1998 Honda Civic Sticky accelerator

Hi Jeff,

Quite often the problem is caused by a dirty throttle plate. When it is fully closed, the plate sticks due to the dirt around the barrel of the throttle body.

Get a can of carb cleaner and a rag.
Remove the air intake hose.
Spray some carb cleaner into the throttle barrel and let it soak for a short while.
Wet the rag with the carb cleaner.
Manually open the throttle plate and use the rag to scrub the barrel of the throttle body.
Use the carb cleaner to clean the therottle body and repeat a few times until the throttle feels free when pushing it open with your hands.
While you are at it, spray some carb cleaner into the ports located inside the throttle body. This is to clean the idle air control passages and if after cleaning them , the idling speed increases, readjust the idle adjust screw to get the correct idling speed.

Wait a few minutes for the carb cleaner to dry out before attempting to start the engine.
It might be difficult to restart the first time.
After starting, do not be surprised of abnormal smoke and smell for a short period when the engine is running.