"Sticky" Gas Pedal/Throttle; Other Fun

[stuarth]

Rather long post- be forewarned.

Quick intro- I bought my 2001 QX4 about a month ago with 119K on it. There were a couple of known minor issues with it, and a couple of more developed. Driver's seat would not move from the far rear position. I was able to get it to move by jerking on the seat while sitting in it, and it started working. Long story short, I tried splitting and putting a 3/8" thick plumbing washer around the screw drive to limit the travel, and darned if that didn't "fix" the problem. I can now move the seat all the way back, and it doesn't stick. For the driver's seat, I put a large zip tie around instead of a washer.

Sticking gas pedal. Last week, I was driving and after coming to a stop, it felt like the gas pedal had a block of wood behind it- it wouldn't move. A firm push broke it free, and it moved normally- until the next stop. I started tapping it first to avoid jumping away from a stop, and although this worked, it obviously was not an acceptable solution.

Got home and lubed the throttle cable extensively, although it seemed to move freely. No help. Finally traced it to the throttle plate which was sticking against the bore of the throttle body when the pedal was released. I thoroughly cleaned out the throttle body with TB cleaner and rags, and it still stuck. Took the throttle plate out, and cleaned it off, noting that there seemed to be some carbon around the edges. Still no help. Then it dawned on me that the "carbon" around the edges was likely graphite bonded to the plate to keep the throttle plate from sticking to the bore, and it had worn out.

A bandaid fix was to use the idle adjustment screw to keep the throttle from closing all the way, but it kicked the idle up to over 1000 rpm. I ended up taking out the throttle plate again (two screws) and using some very fine sandpaper (800 grit) on a block of wood and very slighly rounding the edges that contacted the bore of the throttle body. I concentrated mostly on the top and bottom, rounding less and as I went around towards the sides. Although the plate didn't stick after reassembling it, when running it still stuck very slighly. However, the plate moved further closed before the slight sticking- far enough that I could use the adjustment screw to keep the throttle plate from closing all the way without changing the idle speed. So far, so good. Throttle works smoothly, idle in park is about 850 (based on the dash tach).

Enjoying the car. Also spent a weekend installing some Air Lift 1000 air springs, and have rear shocks on order. Expensive toys, these....

Modified by stuarth at 5:44 PM 2/21/2010

Modified by stuarth at 5:44 PM 2/21/2010
Modified by stuarth at 5:46 PM 2/21/2010

[Buzzman]

First of all, welcome to NICO.As for the power seat thing you experienced, it seems to be a common problem with Nissan's in general. I've read about the issue on Maxima, Altima, etc., forums as well. Good fix you did though. My main comment is on the throttle plate.I'm guessing it's not a very expensive item.Why not just go to the dealer and get a new one?It would be a five minute fix, no?

[stuarth]

Honestly? I was looking online to see what was available, and could not locate just a throttle plate. Not sure if they're sold separately- but I'll likely call to see, if only to get an idea in case it starts sticking later. Ended up being faster for me to modify the plate than to go buy one, and since I didn't get the idea to modify the plate until last night, getting one from the dealer wasn't an option if I wanted to get it fixed on Sunday. But. purchasing a new plate would hopefully be a quick option- thanks.