sticky throttle

[kmohr3]

I have a slight throttle sticking problem. It sometimes sticks a little coming off of idle. About a month ago I cleaned all the junk off the throttle plate bore and it seemed ok for a couple of weeks. I checked it again yesterday and the throttle bore is still clean. Whenever I check the throttle and/or linkage when the car if off everything seems ok and there is no sticking. Anybody know what gives here? Do I need a new throttle plate assembly? Can it be icing up during certain conditions? Is there a throttle heater that can go bad or become plugged?

[lunasea808]

I almost have the same problem the only difference with mine is the pedal sticks when the car has been driven for a little bit. It doesn't stick after being depress but just when you start to push down on the pedal. I have to put enough force on the pedal where it feels like almost kicking the pedal. Sometimes dangerous when backing out of a parking stall or at a red light turning green and the car in front stops all of a sudden.

[kmohr3]

Same with mine, only when coming off of closed throttle - and after it has warmed up a little bit. I think I may have to bite the bullet and buy a new throttle plate assembly.

[kmohr3]

Anyone else? I know some Pontiac models needed throttle bodies, but there's not that many 3.5L shortstars out there in comparison.

[lunasea808]

I went to gm they told me that they could not find anything wrong.!? I'll try cleaning the whole throttle body and the plate. I'll check if it's possble to lube the cables. Is there anyway to lube the assembly inside the car?

[Dave Shirey]

Originally Posted by lunasea808

I went to gm they told me that they could not find anything wrong.!? I'll try cleaning the whole throttle body and the plate. I'll check if it's possble to lube the cables. Is there anyway to lube the assembly inside the car?

Look for a tiny throttle position set screw that holds the plate slightly open (to prevent wedging into the throttle body). Turn it clockwise with an allen wrench...just far enough to prevent the sticking.

[maxwedge]

Resetting the minimum idle screw will change the tps setting and fudge the normal idle speed, this is not the way to fix this unless it was changed previously and needs resetting only.

[Dave Shirey]

Unless we're talking about different set screws, I respectfully disagree. The one I'm talking about was pointed out by an expert mechanic and worked fine for me. It appears to simply hold the plate slightly open to prevent the sticking. Obviously if you over adjust, the problem you mention might happen. Replacing the throttle assembly would be an expensive mistake.

[maxwedge]

Dave, the only screw you describe that I know of is the minimum air which sets the base idle before the iac picks up control, yes a very slight movement of this would unseat the throttle plates off the bores to possibly eliminate a binding, which indicates something else is wrong, but if minor adj. does the job, cool.

[Hellester]

I have a 2000 Intrigue.

When i go from a stop, reverse or forward, the traction control goes off. (Dealer couldn't find a problem (in other words it wouldn't do it when he drove it)) and so i'm stuck with it.

Now just like you say, my gas pedal sticks, so i've been cycling the traction control on/off switch (under my console cupholder). After i cycle it two or three times, sometimes less sometimes more, the pedal goes back to its smooth travel.

Like someone said, its dangerous when in a parking lot because you push and it gives and the car jumps so you let off it and you have to make it jump again to go faster than a creeping idle.

Now that i cycle the on/off switch it goes away quickly- sometimes on the spot, sometimes a bit longer but be patient its better than running over a soccer mom.

[2002]

try cleaning out the throttle body with cleaner. take off the hose and open the flap. you'll see all kinds of black roll out. make sure the car is off. If you try to do it when the car is running, it will die.

[canatto]

I had this same problem with my 2000 GLS as well last year. I cleaned out all the crap from the throttle body with a can of throttle body cleaner spray, and the problem never came back so far.

When I was at it I jacked up the passenger side of the car so that all the junk being washed off flow out of the bore. I had my son sit in the driver seat and step on the gas peddal while I was doing the back side of the valve plate (and there was enough thick caked up gunk there to suprise you). I had to gently rub the plate with my finger in a vinyl glove while spraying the cleaner to help it off. The carbon build-up on the bore was easily flushed off by the spray.

Originally Posted by kmohr3

I have a slight throttle sticking problem. It sometimes sticks a little coming off of idle. About a month ago I cleaned all the junk off the throttle plate bore and it seemed ok for a couple of weeks. I checked it again yesterday and the throttle bore is still clean. Whenever I check the throttle and/or linkage when the car if off everything seems ok and there is no sticking. Anybody know what gives here? Do I need a new throttle plate assembly? Can it be icing up during certain conditions? Is there a throttle heater that can go bad or become plugged?

[GMIredneck]

I had the same problem after i bought my 2000 gl at 58k in April '05. The dealer seemed confused and offered no suggestions. The last straw came one day when I was playing in a parking lot of ice in winter and had to shut the key off to unstick the pedal. I resolved the issue by cycling the pedal almost a hundred times. (I was bored. It was 3 weeks before midterms and it was a mindnumbing task.) Haven't had the problem since and my car has over 118k now.

[canatto]

Same here with my 2000GLS a couple of years ago. Cleaning out the throttle body and the valve plate worked for me and the problem hasn't come back since. It didn't quite work the first time around that I only sprayed the cleaner to the bore and the plate. Had to do it the 2nd time. Had my son floor the gas so I could get to the back side of the valve plate --- tons of crap there and on the bore behind the plate.