO (four hours ago lol) , came home in it and spent the last few hours on this forum reading up on old threads and viewing some FTO pics You guys n gals seem very helpful and welcoming to new members so i hope you could maybe bash your heads together and help me out with a couple issues i noticed on the drive home. First of, as far as i can tell (its dark lol) i have bought a FTO GP_R, which has the 4speed auto/tiptronic box in it, and is N-registered 1996 model. As far as i know this is the 2litre v6 model, it has a larger spoiler and is maybe more lightweight than the other fto models.

All this i have learned in a couple hours scouring the forum

My main issue is as follows.... When i am driving along at 30-40mph it is almost "hard" to keep the car at a constant speed due to a kangarooing effect, i hope thats a good description, also it feels like i am giving the car plenty gas but not getting the power down on the road that the car obviously has.

Best way to describe the feeling is if you have ever driven a manual car with the clutch on the way out and maybe you drive up a hill in 2nd gear and have to give the car twice the acceleration level as normal just to get it up that hill due to slipping clutch...its THAT feeling i get when i try to give it some gas.

If it makes any difference to anyone who can help me....when i really sink the foot to the floor,the car is a little slow to respond, but when it does..its awesome

Sorry for the long winded post guys, just trying to give you as much info on my issue as possible, in short, its hard to drive at a coasting speed,and when i try to accelerate, even from first gear it feels unresponsive and i KNOW it should react quicker and pull me faster.

If your still reading this , then thanks, If your gonna reply with some help or info...Thanks even more !!

[Bernard]

Mine's a manual but I've driven a tip and it was just how you described.
There is a noticeable pause from pressing the pedal to getting the power down, like a clutch was slipping... as far as I know that's just how they are.

Oh and welcome to the club
Throw up a post in introductions with a few pics of the car, and add your location to your profile...

Happy posting.

[Chris_Heilong]

Not mine, but then I have a 5 speed auto box, when you put the foot down you are pushed back in your seat and the speedometer just flys, but thinking back it has only been this way since I retrain the ECU. The autobox is an INVECS-II system and as such has a learning computer built in, it learns the drivers style and adapts its gear changing to suit, If the last driver was of the miss daisey type then there is a chance it has learned bad habbits. You could try an ECU reset, just disconnect the battery for 2 hours, when you reconnect and start the car you electrics should all come on including your aircon, just switch these off and let the car idle with the engine on for around 15 mins, then head towards the motorway and drive the car as fast as legally allowed so the car relearns all the gears then you should be good to go. If you dont follow this procedure then the car can do some strange things like cut out while waiting at traffic lights and rev by itself which happened to me before, at that time I though my alternator was on the way out but it was just the ECU. I have never driven the 4 speed, hope to get a chance soon.

[goz_83]

Try the reset, as above, but it sounds like a different problem. There is a noticeable pause in the autos from foot down to accelerate, but the acceleration should push you into the seat, rather than feel like its lacking power. I've been in two 4 speed GRs and a 5 speed GX (facelift GR) and I have also been in the 1.8 GS (the only non V6 FTO) and they all the autos drove like this. No such delay in the manual version though.

[Mitsinut]

Does "the kangaroo" still happen when you are in tiptronic mode, cause that should have nothing to do with the training of the INVECS II?

Sounds like it needs a good service before starting to worry too much about anything. First port of call IMO aside from the usual fluid replacement would be to check the spark plugs as it may be misfiring which can make it sluggish and erratic, they are a hard to get at especially the rear bank, so they may have been in there for a while. I cannot stress enough, after recent spark plug trouble in a V6 merc and the FTO, they are very unforgiving if seized or threads crossed etc... so you should let a mechanic at it, if he makes a mess of it, it'll be up to him to fix it.

Easy way to know if it's a GPvR - does it have digital air-con unit? If it has, you've been had?

[JSD]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone, i appreciate it First thing i will do is the ecu reset , followed by a minor service including plugs,oil and air filters.
In regards to the air con unit, mine does have a digital air con system,along with a larger spoiler on the rear, electric folding door mirrors and definately the 2.0 v6 dohc mivec engine..... Does this mean i have a GPX or GPvR? Silly question to most users no doubt but as a newcomer to the fto series its relevant for me

On a side note, the v5 lists the vehicle as FTO GP r ... im confused now lol. thanks again for replies

[Chris_Heilong]

This Kangaroo effect could also be Kick Down, in the automatic it is a feature build in for over taking, if you plant your foot it will never jump up the gears to top speed, you must press it at a steady pace, instead the car will kick down to a lower gear to allow for faster acceleration, there is a sudden jolt feeling and you hear the revs change tune, as I said this is a feature build in for overtaking, if you want fast acceleration learn the best pressure to apply to the gas pedal.

[Bernard]

Does this mean i have a GPX or GPvR?

From your description I'd say it's a GPX (the better of the two IMO) but to be sure enter your VIN Here.