Hey guys!

I have an Infiniti I30 1997 with 200k+ and it's got a few problems that searching the forum helped me solve. However, I am having a problem with my gas pedal that I can't seem to already find posted and I would appreciate your insight and ideas.

I used to be able to push down quite far on the accelerator and get my car to respond instantly and smoothly... but now I can't seem to push very far - almost like it gets stopped. And, if I push it down hard enough, then suddenly I feel it go down further passed the "stopped" position to the area where I used to be able to press it before this problem began, but it's not a smooth transition and my car's reaction isn't smooth (it's like a jolt of energy because of the lack of the smooth acceleration), even though I am able to get it to accelerate rapidly like it used to. Because of this problem, I don't like to push too hard on the pedal anymore because I feel like it might stay in that down position (that it will get stuck when I depress) and I also don't want to get into an accident.

I hope that I have explained this problem sufficiently. I'm not sure if it's a simple problem like something needs to be oiled or tightened, or if it's a more serious problem. Since my car responds instantly and speeds up when I do press down hard on the pedal, I feel like it's just a problem with the pedal and nothing else, but I could be wrong.

I miss being able to quickly and smoothly accelerate my car! Any advice is appreciated!

Thanks!

 

When you step on the pedal, there are 3 things that you cause to move.
1 - the pedal
2 - the cable that runs between the pedal and the throttle plate
3 - the throttle.

Go under the hood and move the throttle arm by hand (with the engine not running). If it moves smoothly (and I sure hope it does), disconnect the cable from the the gas pedal and see if the pedal moves smoothly. If the pedal moves smoothly, you probably have a throttle cable that is rusting and/or corroding inside of its sheath.