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Old 08-21-2008, 07:32 PM   #1
randolphborden
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'03 Silhouette accelerates on its own!

My wife's '03 Silhouette has started to do something akin to a Stephen King story. There is no pattern to when it will occur but at times when accelerating past 50 mph the engine runs fast and the thing will actually "take off" and continue to accelerate on its own as if the cruise control has engaged. Take your foot off the gas and it will drive at 60-70 mph by itself. When stopped you have to keep your foot hard on the brake as it feels like it wants to take off. Take your foot off the brake and it will go on its own. I removed the cruise control circuit which had no affect. We took it to a Tuffy, the engine was running very high while in park and they were getting an odd spike on the meter, they replaced the accelerator sensor and the van seemed fine. I picked up the van and while driving home, it happened again. I took it back and they held it for 2 days. The problem stopped and they couldn't find anything. Two weeks later it came back - its usually proceeded by a hesitation on acceleration as if the engine wants to stall. We called a local dealer who said to bring it in - we did and they couldn't find anything. The problem went away, again. The dealer said to bring it back if it appeared again and 2 weeks later it did so we did. He heard the engine racing when my wife pulled up and said there was definitely something wrong. However, the mechanic shut the engine off and did not get to it until the end of the day and, you guessed it, nothing occurred and no meter reading. At this point we've been told that they are chasing a ghost and unless it's actually happening they can't pinpoint the issue. The Tuffy guy suggested it might be electrical. If this is true I'm concerned about it shorting out leading to a fire. Well, "Christine" as she is called now reared her ugly head again this evening. Its frustrating to say the least. Anyone hear of anything similar or have any ideas? I'd appreciate any thoughts on the matter. And just in case your wondering why we haven't traded it yet the payoff is way to high. Thanks for your input. Randolph
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Old 09-05-2008, 12:39 PM   #2
rockwood84
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Re: '03 Silhouette accelerates on its own!

my '99 did somthing like that and i put a new tps on it and cleaned the iac which was dirty. and it hasn't done it since. the iac is right above the tps
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Old 09-24-2008, 03:53 PM   #3
randolphborden
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Re: '03 Silhouette accelerates on its own!

Per your suggestion I ordered a new Throttle Positioning System and made an appointment with our mechanic. I actually cut and paste your generously detailed email and sent to them prior for review, education, et all.

It has been one week since the work was done and we have not had one single incident of spontaneous acceleration. I can't thank you enough for your insight and expert help. I was about to give up just before your response here. I appreciate knowledgeable and helpful folks such as your self but am frustrated that it took my digging on line to find the solution to the problem the "experts" couldn't seem to locate themselves.

It cost under $300 to replace the TPS and have the IAC cleaned - in addition I had the fuel injection system cleaned as well which has improved acceleration and mileage by at least 35%.

Thanks again for your help. Best - RB
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Old 09-26-2008, 10:17 AM   #4
rockwood84
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Re: '03 Silhouette accelerates on its own!

glad to help
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