Hey, I'm not sure what my car is doing. It's a 2000 civic ex, 5spd.

When I'm giving it a pretty good amount of gas, it will occasionally start to sputter as though I was violently releasing all the way off the gas pedal and stomping on it repeatedly. Sometimes it's minor, sometimes it's a pretty big deal. I was in 5th gear around 3000rpm, gave it gas, and my car started doing it again. I physically removed my foot and stomped again and couldn't make that drastic of a spasm in power like it did my itself. It's like I'm in 1st gear at redline and keep taking my foot off and on. Does anyone have any ideas? I just bought the car so I know nothing about what maintenance has been done... but anyone know where I should start?

thanks

 

my car does that when its cold out for some reason.... but it goes away eventually so i ignore it lol

 

It sounds like it's losing spark, could be as simple as cracks in plug wire(s), or maybe a fuel pump issue - that seems less likely though.

Take a look at your spark plugs(I'd prob. just replace while you're at it), plug wires, distributor cap (look for cracks) and if that checks out I'd take the cap off and clean off any corrosion on the cap points or the rotor. Replace as you see fit.

I'd also make sure that the 4 connections on the Ignitor are clean, tight, and attached properly, same with the screws holding the wires to the ignition coil - if you can wiggle the wires where they connect w/ the screws, you either need to tighten them, or you need shorter screws.

I'd take a look at your grounds too while you're in there, just in case.