Hello,

Reposting this thread, had in the wrong section.

My 96 Accord LX has 200,400 miles and the gas pedal has become very stiff. It's so bad that I can't drive the car because my knee\leg hurts. I had a check engine light (P0420) back in March. Has anyone had the same problem? I also haven't the changed the air filter for over a year. The car starts up fine and drives fine, but the gas pedal is very hard. Let me know what you think.

Thanks

Frank

 

Nice, you're getting that right leg a work out at least.

I just did a Google search and clicked the first link that I saw.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Gas+pedal+has+been+stiff

 

You will have to determine why the pedal is stiff.
Look under the pedal, is there a floor mat, carpet, or foreign object jamming the pedal?
Open the hood, with your hand manually rotate the throttle body shaft. If it is rough then there may be a problem with throttle body shaft being worn out or there may be an excessive amount of soot in the bore. If it is smooth, check the throttle cable, unhook it from the throttle body, pull and push on the cable. Is it smooth or stiff?
If the car is an automatic check the throttle valve cable from the TB to the transmission. Verify the cable slides smoothly, if so, is the cable properly adjusted? There should be no tension on the cable at idle, but there should be no slack either.

 

"Open the hood, with your hand manually rotate the throttle body shaft. If it is rough then there may be a problem with throttle body shaft being worn out or there may be an excessive amount of soot in the bore."

Don't forget that the TPS sits on the other end of the throttle shaft. Might want to check that too.

 

Thanks, I will check that. I took a picture of the gas pedal assembly, is it possible that the small spring is too tight from corrosion?

 

Do you really think that tiny spring has enough tension to cause this "my knee\leg hurts" kind of pain?
Did you do the simple thing(simpler than taking a photo of the pedal), open the hood and rotate the throttle shaft by hand. If it is smooth and easy to turn then it is probably the throttle cable seizing up, but YOU will have to check the cable for binding. Taking pictures of a spring smaller than the one in your toaster is kind of pointless.

 

My brain tells me the cable or the throttle body is seizing.

 

All,

I got the throttle cable replaced and its much better now. The throttle body was clean, the cable was binding somewhere near the firewall. There is a little play in the gas pedal before the cable opens up the throttle body.

 

Hello, similar issue here on a 95 Odyssey, hope you can help.

After removing, cleaning, and reattaching the throttle body, the gas pedal is harder to push.

It seems to be the throttle shaft. It's difficult to rotate even with all of the cables removed. It feels like the spring on the throttle cable pulley is giving too much resistance. Any ideas?

Many thanks for helping.

 

Try this forum.

https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-cr-v-element-156/

 

With the slack removed from the cable, without tension, there is a bit of play in the TB linkage. If you note, the TB arm has a bit of linkage that you can rotate ~20°, via pedal, before it makes contact and begins to open the throttle blade actual. My guess is this is something visceral so the typical driver simply doesn't accidentally open the throttle too quickly. Possibly a safety as this two step feel will readily tell you that it is not the brake pedal.

What I've had happen in the past, on worn throttle shafts(after cleaning the shaft) will now bind up as there isn't a medium(gunk) to lubricate the worn parts into alignment. If there is movement in the shaft, other than enough clearance for rotation, it is most likely the blade itself is now making contact inside the housing which is causing the increased resistance to rotation. Usually replacement is the easiest. Some machine shops can press in bronze bushing to restore original function, but labor may not be cost effective vs a good used TB.

Dayum Holmes, sending the poor guy to the wrong forum... cooooold, bloooood-ed...
I think you meant https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-minivans-crossovers-trucks-80/

 

[QUOTE=MAD_MIKE;49223289]With the slack removed from the cable, without tension, there is a bit of play in the TB linkage. If you note, the TB arm has a bit of linkage that you can rotate ~20°, via pedal, before it makes contact and begins to open the throttle blade actual. My guess is this is something visceral so the typical driver simply doesn't accidentally open the throttle too quickly. Possibly a safety as this two step feel will readily tell you that it is not the brake pedal.

If the car came from the factory with a little gas pedal play, I guess over time the gas pedal gets stiffer until it's too stiff. I also noticed that the switching your foot from the gas pedal to the brake is easier on older Hondsa than on newer ones. In other words, the gas pedal is closer to the seat than the firewall on older Hondas, this made it easier to switch from the gas to the brake. If you sit in the new Accord, you will notice it that your foot has to move up more from the gas to the brake.

 

Two questions:
I would like to make the gas pedal less stiff. If the little return spring is cut (shown in the picture) will there be enough spring tension in the throttle body to have the gas pedal return to neutral?

Can the brake pedal assembly from a manual car be installed? I need more left foot room. It appears all the parts are the same except for the brake pedal assembly. I could cut 2.5 inches from the right side of existing pedal, but seems a little risky this way.
Let me know your thoughts.

http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/...catcgry5=PEDAL

 

if you cut the spring you run the risk of the pedal not returning like it should all the way. so don't do that.
and sure, you could put a brake pedal from a manual car in there but why? do you have size 16 shoe or something?
of course you can do whatever you want though.

 

No leave the springs alone.
If the pedal is too hard for you to push then there is something wrong with either the gas pedal, throttle body, or the throttle cable itself. If the car is an AT check the kickdown cable as well, if it is hanging up then it will need to be replaced. The cable should slide with no resistance if there is resistance in the cable then the internal sheathing/wrap has worn and needs to be replaced.

 

Just got a 1997 Accord LX and has a stiff gas pedal too.
Owned a 1995 Accord LX before and never had this problem.

I figured it out.

There's another cable going down below to the transmission.
I disconnected the 10mm bolt holding it on, now it's soft like butter, the way Hondas are supposed to be.

Now on to my next search, what this cable goes to and does.
Found this.
http://www.justanswer.com/honda/3364...ous-owner.html