No throttle response 1% of time

2009 NISSAN ALTIMA
205,000 MILES • 2.8L • 4 CYL • 2WD • AUTOMATIC
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Y5MVBC
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I just bought the car listed above from a friend of mine to replace a car for my daughter. I only bought the car as he is the only person I ever drove with where I had to beg him to let me drive as he drives like a Florida retiree. He always ran synthetic oil and has impeccable service maintenance records. He even had his CVT transmission replaced approximately 18,000 miles ago. It still looks like new. Anyway. I wanted to get a couple of things done before I gave it to her, brakes etc. I'm driving it back and forth to work for about 2 weeks now and on 3 occasions, I'm at a full stop and hit the gas and I have almost no power at all. The car does not rev and barely rolls forward. I keep my foot on the gas and in about 5-8 seconds the power slowly kick back In to normal and i can take off normal. This is crazy dangerous as all i could imagine is my daughter trying to make a left turn through traffic. Today I took the throttle body out and cleaned it. Lots of black deposits like it was never cleaned. Took awhile. While I was there, I cleaned the MAF sensor as well. Drove only an hour or so and hasn't happened yet. By the way, the cars check engine light never comes on. I've been reading and I hear about the step motor, accelerator pedal position sensor etc. What else could this be with no codes? Other than this major safety issue, the car runs and drives mint.
Jan 1, 2020 at 4:58 PM
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JACOBANDNICKOLAS
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Hi,

This is going to be a hard one to solve until either you get lucky and are checking components under the conditions which cause the problem to occur or it gets worse. As far as the things you mentioned, there are a few sensors that can be going bad.

I'll try to explain. First there is an accelerator pedal position sensor (APP). No longer is there a cable to the throttle body. If that sensor is going bad, it won't indicate to the throttle actuator to function. Based on your description (and this is only theory at this point), the app is my first suspect. I'm basing that on the idea that there is no code and it is a delayed response. However, to test it requires the problem to be present.

Is there anything you can think of that may cause the issue?

Let me know.

Joe
Jan 1, 2020 at 9:31 PM
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Y5MVBC
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Replaced the APP this morning. It happened again at a stop sign. I intently listened. Lasted 5 seconds and no sound differences but it just felt like something finally realized I wanted to go? Crazy. What do you think about the step motor in the fairly new CVT transmission replacement? Would they they change that or is it something they take from the old and add it to the new?
Jan 5, 2020 at 2:31 PM
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JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • CAR REPAIR CONTRIBUTOR
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If it was related to the transmission, the engine would rev. That is what doesn't happen, correct? Can you confirm something for me. You indicated the engine is a 2.8L 4 cylinder. Is that a typo and you really meant 2.5L? There is a 3.5L V6, so I'm just trying to confirm which we are dealing with. Also, I need to know if you are in CA and if this is a hybrid.

Once I start looking further into control units, there becomes more than one option.

Also, after doing some research, I have found this seems to be a common issue related to the throttle position sensor which is integral in the throttle body. See pic below for location. I have test procedures for the throttle control motor, but everything indicates it should have set a code. Also, I need engine size and if it is a CA car.



Let me know.

Joe


Jan 5, 2020 at 6:13 PM