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Accelerator sticking.

43K views 17 replies 14 participants last post by  Green Love 
#1 ·
We have a Ford Focus, 2005. There is no problem during the summer, but when winter comes the accelerator will begin sticking. When my wife leaves for work it will be fine, but down the road, 3 to 15 miles the accelerator pedal will begin to stick, bad enough to make driving scary. My guess is that it is the cold that affects it. I've had it happen to me and it is a problem. We have to press hard to make it go (slowing down is not a problem) but pressing hard it will break free and speed up too fast.

There is nothing in the way of the pedal and we have taken it to two mechanics and neither have been able to solve the problem. I had the last mechanic put in a new cable thinking there might be moisture in the old cable, it did not help.

Any ideas?
 
#2 ·
We've had lots of people experience this problem. What you need to do is remove the air intake so you can see the butterfly valve in the TB. Now take some carburetor cleaner, or just simply alcohol, and a rag, and start cleaning. Clean all the black crud out of there. Work the throttle by hand so that you can clean the bottom side of the plate, and the top of the TB. Clean all that black stuff out of there, and it should solve the problem.
 
#4 ·
the 2005s had a problem with the factory TB...the plastic compound shrinks too much in the cold, and it causes the plate to stick. cleaning will help, but when it gets really cold, like below freezing, it will become a bigger problem.

Ford issued a TSB on this, not sure if it reached the recall level, but when i brought mine in, they swapped in a new tb right away, no cost, and no questions. the new ones had a stronger/thicker wall so they did not constrict like the originals.
 
#5 ·
I logged in here looking for this exact problem. Can you tell me more about the TSB? If I call ford and tell them my accelerator is sticking will they know?

Sorry - I'm mechanically ignorant - but always willing to learn. Can someone point me to a picture that shows what I need to take apart and clean?

Thanks!
 
#6 ·
I have the same problem on my 06 zx3. Now that it's getting pretty cold in Michigan, I'm sure it'll start acting up. Nice to see a solution for it, other than having to pop the pedal down fairly hard to get it going. They must not have issued a recall for this on the 06's.

The throttle body is where your air intake connects with the intake manifold right? (rookie here). Further explanation on where or pic woudl be great!
 
#7 ·
TSB= technical service bulletin. These are often confused with recalls- but that's not what it is. It's merely an in-house method of sharing experiences with other repair techs that might be out of the ordinary. For example, some automatic transmission shifting problems were traced by a master tech to be a ground wire that was left disconnected by the factory. Now other techs who get baffled can look up this solution if the problem is similar. It's basically the same thing as this forum is for us- except everyone is a professional- LOL.

Whether or not you can get a new TB or not, I don't know. I don't even know if you can purchase a re-designed TB.

Oh, and yes, the throttle body is what holds the throttle plate that tilts and lets air into the engine. It is between the air intake and the intake manifold. It doesn't get cold where I live, so cleaning always worked for me.

I'd like to know if there is a re-designed factory TB, what the part number is, and what the TSB number is. That would be information that would speed things along for anyone going in for this repair.
 
#8 ·
Posted via FF MobileRight location, look for the throttle cable connecting there and that`s the spot! hard to describe identifiers since much mechanical is hidden by covers, like the cover over the pulley the throttle cable moves to open the (internal) throttle plate (or butterfly valve). TB is sandwiched between intake air hose & intake manifold if that helps..... It`s there to "throttle" or "control" air flow at the last single pipe section of intake plumbing, B4 air enters the tuned intake manifold runners.
 
#11 ·
Hey all, i was hoping you could assist in my problem. I have a 2001 automatic ZX3. every time i hit the gas past 2000rpms and let go, the engine will continue to accelorate untill 3500rpms. I have to either throw it in neutral or tap on the accelorator and it will catch itself and be fine. If i dont pay attention i will hit the person infront of me. i cant find this exact problem online. My mechanic cleaned the throttle body but it wasnt that dirty. the car worked fine for a few months and then came back worse than ever. what do you think is wrong?
 
#12 ·
We have a Ford Focus, 2005. There is no problem during the summer, but when winter comes the accelerator will begin sticking. When my wife leaves for work it will be fine, but down the road, 3 to 15 miles the accelerator pedal will begin to stick, bad enough to make driving scary. My guess is that it is the cold that affects it. I've had it happen to me and it is a problem. We have to press hard to make it go (slowing down is not a problem) but pressing hard it will break free and speed up too fast.

Any ideas?
I have nearly exactly the same problem. Does anyone have an idea as to why the accelerator sticks after (in the origninal poster's case) 3 - 15 miles of driving? If it's due to cold weather, wouldn't it act up right away and maybe even lessen as the engine warms up?
 
#13 ·
HOLY OLD THREAD FROM EONS AGO!!!!

Yeah, this thread is 2yrs old guys. Check right above the avatar and you'll see the date of the post. Typically I ask that members start their own threads on their problems even if a thread seems to be the same issue. Seems to be, and is the same issue is not the same thing. For example: ebrunke is having problems with an 03 Focus. The sticky throttle body problem is associated with the plastic TB 05+ models not the earlier Focis.

Ebrunke, I think your problem is the throttle cable. You should pop the hood, work the throttle by hand, and see if it sticks, if it doesn't, have someone work the throttle in the car. If that still doesn't cause it to stick, then you should start checking out vacuum. Your engine is known for having issues with the PCV vacuum line, and that typically causes idle issues which might explain your uncontrolled acceleration- although that's the first I've heard of that problem doing that exactly.

Blue Rocket: you too have an SVT, so not the same issue as the 05+ Focis- however it could still be, so be sure to check out that TB and clean it. Now follow the advice I gave Ebrunke and see if the cable is sticking. If not, then start checking out vacuum. You also have things like the DSI clip to check out, but IIRC, that causes stumbling in high rpm acceleration. I would check out that PCV, although I don't think SVTs are suspect for that particular Zetec issue caused by the PCV vacuum line being run too close to the exhaust.

Both of you should consider starting your own threads though, as you can see, same basic result, but since you have different engines, it is most likely due to a different cause. Thanks.
 
#14 ·
On a side note, most of our regular users who can give good advice will not respond to new comments in old threads, but you'll get a plethora of advice by starting your own thread. If you need help doing that, then run your mouse over my avatar and open the menu, scroll down to "Send Private Message to Whynotthinkwhynot" and I'll respond ASAP. Thanks again.
 
G
#15 ·
Problem is butterfly valve jamming shut in air intake even after cleaning and lubricating. Quick fix is to remove linkage cover at cable end and give the throttle stop plate on lever arm a twist up with vise grip or pliers toward stop pin. Idle will rise slightly, but valve won't close hard enough to jam. Simple five minute fix, no cost.
 
#16 ·
I have a 2005 ZXW with this problem. I cleaned but used solvent sparingly because it is flammable. The stickiness returned within hours. I cleaned again much more thoroughly placing a rag downstream of the throttle body to catch the goop and keep the excess flammable liquid from pooling. I also loosened the two torqx holding the throttle plate and flipped it a few times to recenter the plate. This process has fixed mine.
 
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