I have an 02 Legacy Sedan, manual. For the past two months or so, especially when it's been raining (so maybe/probably a humidity thing?), it stutters ranging from mild to severe when starting off.

If I push on the accelerator and it sputters, even if I keep it depressed, it will continue for a few seconds like that and then suddenly kick in and start accelerating normally. The check engine light sometimes blinks a few times when this happens, but not always. 

So far it doesn't seem to be a major issue, other than the concern that it might turn into one. I'm afraid I'm not as mechanically inclined as most of you seem to be, but I'd love to get some suggestions of things to check out... I'm a poor college student, so taking it to the dealership is a last resort. Any and all advice welcome/appreciated!

Let me also add that this happens in all gears - once it seems to have cleared out the stutter in 1st, if I shift to 2nd it will repeat all over again, and so on with 3rd/4th, although it seems to be less severe the higher I get.

The fact that it changes with moisture makes me think its an ignition issue, so based on the symptoms, how long as it been since plug wires were changed?

Had same issue on my 98 Legacy 5-speed station wagon...changed plugs with high quality ones, changed wires too...funny thing was that I changed ignition coil(coilpack?) first since I had a brand new spare one laying around and car drove just fine to Autozone (no sputtering or anything), but just to be safe,changed the other stuff too.

The fact that it changes with moisture makes me think its an ignition issue, so based on the symptoms, how long as it been since plug wires were changed?

 

+1

Never, that I'm aware of... so a pretty good possibility.

Thanks so much for the input! No idea if this is something I could do myself, but I'm about to google around and find out. haha

Er, wait. So sorry for my total lack of knowledge here, but I just realized you might be talking about *spark* plugs. Those have been changed, but it's been a while. I'm also gathering from the replies that maybe changing the spark plugs and changing the wires are separate tasks.

yes, changing the plugs, and changing the wires are two completely different tasks. And dont be sorry about your lack of knowledge - we all have to start somewhere.

 

I would be highly suspicious of the wires if this is indeed a moisture related problem. If the problem is severe enough, you can often see spark arcing at night with the hood up and the car running...heck, I had one doing it bad enough that I could see it in broad daylight!

 

I am also going to bet that there are stored codes in the ECU - go to your local chain auto parts store - AdvanceAuto, O'rielly's, Autozone - and they should be able to read the codes for you for free. I am gonna guess it has misfire codes...

 

regardless - finding out if there are stored codes, and what they are, will help point you in the right direction.