thx guys for all ur input here.
I only had this car for 3 monthes, and my last oil change is last month. But I do found my air filter not being the cleanest. so gonna change it out.
I'm not really worried too much about the MPG here. Just the fact it's slow makes me wondering if my 1st gear is slipping a little bit. I think transmission being slipping can cause bad MPG and poor performance too.
when u guys said it slip into neutral. what that feel like? can u actually see the gear indicator light up "N"? or just the rpm going up like crazy? thx

 

There's about a half second between gears that you can hear that there is no gear engaged, almost like double-clutching a manual. The auto tranny won't shoot up in rpms like a manual would when you floor the clutch because of the torque convertors -fluid linkage- maintaining a bit of load in neutral. The shift indicator doesn't change.

 

thx, but I read from somewhere else that when the tranny is slipping, the rpm will rev up to coupe thousand but the car wont accelerate. mine is just accelerate slowly and will pick up when the rpm get up to around 2000. and when i press gas hard, i will feel it hesitate a little bit when change from 1st to 2nd, but it's not so bad, I think my other car does that too.
so is there any easy way to test if tranny is slipping?
sorry if it's a really dumb question? since I have never drive a manual, so i really dont know how"double-clutching" feels like ? thx a lot

 

You feel a jerking sensation in the tranny.its pretty noticeable.

 

I'm talking about the neutral gap between gears on a gear change, not the tranny slipping. If the tranny is slipping, the rpms will go up, but the power output won't.

EDIT: Also, I wasn't talking about how it feels to double-clutch or rev in neutral. I only meant the tranny action of going from one gear, sitting in neutral for a split second and then shifting into the next gear.


cjdm: If done right, any kind of shift can be silky smooth. I'm pretty good at normal up and downshifting at this point. Pretty good at double-clutching and fast shifting too ...... I'm getting better at the heal-toe, braking downshift, but not good enough to do it on a full speed turn. IMO, I'll be ready for Skip Barber Stage I in another 2-3 months.

 

LOL I guess I'll get a video of my tranny slipping so you will know what its like.