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Gas Pedal Sticking

27K views 15 replies 11 participants last post by  Mjasinski 
#1 ·
I have a 2004 Ford Focus ZTS 2.3L manual transmission. In the past When I try and push on the gas, I have to push it really hard to get the pedal to go down. This has happened twice since I bought the car once at 20,000 miles and once at 40,000 miles. I have 65,000 miles and I am expecting it to do it again. The first time it was covered under warranty, the second time they told me it was do to some carbon build up on the throttle cable, and told me they warned me when I brought ithe car for the oil change that this was going to happen. After arguing with them over whether they told me or not, I got them to take $100 off the bill. I was just wondering if anyone else has had this problem.
 
#4 ·
I'm having the same problem with my '05 2.0, but I didn't turn it in under warranty. I'm wondering if I remove the boot, or whatever it's called, and spray throttle body cleaner in there and work the butterfly if that would fix or even help the problem. My next concern is whether or not that would hurt my engine and/or sensors in any way.
 
#5 ·
I will ask my brother about that. Next time I talk to him. He should be able to tell me whether or not that cause any issues.
 
#6 ·
It's probably just the throttle plate, the plastic TB can be affected by cold temps.

If you are even mildly mechanically inclined it's very easy to fix.

There is a throttle stop screw on the side of the TB, the side that you would normally use to adjust it is filled with epoxy.

You can simply grab the visible end of the screw with a good pliers or small vice grip and turn it out a little bit, just enough to prevent the sticking throttle plate.

The sticky feeling is the plate hitting the inside of the housing, adjusting the screw will not affect your idle.
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#7 ·
I've got an 2003 2.3L SE and I've not had any problems with using a simple carb and choke cleaner as long as you let it evaporate off. Also spraying the cables liberally with some wd-40 isn't such a bad idea either
 
#8 ·
ah, yah, I have this issue too -- when I press the gas pedal, i have to press it kinda hard (hard in that i have to put more pressure than one should have to) until it starts to move -- I'll try adjusting the screw that was mentioned by FORDSVTPARTS, hopefully that's all that's needed!
 
#9 ·
hey ya'll, I'm not quite sure where what the throttle body is -- I assume that's where the cable from the pedal goes, which isn't hard to find, right? I want to try to fix my pedal from sticking and I'm looking to try to adjust the screw that fordsvtparts mentiond
 
#12 ·
jrinco11 said:
hey ya'll, I'm not quite sure where what the throttle body is -- I assume that's where the cable from the pedal goes, which isn't hard to find, right? I want to try to fix my pedal from sticking and I'm looking to try to adjust the screw that fordsvtparts mentiond
This has some decent pics for where the throttle body should be. I would definitely try what Steve (FordSVTParts) suggested.

Good luck!
 
#13 ·
This happens on my car a few times/yr. It is carbon buildup. I fix it by removing the air filter hose on the throttle body. I then spray some carb or throttle body cleaner ona clean rag, open the throttle and clean the throttle plate and any part of the throttle body I can reach. Repeat until the rag comes out clean. Put the hose back on. This should fix the problem for months.

If this does not work, there likely is a problem with the throttle body.
 
#14 ·
gmzx3 said:
This happens on my car a few times/yr. It is carbon buildup. I fix it by removing the air filter hose on the throttle body. I then spray some carb or throttle body cleaner ona clean rag, open the throttle and clean the throttle plate and any part of the throttle body I can reach. Repeat until the rag comes out clean. Put the hose back on. This should fix the problem for months.

If this does not work, there likely is a problem with the throttle body.
It's not always carbon, The one on my D23 was sticking when the car was brand new.

If the car is under warranty they should replace the throttle body, It's not super common but it does happen.
 
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