A car’s gas pedal is arguably the most frequently used part of the whole vehicle. So, it’s reasonable to expect that the pedal is built to last and won’t experience any problems. Still, it can happen, so what causes an unresponsive gas pedal?
When an accelerator pedal stops working, the problem is likely not with the pedal itself but with an engine that fails to provide the power you demand from your car. Possible causes are dirty filters (air or fuel filters), faulty sensors (throttle position or oxygen sensors), or a failed electronic throttle control module.
It can be very stressful experiencing your car’s gas pedal not responding, but the problem is fixable. First, you need to know what’s causing it, so let’s get started!
What Causes an Unresponsive Gas Pedal?
When you step on your accelerator pedal and nothing happens, other components involved with the vehicle's acceleration are the likely culprit. They might be clogged or faulty.
In this part of the guide, you’ll discover what those components are, what they do, and how they prevent your gas pedal from responding:
1. Air and Fuel Filters
Whenever your car has a problem, you should start troubleshooting with the quickest things to rule out. For example, when you find the gas pedal not working, check the air and fuel filters first because they're the easiest to inspect and rule out.
Air and fuel filters are designed to remove impurities and prevent them from flowing where they don’t belong. It’s their job to keep contaminants like dust, dirt, and debris from entering the engine.
The only difference between the two is they’re filtering different materials. As their names suggest, air filters remove impurities from the air before it gets sucked into the engine. Meanwhile, fuel filters protect the engine and its fuel system instead.
When filters work correctly, they’ll catch many things that don’t belong in the engine. However, they’ll get saturated after long-term use. When that happens, the filter becomes a problem as it prevents anything from flowing through, even things that are supposed to do that.
When you push your gas pedal lower, you’re causing the engine to demand more air and fuel. Unfortunately, it won’t get those things because one or both filters mentioned above is clogged.
The engine needs air and fuel to produce the power you demand, but clogged filters prevent it from getting one or both of those things, resulting in the lack of response that you experience.
That’s why you need to regularly replace air filters and know the signs of bad fuel filters and how to replace them.
2. Throttle Position Sensor (TPS)
Once you’ve ruled out the air and fuel filters, the throttle position sensor (TPS) is next to check. This sensor monitors how far the engine's throttle valve opens in real-time and communicates that information to the engine's computer.
When you step on the gas pedal, the sensor will measure a difference in the throttle position and send that data to the engine. The engine can then adjust its fuel intake to maintain the correct fuel-to-air ratio at all times.
When the throttle position sensor becomes faulty or fails completely, you’ll experience an unresponsive gas pedal. Without a working TPS, the engine won’t increase the fuel intake due to the defective sensor.
As you'll learn from the rest of this article, the throttle position sensor or TPS is only one of many that the engine relies on to function correctly. Failures at these different sensors will prevent the engine from accelerating. You'll know that's the case when your gas pedal stops responding.
3. Oxygen Sensor
Earlier, you read about the throttle position sensor (TPS) and how it relates to the air flowing into the engine. As you might already know, the engine's outgoing airflow is another crucial aspect of its functionality.
That’s why another sensor you must troubleshoot when your gas pedal is not responding is the oxygen sensor or O2 sensor. This sensor is a part of the vehicle’s exhaust system, meaning it only interacts with air exiting the engine.
As the name suggests, the sensor measures how much oxygen remains in the exhaust gases. Then, it sends that information to the car’s computer. That way, the engine knows if the air and fuel mixture is too lean or too rich and can adjust the mix as needed.
A faulty oxygen sensor prevents the engine from getting the correct mixture of fuel and air, especially when you step on the gas pedal. As a result, the engine fails to provide the extra output you want, leaving you with an unresponsive gas pedal.
4. Electronic Throttle Control Module
Suppose your car won't accelerate despite everything listed above working correctly. In that case, you likely have an issue with the electronic throttle control module.
Most car systems are computerised, and the throttle is no exception. The throttle control module collects and processes data from the pedal and various sensors, including the ones you read about earlier.
On top of that, the module also manages the throttle for features like cruise control, stability control, and others.
Above all, the electronic throttle control module ensures that your car accelerates quickly in response to your input through the gas pedal.
Unfortunately, a defect or fault in this electronic module can instead cause problems with your car’s acceleration. So, even though the problem is with the module, you’ll be left dealing with a gas pedal that’s not responding when you use it.
What Do You Do If Your Gas Pedal Is Unresponsive?
An unresponsive gas pedal means you’re not entirely controlling your vehicle while driving. Remember, you need not only your brakes to keep you safe while driving but also quick acceleration to keep you out of harm’s way.
Because of that, you should not drive your car when the gas pedal isn’t working correctly. You shouldn’t even do that to get the car to the workshop.
Instead, have your car towed to your preferred mechanic so they can troubleshoot and resolve the issue quickly.
Got a problem with your car? Check out CarpartAU to find the solution! You’ll find plenty of blog articles to help you figure out what’s going wrong. Better yet, you can browse the site to find new and used spare parts to fix the problem!
By Ray Hasbollah