Thread: Hesitates on acceleration sometimes, gas pedal not very senitive

Originally Posted by LePrix

About three months ago I had my 2001 GT stall at idle and rev high and low on its own so I too it to the dealer and they told me I have a bad Mass Airflow Sensor, ok, replaced it $500 bucks right there. About 2 months ago the car just suddenly feel apart, not getting proper reading from the gas pedal and just jerking back and forth and eventually stalling in the middle of a left turn downtown at 11pm. Ok so I tow the POS to the dealer again, they tell me it was a bad MAF...again...replace it under warranty and send me on my way. I stopped to ask "Are you sure the MAF is the only thing wrong in there, maybe something is damaging it?" and the tech told me that since it was only 2 months since the last replacement the best bet is that is was just a defective part.

Now a couple weeks after getting it fixed the second time, my car just doesn't feel the same. It hesitates on the lower gears and the pressure I exert on the gas pedal just doesn't match up to the RPM going up, unless i take my foot off and try again, and then it will rev higher. I have never driven another GP so I do not what what is typical gas pedal resistance and sensitivity but this doesn't feel right.

Also at idle I can sometimes see the RPM needle waver up and down ever so slightly(like it did before it stalled months ago) and if you sit in the car at idle for long enough, you begin to notice a series or pattern of "shudders" that vibrate the car, and again this used to happen right before stall.

What the hell is going on guys?

It definitely sounds like something is causing that maf to go bad like you said, check to make sure your intake tubing is all tight and snug, also make sure your filter is clean, are you running a k&n filter? I've heard these filters come with too much oil and can damage mafs. The maf is very easy to remove and replace yourself for like 150 bucks. try spraying the maf with a can of maf cleaner and see if it helps at all. Is it throwing a code? When I had maf problems it would tjhrow an intermittent code. Maf problems suck. I wish you luck.

Originally Posted by Fivefingerdeathpunch

go clean the TPS and IAC sensor and see if that does anything.


and why on earth are you going to a dealer, they raped you on price for that MAF sensor, thay are like 160 new from napa or autozone and take maybe 2 min to swap if that.

I heard aftermarket MAFs are even worse that OEM. I guess I did get raped, didn't I?

I know for a fact that my cat isn't in the greatest shape, could that be a drivability/acceleration issue? What is the relationship between the MAF and the cat? Could an old cat contaminate a MAF?

No, but a bad MAF may mess up the cat.

Originally Posted by LePrix

I heard aftermarket MAFs are even worse that OEM. I guess I did get raped, didn't I?

I know for a fact that my cat isn't in the greatest shape, could that be a drivability/acceleration issue? What is the relationship between the MAF and the cat? Could an old cat contaminate a MAF?

well for future reference if you have to replace the maf get a t20 torx security bit "one with a little hole drilled in the tip" and it literally takes no time to replace it.

i bought a maf from autozone and have no problems.

but before you do anything the real question here is are you getting a ses light???? either way you need to have it checked for any current or history codes.