2002 Ford Taurus Jerking on Acceleration

Please help, My wife came home tonight and said that the car(2002 ford taurus) was jerking when you push on the gas, but only when the car is taking off. Once the car is going it is fine. I have no ideal what the problem could be and I don't want to get taken at a mechanic. PLEASE HELP. When driving the car this morning it was doing the same thing when the car get up to about 20 mph also. After that the car drove fine. Brought it to a transmission place and I am waiting on them to call me and let me know what is going on. Still want some input on what it might be so I can compare with what the mechanic says it is.

I can understand your reluctance to be 'taken' by a mechanic. However, I do not think that having a transmission shop look at the car before other problem sources have been eliminated is a better decision.

Is your car still under warranty? If so, then a dealer is the place to go for the diagnostics and repair.

I would suggest you go to a reputable mechanic that can check out the whole car to determine the problem. Then you can decide if the transmission specialist can offer the repair for a better deal if it is indeed a transmission problem.

Years ago I had an 83 Chevy that sputtered from a standstill but ran well after you got it moving. It was an EGR valve that was the culprit. I am not sure if that can happen on modern cars without the Check Eng Lite coming on. But the point is that other systems should be checked out by a general mechanic before the specialists are called in.

In addition to what TomV said, we need more info. You need to describe what you mean by "jerking." And how many miles are on the car? Only in 1st gear? Only from a dead stop? What if you rev it in neutral/park?

If you feel it missing at idle then you may have a bad EGR valve. If not, you may need some new ignition parts; I'm particularly thinking wires.

Consider changing your fuel filter, too.

My 91 Taurus did something like that when it broke the front motor mount. On acceleration, the engine would try to lurch out of the compartment. It would actually push the hood up some due to the tourque when accelerating, but it would cruise fine once going. I had to weld a hook underneath to the frame and cable it down. It was fine after that. I read that they really go through motor mounts, but I thought they would have fixed it for the later years.