2018 Yamaha EFI Quiet Tec losing Acceleration

[Kahuna32162]

My cart is suddenly losing acceleration, so bad, that it can hardly make it up the incline coming out of a tunnel. I am having the same issue when traveling on MMP's that have any kind of an uphill portion.

Purchased from Carts and Clubs, who I have called and gotten a service app, but not for another week.

Wondering if any one might have any suggestions Thx

[tophcfa]

I would start by checking the condition and tension of the drive belt.

[lake5798]

Their is a cotton fabric spark arrested in the end of exhaust ,which comes out of bottom of engine, reach up in the exhaust and pull out that fabric!

[Mrprez]

Definitely the spark arrestor. On the 2018 it’s accessed through the bottom plate under the motor.

[TSO/ISPF]

My cart is suddenly losing acceleration, so bad, that it can hardly make it up the incline coming out of a tunnel. I am having the same issue when traveling on MMP's that have any kind of an uphill portion.

Purchased from Carts and Clubs, who I have called and gotten a service app, but not for another week.

Wondering if any one might have any suggestions Thx

We had the same issue. Got so bad it would barely run and had to have the thing hauled home by Kartaide! You have to pull the bottom cover of which is 4 bolts. The exhaust pipe is covered by a rubber sleeve on the drivers side that comes through the plastic cover and has some tabs you have to pull aside to get the cover off. Once the cover is off you can slide the rubber boot off and see the exhaust pipe. We had someone who used a drill to remove the steel wool like substance that makes up the arrestor. Problem solved. It can be a DYI if your able.

[Mrprez]

We had the same issue. Got so bad it would barely run and had to have the thing hauled home by Kartaide! You have to pull the bottom cover of which is 4 bolts. The exhaust pipe is covered by a rubber sleeve on the drivers side that comes through the plastic cover and has some tabs you have to pull aside to get the cover off. Once the cover is off you can slide the rubber boot off and see the exhaust pipe. We had someone who used a drill to remove the steel wool like substance that makes up the arrestor. Problem solved. It can be a DYI if your able.

What Terry said. Perfect description.

[snbrafford]

I just had my cart's yearly service done and the tech warned me about the arrestor might become a problem giving the cart poor performance and the "fix" was to remove it;

[Aacosner]

My cart is suddenly losing acceleration, so bad, that it can hardly make it up the incline coming out of a tunnel. I am having the same issue when traveling on MMP's that have any kind of an uphill portion.

Purchased from Carts and Clubs, who I have called and gotten a service app, but not for another week.

Wondering if any one might have any suggestions Thx

My 2018 Yamaha Drive2 gas cart had this symptom just before the secondary clutch failed. It was most noticeable when going up a steep incline. At first there wasn't much sound, but just before failure it started making occasional clunking sounds. I purchased it from Carts and Clubs, and the guy who picked it up said they had seen a number of carts with this issue. It was covered by warranty 3.3 years after I purchased it because it was part of the powertrain.

[HiHoSteveO]

2014 cart had same problem struggling uphills 2-3 years ago.
Carts and Clubs replaced secondary clutch. Caught it before it let go completely.
It is located at the drive belt pulley that is towards the back of the cart. Took a few quick minutes to replace in my driveway. Was a couple of hundred bucks total back then.

[TSO/ISPF]

2014 cart had same problem struggling uphills 2-3 years ago.
Carts and Clubs replaced secondary clutch. Caught it before it let go completely.
It is located at the drive belt pulley that is towards the back of the cart. Took a few quick minutes to replace in my driveway. Was a couple of hundred bucks total back then.


If you put the cart in neutral by putting the shift lever between F and R and try to rev the engine it may help identify what the problem is. If it struggles to rev up, then probably the Spark Arrestor. You can tell it's in neutral because it will be very easy to push the cart forward or back.

[Edzo49]

The Villages replaced my muffler under warranty ‘no charge’ and fixed known issue. Same problem

[Bridget Staunton]

Call Todd Casey he will fix it with no problem. He is excellent

[Jose1234]

Same thing happened to my 2018 cart. Villages mechanic said it was defective muffler installed in factory and they were replacing every one as 1st year service came up. No problems since.

[tzarbo]

My cart is suddenly losing acceleration, so bad, that it can hardly make it up the incline coming out of a tunnel. I am having the same issue when traveling on MMP's that have any kind of an uphill portion.

Purchased from Carts and Clubs, who I have called and gotten a service app, but not for another week.

Wondering if any one might have any suggestions Thx

Suggest calling Scott or Henry with your question:
Scott Jezowski
Titan Golf Cart South
352-348-7381
titangolfcartsouth@gmail.com

Or Henry The Golf Cart Guy
352-805-0450

[mkjelenbaas]

My cart is suddenly losing acceleration, so bad, that it can hardly make it up the incline coming out of a tunnel. I am having the same issue when traveling on MMP's that have any kind of an uphill portion.

Purchased from Carts and Clubs, who I have called and gotten a service app, but not for another week.

Wondering if any one might have any suggestions Thx
What did other places who work on golf carts say when you called them?

[tallmanf]

I agree these things dont last forever.

[jabacon6669]

Just so happens it happened to me last week. Loosing power, then within a short period of time no power. Had it scheduled for service last Wednesday. Tried driving it from Hadley to Brownwood. I got to the Colony Rec Ctr. had to call Cart Aid. Thankfully I had that, it would've been $100 just for the tow. Anyway, They put the backing plates on which is why it was going in for service in the first place. $79 each. They go on the rear wheels I guess. They had been on back order, they claimed they had 150 scheduled to put on. Not sure what they do. But covered by warranty. And, they replaced the muffler. $279. Claimed it was totally clogged. The steel wool like material in the mufflers of the newer quiet tech engines becomes clogged. I know a number of people having the same issue. Not sure if the replacement muffler has the same spark arrestor. Sounds like a factory defect to me. The diagram that someone showed above, explains it.

[Bill14564]

What did other places who work on golf carts say when you called them?

Probably asked why he was calling if he already had a service appointment scheduled with someone else.

[OhioBuckeye]

Lots of good suggestions here! But personally I wouldn’t ask the dealer to do it because I’m sure they’ll tell you it’ll ruin the warranty. Do it yourself or have a friend do it or show you how to do it. I usually fixed my own cart & I never had the dealer tell me something was missing or messed with. I had a 2018 Yamaha cart but never had this issue with mine. Most of the things that are mentioned here you can look at them & see if that’s the problem. Good Luck!

[Larchap49]

My cart is suddenly losing acceleration, so bad, that it can hardly make it up the incline coming out of a tunnel. I am having the same issue when traveling on MMP's that have any kind of an uphill portion.

Purchased from Carts and Clubs, who I have called and gotten a service app, but not for another week.

Wondering if any one might have any suggestions Thx

If it is a quiet tech it's probably the spark arrestor plugged up. Mechanic from dealer removed the one on my 2019. It's not as quiet but has all it's power

[gooeyg]

I had the same problem last year and the culprit was the secondary clutch. Had it replaced (under warranty).

[irishwonone]

What Terry said. Perfect description.
I haven’t had this issue yet. However thanks to all for sharing the fix.👍🏻

[Sanmar13]

We can come see you Monday afternoon....Ryan our lead technician has almost 10 years experience in the Villages 352-571-3100

[Villages Kahuna]

It’s good that you have that service appointment. My understanding is that the Lithium Ion battery packs have a 10-year warranty. You could always rent a cart for a few days from the rental fleets at any of The Villages Golf Cart stores. The cost is quite reasonable.

If I misunderstood that you had a Li ion powered cart, disregard this message.

[waybridge]

It could also be your battery. If your battery is weak, a gas Yamaha will not perform properly. It happened to me yesterday and I replaced my battery and it working fine now. The weather here is really tough on batteries. Thanks.

[pacevett78]

Hi. Believe it is your secondary clutch. That is covered by Yamaha warranty for 4 years from date of purchase. If it is the clutch it will get worse over time.

[M2inOR]

Poor power and acceleration happened to me on my 2020 that I purchased new from Villages Golf Car in Brownwood.

Pulled up into the Brownwood location after a game of golf. Diagnosed the problem on the spot, and took it in for service immediately. Got a loaner at no charge, and continued home. Picked up the cart 3 days later.

The problem was due to decomposed material in the muffler. Warranty replaced with a new muffler at no charge to me.

[Viperguy]

Wonder if the 2020's have the same issue? My wife's cart suddenly started doing it too. Would barely move. Interestingly I had just put gas in it and that is when the problem started. I purchased some fuel additive to clean the injectors and it started to run ok. Maybe bad fuel or the same muffler issue??

[Petewip]

Call Titan Golf Cart! 3523487381 - Scott - Did Great job. Took out the spark arrestor right in our driveway!

[marcandcali]

My cart is suddenly losing acceleration, so bad, that it can hardly make it up the incline coming out of a tunnel. I am having the same issue when traveling on MMP's that have any kind of an uphill portion.

Purchased from Carts and Clubs, who I have called and gotten a service app, but not for another week.

Wondering if any one might have any suggestions Thx

It sounds to me like your muffer has stopped up. I had the same issue. Read your owners manual only unleaded fuel only. Thats what my 2017 manual said

[UpNorth]

Funny how stuffing up a muffler/spark arrestor with steel wool and stuffing the underside of the seat is called "Tech" by Yamaha.

[Bilyclub]

It sounds to me like your muffer has stopped up. I had the same issue. Read your owners manual only unleaded fuel only. Thats what my 2017 manual said

I thought it was illegal to sell leaded gas in the US.

[rnicholis]

QUOTE=Kahuna32162;2065670]My cart is suddenly losing acceleration, so bad, that it can hardly make it up the incline coming out of a tunnel. I am having the same issue when traveling on MMP's that have any kind of an uphill portion.

Purchased from Carts and Clubs, who I have called and gotten a service app, but not for another week.

Wondering if any one might have any suggestions Thx[/QUOTE]

I had the same problem with my 2018 and it was due to a clogged muffler. Replaced and problem was gone.

[Mrprez]

I thought it was illegal to sell unleaded gas in the US.

Leaded gas. All gas in the US is unleaded.

[ronda]

I had a similar problem to what was described here. My cart seemed to sputter more when having 2 riders and going up a hill. checked for the spark arrestor, and it had already been removed. my cart is a yamaha model YDRA. I found out that a new drive belt is 35mm wide, and ithe belt is supposed to be changed when the width decreases/wears down to 27mm. I measured mine and it was at like 26mm. Turns out the belts wear from side otot side. This is because of how the "transmission" works. I'll spare you the details.

I ordered a new belt on amazon for $20, it arrived in 24 hrs and i replaced it in 10 mins after it arrived. no tools required for this replacement. took it for a test drive w/ 2 passengers and up a few hills and had no issues. I think this solved my problem.

Sounds like you have a newer model, so I don't know the spec for you, but you may want to consult the manual for the spec and measure the drive belt, to see if it is in spec.

[Kahuna32162]

UPDATE: Carts and Clubs service van was here this morning and removed the spark arrestor from my 2018 Yamaha Quiet Tech Cart. I was told that it was not necessary, but required in California as a safety measure. Was advised that the muffler did not need to be replaced. Cart now runs great. Thanks to all who posted with ideas and even pictures to show me the issue. TOTV is a great asset and I will continue to contribute.