Accelerator Cable / Pedal Sticking - Randomly And Fairly Constantly

[Zincubus]

Hey .

Bit of advice please .... Just recently our W reg - 2000 Rav4's accelerator pedal / cabke has started to catch or jam ever so slightly . It happens when I'm driving and applying the power but it is more of a concern when moving off from stationary , especially turning out of a side street onto a main road.

The pedal just 'sticks' slightly and then suddenly it releases ... it's not too much off concern just rather annoying ..... I took it into out local garage and explained the situation and the guy squirted some WD40 onto the pedal and the throttle cable under the bonnet ....... this cleared up the problem immediately BUT it only lasted a couple of days ...... I now have to apply WD40 myself evey few days .

My question is what are my options ?? Can anyone explain what the problem probably is ?

The guy said that it may just need a new throttle cable but didn't have an idea how much and that I should just see how the WD40 helped .

Is there a chance that the accelerator will totally JAM when I'm pulling out into traffic .

Any suggestions or comments please. ...

[crofter]

Hi Zincumbus, this sounds as if the cable which is made up of many thin wires is starting to break up i.e one or more individual wires has snapped and is catching the outer casing and this will only get worse until it jams completely if this is the case.

What may be worth trying is remove the cable and hang it up by one end of the inner cable so it can hang straight down and feed some thin oil down it.If you make a tube with a small piece of plastic sheet and tie it tightly around the outer cable and make it like a funnel, then pour oil into it the oil will then work it's way down without you having to drip feed it in.Dont forget put some thing to catch the oil as it comes out the bottom (of the cable I mean!!)

Del

[garethoevans]

I had a similar problem with my Rav. I cleaned the carburetor and this resolved the issue. Apparently quite a common fault.

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[garethoevans]

http://www.faqs.org/faqs/autos/toyota-faq/RAV4/section-47.html#b

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[Zincubus]

Thanks peeps .

Incidentally Gareth .. are your posts suggesting two different possibilities !?

[gjnorthall]

The cable has either been kinked or the antifriction liner has started to break up. It's also possible that the inner cable has frayed. The permanent answer is to replace the cable ensuring not too much slack and positioning the cable to avoid tight radiuses. Modern cables are not intended to be lubricated though a spray of WD40 would be fine. Use of lubricants tend to make cable action sluggish.

[Zincubus]

Our local guys have quoted £70 plus vat plus labour - so over £100 ......

Oh and a big thank you to everyone ....