Mazda tribute 2005 automatic 4 cylinder 244,000kms
My gas pedal goes stiff, won’t accelerate randomly, sometimes 7 times on a 10 minuite drive ranging from 2 seconds to a whole minute before it decides to give and accelerate again on its own with my foot pressing it, there’s no pressing that pedal down when it wants to go stiff, some days it doesn’t happen at all, pedal itself seems to have no problem cable seems fine, throttle body is good and clean , 5 mechanics couldn’t find issue , 6th one found the cat was clogged so the cat has been replaced and it didn’t leave me with a stiff pedal stuck in traffic for a few weeks now suddenly it’s doing it again mostly when it’s cold out , doesn’t happen when the cars started for 20 mins before driving unless it’s very cold out , finally got a code P0420 is it possible this is my MAF? My exhaust has a hole and has rust but I can’t afford to fix it right now and I need this vehicle to be safe to cart around my toddler, should I try replacing MAF , could that be the cause?
I’m desperate for help and knowledge to fix this issue please help!!
Well look what I just found. Turns out it's a common problem, and the subject of a massive safety recall. You better go take it in to Mazda.
It is really sad and disgusting that none of these so called mechanics bothered to check.
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2012/RCRIT-12V357-6677.pdf
and for your future reference: https://carkiller.com/scottykilmer/howto/recall/
@imperator thank you for sharing, yes that’s interesting for sure unfortunately my vehicle apparently isn’t affected by the recall , mines a 2.3L , I wish that it were though at least I’d have it solved
Still double check that the cable has enough clearance from the engine cover, or any other nearby obstructions.
Your throttle body and plate might just have too much buildup on them and it's preventing the plate from moving freely.
However, you need to be very careful here. According to the service manual your throttle body bore and plate are coated in a soft sealing material. So cleaning might be best restricted to gently lifting off visible chunks of matter. Don't go spraying strong solvents and scraping around. In fact the best solution might be to replace the whole thing (if buildup is in fact the cause of the problem).
@imperator thanks for the suggestion. I looked into it and I cannot plug the price of the new throttle body into it, though I do know one of the mechanics did use the throttle body spray on it , I was not aware of the coating and that it shouldn’t be used , didn’t see that in my owner manual. I appreciate your help a lot though and your willingness to figure it out. Thank you
Did they unhook the cable and move the throttle by hand to see if it sticks?
should I try replacing MAF , could that be the cause?
zero % chance of that.
is there a mat getting stuck under the pedal, or a toy that rolls out from under the seat?
@imperator I wish that was the case … as I said been to 6 mechanics to try to get this solved so I don’t have to scrap my vehicle , nothing getting stuck around the pedal. That’s unfortunate if there’s no chance it’s the MAF sensor
I mean unless the sensor physically broke off and it's getting stuck in the throttle of course. Maybe cruise control acting crazy. Try pulling the fuse on that.
@imperator we did disconnect the cruise control in hopes that was a fix but no luck, no the sensors not broken off I’m just grasping for anything to try to fix that might cause it that doesn’t cost a ton Appreciate the suggestions tho 🙂