Year+ long issue that no one can figure out with gas pedal. Chevy Cavalier.
duckdodgers
Member Posts: 2
I've had this issue for over a year. I can't figure it out as I am a car repair noob, and no one else has been able to either. I've spoken to some mechanics that have theories. Below are the major points I've observed and they are clear and not ambiguous during observation.
The main problem is that when I lightly touch the gas pedal, the car will die. If I press it further, past 10% or so, the car takes off fine and doesn't die. As long as I have the pedal pressed in past a certain point, it drives fine and cruises just fine. If I come to a stop, then lightly press the pedal again, it will die. Stopping/going is a real issue and tough to deal with stop lights and such. Putting the car in neutral or park will allow the car to idle more normally so it doesn't die. Putting it in drive again will kill it most of the time unless I immediately gun it.
I don't hear misfires or anything like that. It doesn't seem to miss out and sounds smooth in neutral and while cruising.
The problem got to this point over time, and continues to slowly get worse. It used to idle ok in drive, but now will die most of the time while sitting still in drive.
I messed around with the throttle body and replaced the throttle position sensor. This action fixed the problem for 2 months, but then appeared again. I thought it was the sensor that went bad again, but after replacing it with yet another new one, it resolved nothing this time. I assume now that it wasn't the sensor causing the issue.
The problem is minimized when the car start up fresh, cold. It worsens as the car heats up. There is definitely a correlation with the temperature of the engine it seems.
Autozone used their device for testing the computer and came up with the results in the picture I have attached. The guy said it was 'running too rich' according to the device. He suggested it may be vacuum related, purge solenoid, or oxygen sensor related.
This is beyond stressful at this point, especially after starting a new job and wondering if I'll get to work each day. I will either take it into a place like Firestone and have them test the computer more thoroughly, or I'll do the trial and error thing if parts are not too expensive. I just don't know where to start other than the suggestions I got from Autozone and thought I'd come here first to get some expert knowledge. I'm ready to get this solved somehow. Any advice would be much appreciated
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