Speedo stops working, car won't accelerate

[intriguehatesme]

The car is a 2000 se. It runs fine but the speedo will stop working randomly. The needle either bounces around or just sits at 0 mph. When it does the car will no longer accelerate. If you push on the gas then stop a few times it will fix itself and then work fine. It does this at any speed and it's only the speedo not the tach. The rpms will go up when you push on the gas but the car doesn't go any faster.

Any help with this is appreciated. Thanks!

[GTP Dad]

Change the speed sensor on the car and you should remedy the problem. The computer uses the speed sensor to regulate several systems. If it fails strange things can happen not to mention that the speedo doesn't work.

[intriguehatesme]

Is there a chance it's something else? Just want to make sure I fix the right thing the first time or is this 1 of those problems where it could be a list of this you have to troubleshoot?

Is it hard to change the speed sensor?

[thephantom1492]

it could be something else. But without real time scanning you can't be sure. That sensor is the most suspect one. The only way to be 100% sure as I said is with a scan tool that can give real time data of the sensors

[intriguehatesme]

What's the best scanner to use? What could be the other issues that could cause these problems? I was told it could also be the cable that runs to the sensor.

Considering it does this randomly then stops could it still be the sensor? If it went bad wouldn't it just stop working?

[GTP Dad]

As I said the speed sensor sends information to the computer for certain parameters that it measures to control the performance of your car. I am not sure where the sensor is on your car but it usually isn't too hard to replace. The best scanner to use would be a high end scanner like they use at a dealership. Autotap is a good system that works with a PC and gives you real time readings. It cost about $200.

[intriguehatesme]

Are you saying the speed sensor is the only cause for the problems the car is having?

[thephantom1492]

That is not what he said. He said it's the most likelly suspect without scanning for code and live data.

[intriguehatesme]

Ok, but what could be the other causes is what I'm trying to figure out. I know there's probally a few things that could cause the problems im having so I want to know what they are so I can check everything to find the problem instead of fixing 1 thing at a time until the problem is fixed.

[indyram]

It's understandable to not want to do things one at a time, but this is almost certainly the cause. They are relatively inexpensive and are very easy to replace.