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Sudden ((Jerking Forward)) while Driving

3K views 12 replies 9 participants last post by  YellowSnow 
#1 ·
Hello I've been having an issue when driving sometimes where I will feel a sudden jerking forward motion while driving. It used to just be at high speeds on the interstate but now it's basically at any speed. It feels like hitting the brakes really quick even though my foot never touches it. I don't have any lights pop up not even for a split second. And I've had my vehicle serviced recently at Firestone for fuel injectors cleaned and had their computer on it but haven't found any reason why this happens. Thanks to anyone who can give me some clues!
 
#2 ·
Take your X to an auto parts store (Autozone) and ask them to scan for any codes.
I realize your Firestone tech checked for possible problems, but it dont hurt to have another scan.
 
#6 ·
How many miles, and have you replaced the crank and cam shaft sensors?
There's been a BUNCH of threads about them recently for some reason, but I too had the same issue in the last couple months.
It finally got bad enough that it would COMPLETELY stall... once leaving me to coast across 3 lanes and up into a driveway (SURPRISE no power steering once it dies). A few times at 40-60mph. Twice in my own driveway. A couple other times rolling at idle up to a stoplight.
Never had codes for months, then finally threw one for a cam sensor. All 3 are the same 'tech' so when one goes, the others are likely to follow.

Search around for install recommendations, but i'll add this here...."they" say aftermarket are junk. Get Hitachi or dealer only. Z1 offroad had good pricing. Courtesy (?) had better pricing than my local dealer. All 3 sensors are similar, just with different angles, but price varies (a lot for some reason). One of them was $40 cheaper at Z1 than local.
Its an annoying 1.5hr job that would be an easy 30min job to do a second time.
 
#8 ·
Hey everyone thanks for the replies! It's been a while since I updated yall and I apologize, just had some other stuff come up. Anyways, the issue that firestone found was that I needed a brake light switch replaced, which they did. However, the second I got my xterra back, the brakes were tough to push down and as I got maybe half a mile down the road, it started shaking uncontrollably and the brakes were locked up bad and the ABS and slip lights were coming on. I managed to limp it back to them, and about an hour layer they said they cleared the codes and found nothing else wrong with it. That was a flat out lie because it did the same exact thing on my next drive. I got it back to them again and spoke to the shop manager and he said that the brakes were locked up and they proceeded to keep it for about 5 days to look at it. Then they told me that the ABS pressure sensor needed to be replaced and we waited for that part to get there, then I was told that the whole master cylinder needed to be replaced as well. That took another 2 days. Then when I finally got it back, it drove and handled just fine for a while, then everything went to hell and it locked up on me again. Took it back to them for like the fourth time and after some time waiting they found that something had cracked and that it was putting out about 600. Lbs of pressure on the brakes keeping them locked up and they finally got that sorted out and I've been driving it for about a week now with no issues. We'll, except tonight on my way to work when it started to jerk forward again like it did the first time. I'm not sure what else it could be, and I'm definitely not going back to them again because my credit card is nearly maxed thanks to all these issues and I don't trust them to fix this in a timely manner anymore. If anyone has any issues like mine, please let me know how you managed to fix it thanks!
 
#10 ·
My opinion, I have never like Firestone. I worked dor them for two weeks and said F this huge corporate policy BS.

Anyways.
They have attempted to fix the problem. Many times, to little or no success. Go back to the shop and rasie hell. File a report with the BBB.
What they are doing is the exact same thing that everyone says stealerships do. Its not right (I know, the world is not about what is fair and right), but there are some steps you can do to potentially get money back or the repairs for free.

Do not worry about making a scene, your not going to do buisness with them after this it sounds like.

I have never seen a faulty break switch cause jerking. The brake switch is just a switch for the brake lights and an input to the ecu to cancel cruise.

Brake master cylinder, possibly could cause hard or soft brake pedal. I guess it could cause jerking if the entenal bore was jacked up and jerked while under braking (which is not what you said is happening).

600 psi on what? What did they replace, the ABS pump?
This could cause jerking if a sensor was detecting slipage, and the ABS was activating. But you said there was no noise when the truck would jerk.
I wonder if you have a bad ABS encoder ring? This could cause an issue, similar to random activation of the ABS. Maybe?

One thing that keeps poping into my head. Was your brake master cylinder leaking by chance? It is common for them to leak past the rear seal, and leak into the brake booster. This can cause a buildup of pressure which can cause the brakes to be under constant pressure.
I had this happen on my 00 Outback. I replaced my brake pads, and they wre eaten up in 5k miles. Spun all wheels, which were tough to spin. I replaced all calipers, rotors, and pads. Ate those up in 1k miles. Thinking I got bad calipers from Napa, I replaced them all again. Ate those up in 1k miles. My friend and I adjusted the brake pedal, no change. My friend had the idea, lets put some spacer on the brake master. Bam! No more jerking, no more eating brakes, and the pedal felt better too. So I replaced the brake booster. Never had a problem again.
Then I sold the Outback for the X. Saw it had a leaking brake master, and I replaced it and the booster at the same time.

I have replaced boosters before on Hondas and Toyotas that were acting similar to my problem.

Maybe your booster is faulty. The way I know to test it,
Engine off, press the brake pedal several times till it gets hard.
Whill pressing, and it is not going down, start the engine. The pedal should decend to the floor smooth and at a constant rate. Maybe half a sec after the engine starts.
If it decends, before you start the engine, you have a brake fluid leak or air in the system.
If it does not decend after you start the engine or it takes a long time, you have a vacuum leak some where.
After the engine is started, let the vacuum build for a sec or two. Press the pedal several times. You may hear a whoosh sound every time you press the pedal. If you press and hold the noise should stop, if you still hear it, the booster rear diaphragm is most likely blown. It is common to hear some air whoosh while pressing the brake pedal, but if it is louder than normal, this may bed the diaphragm.

Sorry, this was a long one.
Hope you get your X fixed soon.
 
#12 ·
Experiencing the same lurching , but only in 4WD. It’s exactly how you describe, almost feels like popping the clutch, but not exactly that. After the lurch, it feels like a loss of power. The whole thing happens in a second.

No slip lights. Feels like it is coming from the front which makes sense since it’s only in 4 hi (haven’t tried it in 4 low)

It goes several months between switching from 2 to 4, in case that may be a factor?
13 P4X 6 manual
 
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