If your gas pedal is not working and your car won’t accelerate there might be an issue with the throttle body. This problem is usually accompanied by poor gas mileage and a check engine light. Follow the tips in this video and article and find out how the throttle body can cause an unresponsive gas pedal and how to fix it.
How the Throttle Body Can Cause the Gas Pedal to Stop Working While Driving
A defective throttle body can cause a gas pedal to not be working. Throttle bodies can be cable or electronic-driven. This post and video is generally about electronic throttle bodies.
More on how to clean a cable-driven throttle body
Electronic throttle bodies work with the car’s computer and surrounding sensors, like the mass air flow (MAF) sensor, for operation. This allows control over when and how to adjust the throttle body’s butterfly flap to regulate the engine airflow.
Why Throttle Bodies Fail
Electronic throttle bodies have internal components that can break over time, which can turn on the check engine light for a related code. Cable driven throttle bodies
Carbon can build up on the throttle body blade or butterfly flap and cause symptoms like a check engine light or the gas pedal not accelerating your vehicle.
Common Symptoms of a Bad Throttle Body
Check Engine Light
If there’s an issue with the throttle body, it’s common the check engine light to turn on for a throttle body-related code.
Gas Pedal Not Accelerating Your Car
A gas pedal not accelerating your vehicle or slow acceleration are signs of a bad throttle body and indicate it might need a replacement.
Rough Engine Idle
Rough engine idle, which is when the engine is running while the vehicle is in a still position or “idling,” is another common sign of a problem with the throttle body. While idling, the engine’s RPMs will fluctuate.
Poor Gas Mileage
A bad throttle body can cause problems like poor gas mileage if it needs a replacement.
How-to Videos: How to Replace & Clean a Throttle Body and More
General steps to clean a throttle body
- Remove the air intake tube from the throttle body, disconnect the electrical connector, loosen the throttle body bolts, and remove the throttle body
- Check each side of the throttle body for carbon build-up
- Place the throttle body flat and horizontally
- Spray the flap with carbon cleaner
- Clean carbon from the throttle body with a soft bristle brush without pressing the throttle body blade harshly if the throttle body is electronic
- Clean both sides of the throttle body
Read step-by-step instructions for diagnosing and cleaning a throttle body
If cleaning the dirty throttle body doesn’t fix this problem, replace it.
- How to Reset the Throttle Body
- Rough Idle? Weak Acceleration? How to Diagnose and Clean a Throttle Body
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- Dirty Air Filter or Bad MAF Sensor?
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