Was just wondering if anyone has an issue like mine. Whenever I step on the gas from a stop my car doesn't respond right away, causing a hesitiation. It almost appears like the throttle has a dead spot...

 

got the same problem

 

Very common complaint. Do a search you will find extensive previous discussions on this topic. In brief this is caused by a slight delay while the ECU analyzes a number of parameters including but not limited to the amount of gas pedal depression you have input into the system. Contrary to your assumption that the accelerator is directly linked to the throttle, rather there are multiiple electronic gizmoes interspersed between the gas pedal and the throttle (position sensors, motors and the ECU in control of it all) If the ECU decides its appropriate to open the throttle in response to your depressing the accelerator, then the throttle is opened by current sent to an electric motor that controls the throttle position.

 

I had a feeling it was electronically regulated. Thanks DetMich1. I will see what I can find out....

 

Hey, do you have any mods on your car? The main one in question here is the intake. If you do make sure you have that MAF sensor SEALED UP GOOD!! Any air leaks at all and the car will feel like you lost half your cylinders.

If no intake. Try to clean your MAF sensor and reset the ECU while you're at it. If you aren't sure how to do those....just do a search and you will get loads of how-to guides.

Good luck!

 

Make sure you use premium gasoline. I had a similar problem when I used 89 octane...bad choice. I only saved about 4 dollars on a filiup. With 93 octane I can

 

Interesting, I have a '04 Saturn Ion2 that I also commute to work. 2 weeks Saturn, 2 weeks Lexus. Well this was the GS's turn to be driven and I must of been day dreaming or something but when I went to fill it up I selected plain old regular 87 octane gas and began pumping away. After about 5 gallons I realized what I had done, cussed a few choice words, but went ahead and finished filling the car up. 392 miles on that tank of gas and I didn't notice any difference!! I expected to have hard starts, rough idle, poor performance, etc. etc. but nothing out of the odinary happened, was it just luck or does it take many tanks of regular to throw it off?

 

I put about 30,000 on my GS3 every year, and I notice a lot of difference between premium vs. regular or plus versions of gasoline. i get much better mileage and the car always drives smooth.

however, sometimes i catch the dead spot too...its funny because my car will pick up, then pause for a second in the middle of my pushing the pedal down to accelerate, then catch itself back up after i take my foot off the pedal or wait for a few seconds. at first i was worried but now it doesnt faze me too much...but i hope this isnt a bad sign?

 

The difference won't be seen in gas mileage, I still got 25 mpg on 89 octane. What's noticable is in power and hesitation at WOT. The onboard computer will retard ignition timing (to eliminate engine knocking) when lower octane gasoline is used. The car will run on lower octane and under normal driving you can't tell the difference. It's us lead foot junkies that will testify there is a big difference in power.

 

this is the best explanation of reg. vs. prem. argument and everyone needs to pay attention

 

Before disconnecting ECUs and things like that, you may want to check out this thread: GS cutting out

JB

 

That slight hesitation is that drive by wire set up...and I wouldn;t want to run the risk of messing up anything by using 87 octane.

 

I realize this thread is coming back from the dead, however, I want to add my very simple 'fix' for this hesitation issue. My 02 GS300 was also experiencing the dreaded "go delay" when hitting the pedal from a dead stop. In my case it turned out not to be some fancy computer related calculation causing the pause. It was slack in the throttle cable! I tightened it up enough to pull the slack out of it.. and now that slop in the pedal and hesistation is completely gone. Car idles & drives just fine - only better. Just wanted to add that for those of you that may not have thought of it.

 

I believe the throttle cable is only there for emergencies (throttle motor or sensor goes out), which will allow you to move when you press the pedal down ~75% of the way. Tightening the slack will do nothing for regular drivability. The only thing tightening the cable will do is open the plate enough to raise the idle (do a search) - the right way to do this is by adjusting the TPS a few % higher then the 14% that is recommended (or around there, 14.7%?).

 

dang. 25 mpg? thats pretty good, i wonder how come im only getting about 19.