Calling All Car People!

eits

Lifer
Jun 4, 2005
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so, i was driving my friend's car and all of the sudden, the gas pedal stops working.... the car keeps running, and everything's still on, but the gas pedal won't make the car go. i just coast.

this has happened about 3 times total.... different days.

it seems like there's a higher likelihood of it happening when it's really hot out, but i can't be sure if that's a fact or just an observation.

what do you think the problem could be and how much would it be to fix?

the car is a 2005 pontiac vibe.


Moved to The Garage.

minendo
Forum Administrator
 

eits

Lifer
Jun 4, 2005
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it won't rev or anything. it happens randomly. the engine's still running and the car's on and everything... it just idles.... it's like i threw the car in neutral and took my foot off the gas... except, i still have my foot on the gas.

auto.

it's got about 70k miles.

recently got an oil change... like about a month ago, maybe a week less.
 

iamwiz82

Lifer
Jan 10, 2001
30,772
13
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That car is drive-by-wire so I would start by looking at the sensor on the accelerator.
 

Vette73

Lifer
Jul 5, 2000
21,503
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0
Originally posted by: iamwiz82
That car is drive-by-wire so I would start by looking at the sensor on the accelerator.

Yep check the sensor/plate at the pedal, the wiring, and the motor at the throttlebody to make sure it works as well.
 

eits

Lifer
Jun 4, 2005
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Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Originally posted by: iamwiz82
That car is drive-by-wire so I would start by looking at the sensor on the accelerator.

Yep check the sensor/plate at the pedal, the wiring, and the motor at the throttlebody to make sure it works as well.

i can't do that personally, can i?... how much does it cost to have someone do it? how do you exactly check? is it easy to do? is it something i can do?
 

Vette73

Lifer
Jul 5, 2000
21,503
9
0
Originally posted by: eits
Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Originally posted by: iamwiz82
That car is drive-by-wire so I would start by looking at the sensor on the accelerator.

Yep check the sensor/plate at the pedal, the wiring, and the motor at the throttlebody to make sure it works as well.

i can't do that personally, can i?... how much does it cost to have someone do it? how do you exactly check? is it easy to do? is it something i can do?

Is the check engine light coming on when this happens? If it does get it pulled for free at advance/AZ. If the light does not come on then it will probable be the sensor at the pedal. If it was the motor at the TB and you pushed the peddle and it did not open then the engine light would come on. If the sensor at the pedal goes out then the computer just thinks you don;t want to have the throttle open so no engine light.


Now mind you it could be wiring, bad computer, etc... but most likly its the most common thought, the peddle sensor.

If not sure then have a shop look at it.
 

T2urtle

Diamond Member
Oct 18, 2004
3,432
3
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i bet there is a fault in the ecu but its model spefic so it wont exactly be a pxxx code.
 

eits

Lifer
Jun 4, 2005
25,015
3
81
www.integratedssr.com
Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Originally posted by: eits
Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Originally posted by: iamwiz82
That car is drive-by-wire so I would start by looking at the sensor on the accelerator.

Yep check the sensor/plate at the pedal, the wiring, and the motor at the throttlebody to make sure it works as well.

i can't do that personally, can i?... how much does it cost to have someone do it? how do you exactly check? is it easy to do? is it something i can do?

Is the check engine light coming on when this happens? If it does get it pulled for free at advance/AZ. If the light does not come on then it will probable be the sensor at the pedal. If it was the motor at the TB and you pushed the peddle and it did not open then the engine light would come on. If the sensor at the pedal goes out then the computer just thinks you don;t want to have the throttle open so no engine light.


Now mind you it could be wiring, bad computer, etc... but most likly its the most common thought, the peddle sensor.

If not sure then have a shop look at it.

yes, it comes on... but then when i go try and hook an odb-2 to it, i find out it already turned off.

i dunno what a tb is, but that's what's happening. it seems to happen more when it's really hot outside.
 

Squisher

Lifer
Aug 17, 2000
21,204
66
91
Originally posted by: eits
Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Originally posted by: iamwiz82
That car is drive-by-wire so I would start by looking at the sensor on the accelerator.

Yep check the sensor/plate at the pedal, the wiring, and the motor at the throttlebody to make sure it works as well.

i can't do that personally, can i?... how much does it cost to have someone do it? how do you exactly check? is it easy to do? is it something i can do?

Do you have a multi-meter?
 

Vette73

Lifer
Jul 5, 2000
21,503
9
0
Originally posted by: eits
Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Originally posted by: eits
Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Originally posted by: iamwiz82
That car is drive-by-wire so I would start by looking at the sensor on the accelerator.

Yep check the sensor/plate at the pedal, the wiring, and the motor at the throttlebody to make sure it works as well.

i can't do that personally, can i?... how much does it cost to have someone do it? how do you exactly check? is it easy to do? is it something i can do?

Is the check engine light coming on when this happens? If it does get it pulled for free at advance/AZ. If the light does not come on then it will probable be the sensor at the pedal. If it was the motor at the TB and you pushed the peddle and it did not open then the engine light would come on. If the sensor at the pedal goes out then the computer just thinks you don;t want to have the throttle open so no engine light.


Now mind you it could be wiring, bad computer, etc... but most likly its the most common thought, the peddle sensor.

If not sure then have a shop look at it.

yes, it comes on... but then when i go try and hook an odb-2 to it, i find out it already turned off.

i dunno what a tb is, but that's what's happening. it seems to happen more when it's really hot outside.


You will need a scanner that can pick up the stored codes, not just the ones that are currently set.

sorry but TB = Throttle Body
 

eits

Lifer
Jun 4, 2005
25,015
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www.integratedssr.com
ok, apparently, it's the pcm. it's bad, but it's under warranty. they're fixing it at the dealership tomorrow morning.

the error code from the odb-2 was p103